This is so true! And 36 months is a very big deal (at least it is where we're at) because that's the age at which a child is no longer eligible for EI but instead has to go through the school district for speech etc evals. In our area, it's easier to get into EI than into speech therapy etc through the school district... so another reason to seek help early.
I have absolutely no reason to believe our ped was trying to keep us from the EI system. Instead, we were repeatedly told "that's not something to worry about until he's 3." As in, they have developmental milestones that are somewhat discrete: Lack of consonants before 3 could still develop ok on their own; Lack on consonants after 3 needs an evaluation. Evidently, things might still develop if the child is 2 year and 364 days old.
