I love speaking in front of groups-- it is one of the few times I know people are listening to me (or at least pretending to!). It doesn't mean I don't get nervous, though, in anticipating the talk. One thing I find that helps is to continually reconnect to the audience-- when people feel like you are trying to apply what you say to their situation, it holds their interest. If you use notecards, keep what you write on to a minimum. You want to be sure they just trigger your memory, so that you don't get lost trying to read off of them. Most importantly, have fun. Really-- when people see you relaxed, THEY will relax as well. I also agree with the practice, practice, practice. My speeches are a million times better when I have practiced, if, for no other reason, that I know I have done all I can to prepare.

Is he is speech therapy with a licensed SLP? I know you said 'Early Childhood Speech program -- but the quality of those programs can vary widely, and an ineffective program or one that's geared toward a problem your son doesn't have won't do much (if any) good! My younger son had a great deal of difficulty with speech, but luckily for us, a good friend put me in touch with our city's best resource -- so my son's speech problem was diagnosed quickly and correctly (childhood apraxia of speech) and we began appropriate treatment right away. Within a few weeks, it was very clear that the treatment he was receiving was effective, and we began to see good results. But then we moved, and he was enrolled in our local school's Early Childhood Speech Program. It took me several months to ferret out that their "treatment program" was what is called a "language enrichment" model -- In a nutshell, they assumed that the child had been language-deprived at home, and that all he needed was lots of exposure to good language models, a little encouragement, and time to develop. WRONG! It took 3 meetings, finally bringing in the district's head SLP to get the school to provide appropriate treatment -- at which point, positive progress resumed. Ninos - I've seen your writing, and it's clear you're able to provide your son with good speech and language models, so just being around more good speech won't cure your son's speech problem. If the other kids his age are teasing him because of his speech, your son needs speech therapy. If it's just a few sounds that are problematic and he's speaking in complete sentences, then it's probably not as serious a problem as my son's, and just a few months of good therapy should be able to really help. I'm linking to a site called Apraxia-Kids.org. I'm not suggesting your son has Apraxia (unlikely) -- just that this site has the most incredible resources for early childhood speech problems. Here is a link that might be useful: Apraxia-Kids

I have read this whole thread as my son is also having similar problems. He didn't crawl till after 1, he didn't walk till later, he always made gibberish sounds with little words. He didn't start putting words in sentences till he was almost 4 and its still only a few words. He has a small attention span unless its something hes really interested in. To get him to cease doing an activity usually results in him getting very upset over it and us having difficulty calming him down. He can get rather loud and hysterical. He will keep doing behaviours he has been told specifically not to. Of a morning before we are up he will just screech & make bird noises out the window, he makes beeping noises like his grandfathers van that backs out and throws things & just general bad behaviour until we get up. If you ask him a question he will just repeat a couple words back of the question at times, if its one he knows hell answer. He had trouble making choices he will decide one and then when given that he will want the other and get upset over not getting it. He will say hello to people, look at them and us and smile and laughs, sometimes he just gets the giggles. I don't know how to toilet train him, he goes to school next year and he just doesn't know when he needs to go, he will pee if put on the toilet but that's it, there's no regularity to when he goes. He loves to sing & do action songs like clapping etc, loves TV, he knows and recognises both numbers and the alphabet, knows shapes, colours, knows his name and can spell it as well as his Nan's and pops and dads. He cannot write it, doesn't take an interest in drawing can draw a circle and a line and the letter L but that's about it. He has been attending daycare since before he was 1 as he is an only child and we have no friends with children and don't go out a lot. They referred us to a speech, physio and OT therapist who he has seen a few times a year. He is progressing but very slowly, he is way behind other children. They also put him into an early intervention group to try and get him ready for school, he loved the activities, he loves being around other kids he just doesn't interact with them. They find him strange. He has now been referred to a team to see if he is on the spectrum, they have done a part evaluation of him and are referring him to a developmental psychologist in January before deciding their diagnosis. He also has trouble with toe walking and W sitting. He refused to feed himself off and on for awhile until i took to counting to 5 and if he hadnt taken a mouthfull I put him straight to bed without finishing, he now eats his food thank godness for now especially if mummy starts counting. This is all new to me, I am a first time mum, I was an only child and also used to toe walk so did my mother. I have little experience in knowing what's normal for kids at what age so this has been tough. Its been tough realising that a lot of parents are having conversations with their kids by now and telling them things and are able to teach them things about the world etc and I have never had that communication with my son. Yes I am afraid of what putting a label on my son will do but I don't feel qualified to help him alone. I am worried about his future and am hoping he will continue to develop. He is a happy little boy mostly he loves to smile and laugh and sing. He loves cars and trains and anything electronic, going out anywhere is a great time for him. He has no problem with strangers or new environments, he loves to explore and learn how things work. Just don't leave him with a book or a picture as he will rip it up in tiny pieces even though he's been told repetitively not to. When he was younger he used to like opening and closing doors.

Hi All,my son is 35 month old and not talking......not saying yes he even dont know how to response if mama is asking...like if i ask him do you want strawberries he repeats strawberries, if i ask him, u want this so he will repeat the last word...only when he wants and cannot able to say or express yess he repeats or he comes in the kitchen if he wants what i ask for...and if he dont want somethng he will clearly say 'no'he is talking only his alien language (gibberish) using 1 or two words like head or sit ,or pointing outside and saying mama look bird or tractor ,airplane he knows all the transportation names ,colors,count 1 to 16,shows Alphabets if i ask him what is this,he knows all body parts name,singing poetry with me at bedtime sometimes solo sometimes we sing together,he follows me if i say something to do..only when he understands what am saying..he tell me when he wants to go for pee ' mama pee '..but not potty trained yet....most of the things he pickdup from the tv...but not always he is sitting front of tv..he plays with all sort of toys ...very good with puzzles and name them too..he likes trains ,railroad crossing he even imitate and start doing it with hands ,watching tornado siren and playing with stick assuming it as a tornado siren,he plays with tractors ,cars,excavators ,his fav is cats which he takes them everywhere....he is not interested in drawing ,only scratch on papers, my concern is he dont understand fully what we are saying...and he talks but his own langauge..he makes eye contact with me and my husband ..but i have noticed him..he is making very little eye contact with others and when they ask him he is not responding may b becoz he doesnt know how to....he is friendly play with his frnd ,interact with others like saying hi ,shaking hands,saying bye tata but ...he respond to his name but when i ask what is your name he only repeats my sentence...he doesnt say his name when other ask him...i dont understand what to think on this plss any one having any answer to this or understanding what am trying to say plss help .Also we had appointment with Alberta health care to check him with his speech .and other developmentla delays if any. But it got cancelled bcoz of covid 19 we are waiting for tgem to call and reshedule us... Any suggestions from any one will b great help..Thank u