Counting On - Jessa Duggar Reveals Her Son Henry Has Speech Issues

Source: Instagram

During the most recent episode of Counting On, star Jessa Duggar revealed her two-year-old son Henry has speech delays, so she and husband Ben Seewald took their toddler to the ear, nose, and throat doctor for an evaluation and to find out what they should do next. Duggar talked candidly about having a son with speech issues, and she says that it is easy for her to stress out.

Jessa explained that she and Seewald started noticing that Henry wasn’t communicating like he should have been when he was 18 months old. The mom of three said that he “wasn’t communicating like his older brother [Spurgeon] did at that age, or like other kids his age.”

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The 27-year-old says that she and her husband realize that each kid develops at their own pace, but Henry has struggled to catch on. Instead of being able to talk and communicate what he wants, Jessa says that Henry mostly just grunts and points.

“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?’” admitted Jessa. “And Ben is a little more level-headed, like, ‘It’ll be okay, we’ll figure it out.’”

Jessa also revealed that Henry had a “really bad tongue-tie” that doctors clipped at birth, and that gave them even more of a reason to visit the ENT specialist. It doesn’t appear that Henry has any hearing loss, but the doctor did point out that a very important time in speech development is between the ages of two and three.

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She also advised that now is the time for Ben and Jessa to focus on Henry’s development and get it jump-started.

Jessa and Ben were happy to find out that Henry’s hearing wasn’t an issue, and she says that her two-year-old isn’t behind developmentally. Since it appears to be just a speech issue, Jessa says the doctor recommended they take Henry to a speech pathologist and then go from there.

Fans can catch up with Jessa Duggar, Ben Seewald, Spurgeon, Henry, and five-month-old Ivy Jane when new episodes of Counting On air Tuesday nights on TLC.