Hi, I think that you are onto something by taking a morning walk.  If exercise helps, think about a trampoline for example, check out wayfair.com and look under outdoor trampolines, although many of them are for indoors.  it's also a lot of fun!-- GrannySkippy

Your DS enjoys SINGING TIMES, so go for that.  Also what I did years ago with my DS.  Child would sit on the floor playing and I would read to him.  I would choose words that I wanted him to learn and I would spell them as I read. Example,  Green Eggs and H-A-M- said Sam I am.  Lots of sentences i spelled one word.  He actually started picking up (i.e. learning) while playing on the floor.   I sometimes tell people that he learned to read without looking at the book.  I also made audio cassette tapes (it was the old days) and played them while he was eating lunch.  Try a few minutes at bedtime.  Also see if Big Brother could teach him something.  Little Brothers sometimes want to know what Big Brothers know!  Try "rewarding " Big Brother for "helping" Little Brother.  Another thought.  There's TONS of clips on YOUTUBE> .  The clips are between 15 seconds to 3 minutes mostly.  You can watch the clips on YOUTUBE and see what types of clips appeal to him.  I have downloaded clips on spelling, reading, colors, science, math, in several languages..   I bought REALPLAYER 16 and have downloaded several hundred clips over the past 4 years which I have made into 45 DVDs for my grandchildren.  I hope that these ideas help.  All the best.-- GrannySkippy in Canada

HI,  Go to www.familygames.com  Download the FREE version of Notecard or Notecard 2.0
The early version of Notecard says that it's for Windows 95 and 98 but it actually works great on Windows Xp and Windows 7.  There's other free games and APPs.  You can find me and my email at mapleleafmusicschool.com -- I'm in a bit of a hurry today, but I could give you more tips later.  Skippy

Reply to JennyCannon with a 2 month old, Down Syndrome.  Check out www.changingmindsfoundsation.org. Hope this helps you,

I have heard of several people who switched from violin to cello (or piano) so they could sit down.  Other's switched from piano (or cello) to violin so they could stand up and move around. 

You mentioned that he responded to the DVD ,
YBCR, so if something works, try it some more.

Also with a webcam, you can make your own mini-
DVDs. 
Some children respond to music, singing,
a program such as Kindermusik or Musicgarten.
You could even try singing  - you could make up any
tune or use familiar ones like Mary had a Little Lamb,
Example: (Tune Mary had a little lamb)
We are going in the car.
You will sit\
in your seat
We are going in the car.
We are going to day care. ( or wherever).

Some children respond to puppets.

Some ideas which work with autistic children might
help your DS. 
Your DS may not be autistic, but it sounds like there are
some similarities.  Check out these websites -- see if anything rings a bell.
Google for more websites about speech and social delays.

http://www.soundtherapysystems.com/

http://www.playproject.org/

http://sites.google.com/site/autismgames/

http://autism.about.com/b/2011/04/25/play-with-your-autistic-child-more-easily-said-than-done.htm

http://www.childrensucceed.com/  (This one is for older children)

I really think that there might be something in these websites,

Let me know if you find anything helpful. 

All the best,

Skippy

My first and only db was content to lie in his infant seat at 8 months.  By 9 months, he was sitting some, by 10-11 months he was crawling and walking by 13 1/2 months.  Some kids just take longer.  Later it turned out that my son was intellectually normal or above and started college at 16. Physical skills such as early walking seem to bear little relationship to intellectual skills.   If you are worried, or if the baby cries when he tries to crawl or walk, have him checked by a doctor, especially for hip or bone problems.  Otherwise he's probably normal, just doing his own thing, at s slightly slower rate than his siblings.

My grandson did YBCR and his parents are enthusiastic about it.  We bought the program used and the flashcards separately.  I also made some words with a red marker.  He did YBCR starting at 2 months and the Doman dots starting at 4 months. He also did flashcards with music composers and geography.   He picked up on the reading, and was reading HOP ON POP by age 2 and 2 months.  Since his first language is  German,he seemed to have no problem teaching himself to read German.  By age 2  and a half.  He could sound out words like the planets on a picture of the solar system.  He could read little articles from the German newspaper.    He also goes to Japanese school, so I hope that he will read Japanese too. He knows the names of the Japanese provinces.   He loves music, and watches various clips from youtube of violins, cellos, harps, organs, etc.  mostly classical music. To watch him on Youtube, search in Youtube for Cederic conducts Carmen, and you can see him conducting the Opera Carmen.  Then if you go to ALL videos, you can see him reading in his second language, English, and singing in his third language, Japanese.   I don't understand how YBCR would have a negative effect. I obviously have a lot to learn about early learning.

I live in Canada, and know of several students who did well in the French Immersion program.  However, some students have trouble picking up the French.  I would definitely give the French a try.  In Nova Scotia where I live there are also bilingual pre-schools and daycares. I would meet with the principal to check and see if anything can be done for children who need enrichment.  For example, if several children can already read, maybe they could have their own reading group.  on Christian schools:   My son also went to  a Christian school for Grades 4-9 and was greatly helped by the small classes and a program which allowed him to miss as many as 60 days a year to pursue his musical interests.  He was able to graduate and start college at age 16 and is now a professional violinist.  Unfortunately, the Christian school has now changed to a traditional classrom setting where students can't advance very fast. Back to the French topic,  If French isn't your son's cup of tea, he could later change back to English.  Although this is is somewhat off the topic, does anyone know how I can find the subject in the forum for kids being bored in school because they learned to read at home.  I don't know how to find it.  I offered the Starter DVD of Your Baby Can Read to a friend, and she wouldn't let her three year old see it even once, on the grounds that he might learn to read and this would cause boredom when he starts  school which would lead to behavior problems.  She has two older boys in Grades 1 and 2 in the French Immersion program, and reads a lot to them in French and English. 

You could ask how he's doing in daycare/pre-school?  Does he do the same communication problem
all day.


These ideas are definitely not "cure-alls" but maybe a "mini-step" towards some improvement.
Use puppets:  Any puppets that appeal to him.  Small puppets that he can handle.  Also you can make a plain cloth puppet,
then take a photo and put it on say with velcro.  You can also laminate the photo.  The puppets can then be of Mommy, brother, grandma, or animals, pets.
2)  Does he read?  Can he see well enough to read?  Can he read if the letters are large enough?  If he has started reading himself. you can make a very simple "Script" and you can read one part and
he can read the other.  You can give him only one part.  You can use the puppets.
Example:
Grandma puppet:  Hi Jason
Jason puppet:  Hi Grandma
Grandma:  How old are you?
Jason:  I'm four!

You could work into the script some of his favorite words
like, Chocolate!

MOM:  What is brown:?
DS:  Chocolate
MOM:  Wich is darker?  white milk or chocolate?
DS  Chocolate!

Then see if you can find any other favorite word



If he likes chocolate, and you want to give him  some, a kind with not many calories are
the tiny baking M&Ms. 

These, of course, don't cure your problem, but they might be possibilities. 
All the best, Skippy

Hello, Here's my thoughts for the mother of the boy who calls all the cards "Mummy".  Make a few cards with pictures on one side and the words on th back side.  Show him the PICTURE of the dog, then the picture of the  Car, cat,whatever he liikes.  Pretty soon he will stop calling them all Mummy. Next step, show the picture, and then turn the card  over and show the word. Next step. take 4 cards--  One card shows the picture ot a dog.  Another has the word D-O-G.  Then have a picture of a CAR (or bird, whatever) and another card with the word C-A-R or
 B-I-R-D.-  And the last step would be to show him only the word.  By this time, 3-4 weeks have gone by, and he has now forgotten that he used to call every card Mummy. 
this is a stepby step approach.        It might be helpful to teach him a few signs from baby sign language. 
all the best, Granny Skippy

If the child was talking and then stopped, it's not a hearing problem.  The mother needs to see a doctor, just for reassurance.  Do an internet search for
"toddler stops talking"
Here are two quotes from the internet.
The first quote thinks that it's normal to stop talking if she's learning to walk,
but 17 months seems a bit old for this.  The second quote has to do with autism.

Here's one quote from a forum:
http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/329430/14-month-old-has-stopped-talking
I don't think it's necessarily specific to her age, but I do think it's normal.

Babies and toddlers sometimes seem to "forget" some skills, esp. while they're working on another major skill. I remember how excited dd was when she learned to walk backwards. Then a couple months later, she couldn't do it anymore. At some point, she could do it again. The same was true for some words and signs.
My understanding is that regressions like that are pretty common and normal. I think their little brains get overwhelmed with new learning and development, and they have to let go of some abilities while they work on other ones. I would just keep using the signs with her, and verbalizing what she wants before giving it to her, to help "remind" her of what she's already learned.

Another quote from the same forum:
People have insinuated that the signs are preventing the speech from happening, but I don't think so :

: right there with you. My 1st dd was almost 2 before she said even 2 words that sounded like the real words. But, she signed a TON! She talks up a storm now, so who cares how early she talked. She was communicating, and that's all that matters. That comment was one of my BIGGEST pet peeves. I usually just politely responded when anyone would question the signing and her lack of speech, "Actually, studies have shown that kids who sign have earlier speech, and every kid is different. I am so glad she can sign, imagine if she had no way to communicate!"

Now, my 13 month old has 8 understandable words.  Aaaahhh, kids are so different!!

 http://discovermagazine.com/2006/apr/vital-signs
About 25 percent of children with autism develop language normally but then lose the ability to speak sometime between 16 and 30 months of age. The condition, called regressive autism, is not known to many physicians, so they may worry about a rare degenerative disorder instead.

Yes, by all means, get a hearing test done. Right away.

Also, when the child hears a noise does she turn her head or look startled?
Does the child babble and make word like sounds?
Whether the child has a hearing problem or not, she could be helped by
learning even a few baby signs.  drink, more, potty, etc.

Hello, I can appreciate that you are really concerned for your son.  I can't give you any answers, but I can offer a few ideas which may have been overlooked.  Does your son drink Cow's milk???  Please Do a web search for milk allergies and learning problems.  Then check out
http://www.grandmas-wisdom.com/milk-allergy.html
: If your child is being diagnosed as suffering the common emotional and learning disorders that public schools and physicians are insisting on putting your child on mind-altering drugs to control your child then you need to go to:
http://www.notmilk.com/
Research has proven children that suffer from;
•hyperactivity
•depression
•aggression
•learning problems
•delinquency
•recurrent infections
•intestinal symptom
•colds
•sinus infection
•emotional disorders
These may be signs your child is suffering from a form of food or environmental allergy.

Although you didn't mention if your son has Down's syndrome, even if he DOESN'T, I urge you to read what diet and supplements are doing for these Down's Syndrome kids, and then ask yourself, if there's something in diet or supplements which would help your boy.
http://www.changingmindsfoundation.org/documents/news_april_8__2009.html

I would definitely go on the internet and research diet, allergies, supplements and learning.

Home schooling clubs:  many areas with lots of home schoolers have clubs where the kids get together for activities, go on trips, etc.  Home schooling may not be as bad as your husband thinks.  If he thinks home schoolers sit in the corner and never socialize, hmm, maybe he needs to reconsider.  The other thing, is that even if you did home-school, you might not do it for 10 years, but maybe one or two. 

Building confidence:  My son was into music lessons, church programs, a scout-type program and Karate (martial arts).  He also took swimming, dancing, horseback riding, and ice skating.  He didn't take all of these lessons in the same year, of course,  but I feel that they were all useful. Try different things to discover your son's hidden talents.  These things build confidence and develop skills.  At this point, I would NOT recommend team sports, but maybe later, a few years from now.

AIR QUALITY:  Check on air quality at home, and possible contamination from cigarrette smoke.

MUSIC:  I've been a music teacher for almost 50 years.  AVOID television and the usual radio music.  Play music such as Mozart as well as slow Baroque.  Check out the effects of playing slow Baroque music.  This music should be gently in the background.
Do a web search for
www.acceleratedlearningmethods.com/auditory-stimulation.html -
Auditory Stimulation - Accelerated Learning Methods for ChildrenExperts in child brain development tell us Baroque (Largo tempo) is the best music to play while using accelerated learning methods because its cadence is ...
Here's another website:
http://home.blarg.net/~building/strategies/arts/brewer.htm

EXERCISE:  I can't find the website right now, but on TV there was a documentary on having ADHD kids do 1/2 hour of real exercise before classes began.  There attitude, focus, and even their grades went up.  I would definitely try this for at least 2 months.  TEST it out!!

SLEEP:  Does he sleep well? nightmares?  snoring? 

So those are the things that I would check out: 
DIET, ALLERGIES, SUPPLEMENTS,
SLEEP QUALITY
Air Quality
EXERCISE:  In the morning before school
MUSIC:  No Radio.  Gentle music
EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: Scouts, Music Lessons, Sports, esp, Twae Kwon Do, Karate, etc.
HOMESCHOOLING:  TRY it for ONE year.

I would TRY all of the above for one year, before I would have a child repeat
a grade which is unfortunately, often more of the same.  When maybe what they need is LOTS and LOTS of an approach which is really different.  A Fresh new start.

All the best,
Skippy Mardon
 

Down's Syndrome kids who can read are living proof that these kids can be helped!  To learn how Down's Syndrome kids of various ages age being helped check out
http://www.changingmindsfoundation.org/home.html