Hi all,

 I've just joined after finding the site through the emofree.com website.

 I've just started doing EFT on my 2 year old (3 in April) who does not seem to be developing his speech. He used to say a few words like "Hello", "Amber" (his cousin), "Mummy" and "Zach" (his brother) but now doesn't seem to say anything. He also used to have a healthy appetite, but will now only eat cereal in the morning and refuses to eat anything throughout the day appart from dried fruit and selected snacks.

 I'm doing EFT in the mornings while I give him breakfast, but wondered what the best way to apply surrogate EFT is and also if anyone has any experience of treating such things.

 Lee

Hello Lee,

Thank you for joining the forum. I hope that you find it beneficial.

All stages of development can be worrying for a parent, especially is he is your first or if you can't help but compare him to other siblings or other children that aren't dispalaying the same behaviour.

Some children ( and especiaaly boys) are slower off the starting blocks with speech and it can be a real worry for parents. Put a boy in a room with a girl at this stage and the girl very often will wax lyrical with their impressive vocab and command of language.

Maybe none of this makes you feel better as you may be worried about his overall development. Do as much reading with him as you can manage, nursery rhymes, stories, song, audio tapes and you can't go far wrong.

The eating issues at this age can easily become a momumental battle of wills, upset and despair. Becoming picky and very selective is very common. Undoubtably your concern to get a well balnced diet past his lips. That's not his concern. Fussy eating patterns can be for a number of reasons, but unless he has had any major traumas around eating?- it usually settles down in the next year period.

EFT wise, what set up statements are you using? I would be happy to suggest some set ups on both issues?

Incidentally, it may be worth reading a reply I have just given to Priya ( a parent post on infantile eczcma) as I have made several recommendations for working with childrent that you may find useful.

Thanks for your kind and reassuring reply Christine.

 The sort of set up phrases I have been using have been:

"I find it hard to talk"

"I dont want to talk"

"Something is stopping me from talking"

"I want to communicate more easily"

I have mainly done surrogate tapping on these phrases as he doesn't seem keen on being tapped (although he does laugh when I tap his chin point, collar bone and under the arm!)

I haven't really approached the eating yet so no set up phrases for that- thought it may be better to work on one thing at a time although I did wonder if they may be related.

Lee

Hi Lee,

Welcome to the forum. I think the phrases you are using are a great place to start.

I am not a doctor, but I would make sure that he is hearing properly. As a parent, I would try making very quite sounds or comments behind his back to see if he hears them. Try something that would get his attention if you knew he heard it clearly, but say it softly, where he can't see you. In my experience with other energy therapies and food sensitivities, sometimes foods such as soy or dairy can cause an excess of fluids, which sometimes make it hard to hear for little ones, and as a result, delay speech. Has he had ear/sinus infections? If, for any reason you suspect that hearing or food sensitivities might play a role in this situation, have him checked out. Just a thought and I know that comment has nothing to do with EFT but I felt compelled to throw it out there. 

Back to EFT, I might try some phrases, such as... 

Even though I don't want to be heard/what I say isn't important/I don't know what to say/I can't think of what I want to say/I don't understand/It's hard for me/It's not clear to me/the words don't come to me/it's hard for me/I'm not ready to talk, I am a good boy.

By all means, work surrogately on him until he is comfortable with you tapping on him, or have him try to tap along and let him tap on himself the best he can.

Hi Sue,

Thanks for the advice.

We had to take him back for hearing tests just after he was born and although it turned out to be fine then, we have wondered since if it may be an issue. Having said that, we have tried what you suggested and he does understand words as well as hear them when he is not looking at us.

He does seem frustrated that he can't communicate and screams a lot when he wants something so I don't think it is a case of not wanting to communicate.

We are going to get him checked out by the doctor soon and he is awaiting a second appointment for speech therapy. In the meantime, I'll keep tapping on the phrases I have and on your suggestions and let you know how it goes.

 Many thanks

 Lee

Hi Lee,

Sounds like tapping on the emotion of frustration would be great for him, maybe even use the phrase, even though my brain can't get the words to my mouth, etc. Good luck!!!

Hi all and a Happy New Year!

 Just thought I'd update you on the situation with my little boy.

I've been home for the last couple of weeks over the Christmas period and have been tapping when possible. He seems to be making some progress as he is making some more communicative noises and saying the odd word. The main EFT success I have had with him though has been when he had an episode of Night Terror where he became incredibly upset and would not calm down. I tapped a couple of rounds of EFT and it worked fantastically!

 We have an appointment with our Doctor next week (an achievement in itself!!!!!!) so hopefully we'll see what the next step is then.

 Thanks again for all your suggestions!

Lee

Hello Lee,

How did I miss your post?  Allow me to add a thought or two.  It is very common for kids around 18 months to 2 years to have a drop in appetite and become picky eaters.  It is called physiologic anorexia and as long as he is keeping up with his growth curve and meeting other developmental milestones, there should be no need for concern.  It is wise for you to have him checked out just the same.

As for the non talking, some kids are late bloomers, especially when they are the subsequent sibling.  The older sib often answers and interprets for the baby sibling.  He may not be feeling the frustration that you feel, however, tap on as all tapping is good tapping.

You might want to check out a book called Baby Signs (not the one about astrology).  The author's surname is Acredolo.  Learning a few signs, such as, milk, more , yes, no, tired would be of benefit until his language emerges.

Hi all,

More of an update- It looks like my son has mild autism. We are going to see a specialist at the end of feb for confirmation, but after seeing the GP another specialist, a speech therapist, and a couple of other people who were probably just passing and fancied saying something, it is looking to be that.

 So I am revising my tapping accordingly to concentrate on interaction with others as it is becoming clear that he is in his own little world and pops out now and again to see what is happening with everyone else!