u/Designer-Wheel9317

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice/reassurance from parents with similar experiences.

My little boy is 23 months old and currently non verbal. He’s very social, affectionate, engaging, understands lots, uses eye contact well and communicates through signs/gestures. His other development seems on track.

What concerns me is that he has no consistent words, struggles to imitate sounds, and will occasionally make a sound once and then never do it again. He mostly says “uh” for everything. He also drools and often has an open mouth posture.

We’ve had hearing checked, seen an SLT, and are using AAC/signs and all the usual speech strategies consistently.

I keep being told to “wait and see,” but I’m starting to wonder about childhood apraxia of speech/verbal dyspraxia because of the inconsistency and lack of progress.

Did anyone else’s child present similarly at this age? What was the eventual outcome?

My son has suspected CAS and I am panicking about his future prospects.

Will he be able to socialize, enjoy and have a fulfilling childhood and eventually settle down to be able to be independent and successful and whatever he puts his mind to?

How serious is this condition?

We’re obviously willing to throw everything we can into supporting him. He’s almost 2 and is a bright; engaging and charming little boy with an exuberance for life and people. It breaks my heart to think he’ll be starting nursery soon and the other kids may think he’s a baby and not want to play with him cause he can’t talk…

Any future hope - please share. Very worried mum xxx

My little boy is almost 2. He’s really social, lovely, affectionate and engaging. He initiates interaction, loves people, understands lots, and all his other development seems on track.

But he still doesn’t say any words at all — not even consistent animal noises or play sounds. He’s had his hearing checked and that was all fine.

We’ve seen speech therapy and AAC was suggested, but there’s no regular therapy at the moment. We’ve also been consistently using all the strategies the speech therapist suggested for over 6 months now.

Since he was born we’ve constantly read to him, sung to him, talked to him, engaged with him, played with him, and taken him to groups/classes, so I don’t feel like it’s a lack of interaction or stimulation.

He’s also been using signs since around 9–10 months old. Very occasionally he’ll do an animal noise or sound once, and then not do it again for months. Sometimes it honestly feels more like regression than progress, which is what worries me.

Everyone keeps telling me to “wait and see” but I just have this feeling that it’s more than just being a late talker.

I think what confuses me is that he’s so connected socially and seems bright in every other way.

Would really appreciate hearing from parents whose children were similar around this age. Did speech come later? Was there eventually a diagnosis or was it just a speech delay? Did anything help?

My little boy is almost 2. He’s really social, lovely, affectionate and engaging. He initiates interaction, loves people, understands lots, and all his other development seems on track.

But he still doesn’t say any words at all — not even consistent animal noises or play sounds. He’s had his hearing checked and that was all fine.

We’ve seen speech therapy and AAC was suggested, but there’s no regular therapy at the moment. We’ve also been consistently using all the strategies the speech therapist suggested for over 6 months now.

Since he was born we’ve constantly read to him, sung to him, talked to him, engaged with him, played with him, and taken him to groups/classes, so I don’t feel like it’s a lack of interaction or stimulation.

He’s also been using signs since around 9–10 months old. Very occasionally he’ll do an animal noise or sound once, and then not do it again for months. Sometimes it honestly feels more like regression than progress, which is what worries me.

Everyone keeps telling me to “wait and see” but I just have this feeling that it’s more than just being a late talker.

I think what confuses me is that he’s so connected socially and seems bright in every other way.

Would really appreciate hearing from parents whose children were similar around this age. Did speech come later? Was there eventually a diagnosis or was it just a speech delay? Did anything help?

My little boy is almost 2. He’s really social, lovely, affectionate and engaging. He initiates interaction, loves people, understands lots, and all his other development seems on track.

But he still doesn’t say any words at all — not even consistent animal noises or play sounds. He’s had his hearing checked and that was all fine.

We’ve seen speech therapy and AAC was suggested, but there’s no regular therapy at the moment. We’ve also been consistently using all the strategies the speech therapist suggested for over 6 months now.

Since he was born we’ve constantly read to him, sung to him, talked to him, engaged with him, played with him, and taken him to groups/classes, so I don’t feel like it’s a lack of interaction or stimulation.

He’s also been using signs since around 9–10 months old. Very occasionally he’ll do an animal noise or sound once, and then not do it again for months. Sometimes it honestly feels more like regression than progress, which is what worries me.

Everyone keeps telling me to “wait and see” but I just have this feeling that it’s more than just being a late talker.

I think what confuses me is that he’s so connected socially and seems bright in every other way.

Would really appreciate hearing from parents whose children were similar around this age. Did speech come later? Was there eventually a diagnosis or was it just a speech delay? Did anything help?

My daughter is coming to the end of Year 7 and has really struggled this year with anxiety, overstimulation, overwhelm and becoming very self-conscious socially. She’s bright and kind but seems mentally exhausted a lot of the time and secondary school has felt like a huge adjustment for her.

She worries about friendships, fitting in, being judged, noise/crowds, homework, everything really. At home she often seems completely drained after school and sometimes quite emotionally overwhelmed.

I’m trying to work out what’s “normal” Year 7 transition/puberty stuff that settles with maturity and familiarity in Year 8, versus signs that she may need more support.

Did anyone else’s child struggle like this in Year 7 and then settle during Year 8? Or did you find it pointed towards anxiety/ADHD/something else? Any advice or reassurance appreciated.

Are you kids conventionally attractive.?

My children are conventionally unattractive

I know this probably makes me sound horribly shallow, but I need to get it off my chest somewhere anonymous.

I’ve always been considered attractive – not supermodel-level, but the type of person who is often told they have nice features. My DH is wonderful: kind, intelligent, successful, and a genuinely good man. He’s not conventionally attractive in terms of looks, but that has never mattered to me because he has so many other qualities.

Here’s the thing: our now almost teenage DC don’t seem to have inherited the “best of both worlds.” At the moment, they look much more like DH, and while they are beautiful to me as their mum, I can objectively see they aren’t conventionally good-looking children. I know children change as they grow, and features shift, so there’s every chance they will grow into their looks.

I’m aware how shallow and ridiculous this sounds – I don’t want to pass these thoughts onto my DC or make them feel any less loved or confident. But occasionally, when I see other people’s children who are striking or “pretty,” I feel that pang of comparison and guilt for even noticing.

I suppose I just needed to say it somewhere: that conflict between loving your children unconditionally but also being aware of how society views attractiveness. I hate that it even crosses my mind, but it does.

Has anyone else ever felt like this? Did your DC grow into their looks as they became adult ?

My children are conventionally unattractive

I know this probably makes me sound horribly shallow, but I need to get it off my chest somewhere anonymous.

I’ve always been considered attractive – not supermodel-level, but the type of person who is often told they have nice features. My DH is wonderful: kind, intelligent, successful, and a genuinely good man. He’s not conventionally attractive in terms of looks, but that has never mattered to me because he has so many other qualities.

Here’s the thing: our now almost teenage DC don’t seem to have inherited the “best of both worlds.” At the moment, they look much more like DH, and while they are beautiful to me as their mum, I can objectively see they aren’t conventionally good-looking children. I know children change as they grow, and features shift, so there’s every chance they will grow into their looks.

I’m aware how shallow and ridiculous this sounds – I don’t want to pass these thoughts onto my DC or make them feel any less loved or confident. But occasionally, when I see other people’s children who are striking or “pretty,” I feel that pang of comparison and guilt for even noticing.

I suppose I just needed to say it somewhere: that conflict between loving your children unconditionally but also being aware of how society views attractiveness. I hate that it even crosses my mind, but it does.

Has anyone else ever felt like this? Did your DC grow into their looks as they became adult ?

Hi, hoping to get some insight from people with 3C hair (especially mixed race / coarse / high density).

My daughter is 12 and has very dense, coarse 3C curls. The curls underneath are quite defined, but the outer layer gets dry and frizzy quite easily.

I’ve heard hair can change during/after puberty, so I’m curious about real experiences. Did your hair become softer or easier to manage after puberty, or did the coarse, dry, frizz-prone texture stay the same? Did anything noticeably improve once hormones settled?

I’m not expecting perfect hair, just trying to understand if this dryness is a phase or likely her long-term texture.

Also open to any tips from people with a similar hair type — what actually made the biggest difference for moisture and softness?

Thanks 🙂