Our son had his one year wellness check today. We’ve been concerned about him for a while. He doesn’t clap, wave, point, or talk. When we spoke to our pediatrician, she agreed that his lack of communication and expressing thoughts is concerning. She referred us to a speech specialist. She said it’s not leading to a diagnosis and she’s not saying anything is wrong, but it’s good to have an evaluation and just see how he’s doing. He might need some one on one to help build his language skills.

We’re both teachers, so we support utilizing resources and experts to best support his success. Yet at the same time, I feel as though I have let him down. We read daily, narrate what we’re doing, name and point to items, encourage him to copy or imitate our words, etc. But it’s not enough. I had to stop nursing at 10 weeks against my wishes due to a medical treatment I needed. Every time something is off, I immediately question if it’s because I wasn’t able to nurse him long enough. It’s crushing. (Doesn’t help a coworker likes to point out frequently that her gifted, valedictorian daughters were breastfed for two years.)

Anyway, does anyone have experience with a speech referral at age one? What might we expect at the appointment?