‘Counting On’ Star Jessa Duggar Says Son Henry’s Speech Has ‘Caught Up’ Following Delays

Making progress! Jessa Seewald (née Duggar) gave fans an update on son Henry’s speech delays, and it turns out he’s doing much better. On Sunday, March 8, the Counting On star revealed that her middle child has “caught up” to his peers. The happy news came after the mom shared a video of daughter Ivy starting to speak and a fan asked about the middle child.

“You guys make the most beautiful children,” the fan wrote with heart emojis. “[I’m] wondering, how is Henry’s speech, now that Ivy is speaking a bit?” Jessa, 27, responded, “Henry went from practically no words on his [second] birthday, to being caught up now as he’s turning 3! [We’re] praising the Lord for this answer to our prayers. ❤️”

Fans were glad to hear about the little boy’s progress — and they were quick to share similar stories of their own. “My great granddaughter did the same thing,” one wrote. “She didn’t speak at all. She had everybody doing what she wanted just by signs and doing. She is a perfect 9 [year] old now, and she’s very intelligent! I think sometimes we put too much emphasis too much pressure on these milestones.” Another added, “[Second] children either talk early from repeating their sibling or let the older sibling do all the talking! They almost always catch up! You have a beautiful family!”

The mom of three first revealed that Henry had been struggling in a November 2019 episode of the Duggar family’s TLC show. Sharing that he was mainly communicating through “grunts and pointing,” they decided to take him to the doctor for an evaluation. After ruling out any kind of hearing or developmental problems, they decided to take him to a speech pathologist. Since then, he’s been steadily improving.

In January 2020, Jessa took her son back in for “a follow-up speech evaluation.” Ahead of the doctor’s appointment, she seemed optimistic about what kind of news they’d hear back. The toddler had seemingly been practicing his words, and his efforts were clearly paying off. “I think Henry is really catching up!” she told fans. Two months later, it sounds like he’s back on track. Good work, Henry!