‘Counting On’ Star Jessa Duggar Says Her Son Henry Has Speech Delays: ‘He’s Not Really Able to Talk’
Is this something to worry about? Jessa Duggar revealed that her second son, Henry Seewald, has speech delays on the November 5 episode of Counting On. “We think it might be a good idea to just have him evaluated, have his hearing checked and see what they think we should do next,” she explained. She noted that he “wasn’t communicating” like Spurgeon, her older son, and that, “We realize that each kid develops at their own pace, but he’s not been really catching on. He’s not really able to talk and communicate what he wants. A lot of the times it’s just grunts and pointing and that kind of thing.”
Thankfully, an ear, nose and throat doctor said Henry wasn’t experiencing hearing loss. “We were very happy to hear that Henry’s hearing is not an issue,” Jessa said. “His hearing is perfect. Developmentally, he’s not behind. He’s on track with where he should be. It just seems to be a speech issue. So, at this point, she’s recommended that we see a speech pathologist and go from there.”
So Jessa, 27, and her husband, Ben Seewald, took their 2-year-old to a specialist during the episode to address the concern. The reality star mom explained her younger son had a “really bad tongue-tie” after he was born, so that could have made an impact. It sounds like tackling the issue head-on is the approach the young parents and Henry’s doctor opted to take.
The 19 Kids and Counting alum and her husband share three kids — Henry, Spurgeon, 4, and 5-month-old Ivy Seewald. Having an older child meant Jessa and Ben, 24, had some experience with development milestones, but not only did they notice that Henry wasn’t talking the way his brother was, but he seemed to be behind other kids his age, too.
“I feel like, especially as a mom, it’s easier for me to kind of stress out, like, ‘Oh, no. He’s delayed. What’s wrong with him?’” Jessa said. “And Ben is a little more level-headed, like, ‘It’ll be OK. We’ll figure it out.’” They’ve also got a whole army of family members to turn to for support — including a bunch of brothers on Jessa’s side who watched Spurgeon while the parents took his little brother to the doctor. Hopefully, they’ll all work through Henry’s speech challenges just fine.
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