2
Feb

Speech Therapy Update

— by Tiffany in Children

This is an update to my post about speech therapy for my 3 year old. I ended up contacting our local school district to see if I could have him evaluated and made an appointment for him to meet with a teacher who specializes in developmental delays. Today was his appointment.

Parker (my son) had a blast. The evaluation was in a preschool classroom and he just loved it and had a hard time concentrating he was so excited. They did a series of tests like having him stack blocks, identify pictures, sort items, color match, etc. His receptive communication skills are/were pretty darn excellent despite his excitement. He also showed both evaluators that he is a very smart boy…you show him how to do something once and he picks up on it immediately and duplicates. Both evaluators declared that there is nothing wrong with his understanding and aptitude, he is in fact advanced in those areas if anything. His motor skills are right where they should be although they did have a tiny bit of concern that he walks on his tippy toes quite a bit. They felt that would probably correct itself though.

They did however both agree that his verbal communication skills are seriously lacking. He talks up a storm but 90% of what he says is unintelligble. He just can’t seem to form the words and communicate. He is also very selective in what he says. He seems to be happy to say only what he needs to get by and then certain words that are appealing to him like car, dinosaur, butterfly, etc. So, they have recommended that he see a speech pathologist next week and then pending the review set him up for speech classes twice a week for an hour. They also think he should be in a Head Start preschool program but we aren’t even in the ballpark for income requirements so he would be wait listed if we do want to enroll him.

On one hand I hate to use free state services like that when we can afford private school but they don’t offer the speech services he would need. We shall see.

At any rate we go back on Thursday to the see the Speech Pathologist and see what she says. Hubby and I both went to his evaluation today and feel that he will like these sessions and they will be good for him. The teacher we met with was also very understanding about my concerns that he not be “labeled”. Which reminds that in that first post I got a comment that I shouldn’t care if he gets labeled as long as he gets the help the needs. Well, I disagree and the teacher today pointed out why I am right to feel that way.

She explained that there are certain diagnosis terms they have to use to describe the issues facing a child and she personally feels they are completely inappropriate for preschool kids. As an example she mentioned that a preschool child who has never been socialized before entering school for a developmental delay may have trouble getting along with other kids. There is nothing wrong with this. It could be that they need to learn socialization skills or that their personality makes them less likely to integrate with kids they don’t feel comfortable with. The issues could go away as they get older or get more comfortable with the other kids… we are talking preschool here. Yet when they write up their reports they can only use the term “emotional disturbance” to describe this behavior. As the teacher stated that is completely unfair to have that go in their records when they are only 3-4 years old. I think I really like this woman. :) She feels that I don’t even need to worry at this point though because we are looking at a speech delay only as far as we she can tell.

Anyway, that is where we are at. I am glad I decided to take him.

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Monday, February 2nd, 2009

11 Comments

  • http://mariawj.blogspot.com Maria

    It’s great that you have found someone who shares your concern and is working in the interest of you and your child. Don’t feel bad about using public programs. They are there for a reason, and if your child would not get the services needed in a private school, then private school is not the right place for him!

  • http://ellisanotsosimple.blogspot.com Ellisa

    That’s all great news, Tiffany! We do have several private programs around here (Michigan) that are aimed at speech for just pre-school-aged children. Maybe look into it more.

    I’m sure once he gets going, his speech will grow by leaps and bounds and you’ll be shocked at how far he’s coming along.

  • Joann

    As I was reading your blog , I realized that I too am concerned with my 3 yr old language, speech as well.you have made me want to persue this further, I stopped after we took him to see a hearing speciaist and pediatrician and she said that it was just a matter of time when will start talking more clearly, etc. His hearing was fine. I still notice he has trouble pronunciating certain sounds, words. Mainly R’s, S’s,V’s. etc. i will go back to my ped and ask for a speech therapist. I think it will help. Let us know how his visits with the speech therapist work out!

  • http://www.thetruestthing.blogspot.com stacey

    i am a pediatric ot. i spent over 12 years in private practice and now do a few days through a school system.

    my opinion is that he should probably do both. i do encourage you to access and utilize the school services. that is why you pay taxes. however, knowing the limitations placed on the therapists in that setting, i believe you will see even more improvements if you add private therapy as well.

    also, for insurance purposes, typically you never want to use any diagnosis with the words “developmental delay” in there. usually a red flag for a denial.

    toe walking- not knowing how much or any issues about why, what i would say, is to at least encourage activities that promote foot flexion and thus stretching his ankles and calves to prevent any potential tightness, etc. ie. walking on inclines, climbing, etc.

    hope that helps.

  • Lynn

    Tiffany, I know these things can feel like the beginning of a very long road, but it sounds like you are doing a great job dealing with the situation. Sounds like Parker is a great kid and with a bit of help, he’ll be just fine.

  • Stefanie Stricker

    Tiffany,

    About the tippy toe walking: All 3 of my kids walked on toes for a while. Apparently, my husband did it and so did his grandmother. It seemed to be a phase – and fairly short-lived. I think they liked the feeling of it more than anything. They all walk normally now. :)

  • Caitlin

    I think it is great that you are getting started down this path and don’t think you should have any doubt about accepting the free service. It is meant for all families in your district, not just those who can’t afford private services. Also, I feel I just need to point out that although I share your concerns with labeling children, the teacher you mention is off base with the emotional disturbance information. The legal eligibility criteria of your state will clearly lay out what constitutes an emotional disturbance. It likely states that social maladjustment must be ruled out. So, a preschooler who hasn’t developed social skills should never be qualified for services under emotional disturbance. This is usually reserved for very serious cases. It is a catch with the labels though — in order to qualify for this free support a child must meet criteria in one of a certain number of areas, and therefore earns the “label” of the area he or she qualifies under. In many states Developmental Delay no longer is an eligibility criteria after the age of 5. I do wish you the best of luck!

  • Bellen

    One of my friends, an RN, had a tippy toe walker – she found out her daughter had wheat allergies and, she was told, it is a commonality in kids with wheat allergies. Please take this for what it is worth, just thought I’d pass it on.

  • Heather

    I would have to recommend the book, The Late Talker, by Marilyn Agin. It was so helpful when I started out with mythird child and his, now diagnosed severe speech disorder, Childhood Apraxia of Speech. It is worth its weight in gold.

  • Donna E

    Tiffany,
    I’m glad you pursued your concerns,I did the same with one of my now 4yr old twins,and have seen marked improvement in his speech,and his self esteem.My boys are in our local head start program,but they don’t really address his speech.I have him in a private speech center one day a week.I did use baby signs with them,so they were chatting right along,but he had a bit of regression I felt.Keep us posted and good luck.If you haven’t tried the signing,it helped another friend of mines son pick up talking within 2 weeks.I sent her my dvd My Baby Can Talk,she couldn’t find it.Check out their site mybabycantalk.com

  • April

    I just read your speech therapy post I work for Head Start and wanted to let you know that Head Start allow 10% of their children to be above the income requirements so I would put him on the waiting list and because he needs speech he would be bumped up on the list to recieve services. My son was also in Speech therapy and Head Start the services are there for everyone who needs them. Never feel bad for doing the right thing for your child.My son graduated out of the program in 3rd grade and has better grades in cpmprehension adn reading due to the 1 on 1 time he got in speech.
    Take care and good job picking up on the speech you would be surprised how many parents are in denial about the needs children.