Speech therapy disagreement

[Deleted]

DS just turned 3. I think his speech is a little slow, H does not. I asked his preschool teacher (he goes 2x a week) and she said she wasn't sure if he needed it or not and we could have him evaluated if we wanted. She did think that not being able to communicate very well could be the source of fighting over toys.

I want to. H disagrees because DS can make the sounds a 3 year old should be able to, but for separate words.

Example: DS can say "mouse" but he can't/won't? say Mickey (dit dee). He can say bubble, but he can't say book (gook).

Other than this he is a pretty chatty Cathy but not overly conversational yet. He doesn't name any friends from school and most of the time when I ask him what they had for a snack he will tell me fish crackers. He also can't tell me what he did there.

I know there are some people on here with kids in speech, hoping you can relate and give some advice on this.

**UPDATE** H has agreed to the evaluation. I emailed his teacher and we set up a meeting for Thursday after class. I'm so relieved.

[Deleted]

It is free to get him evaluated. What is your DH's hold up? Just call your school dept and say "I'm concerned about my son's speech and I'd like him to be tested"

I'm in fact about to do that with DS3. The other 2 are already in speech therapy so I figure he's got an 80% chance. His speech isn't as clear as his peers. I suspect though he'll be like DS1. I Had DS1 tested at 3.5 and they said he didn't qualify because there are certain sounds they aren't expected to make until certain ages. When he moved to public school in 1st grade his teacher said she wanted him to be evaluated and he qualified then because honestly his rs and ls hadn't improved since he was 3. Flower was Cha chu and Girl was "girdle"

[Deleted]

What is the negative to having him evaluated?

[Redpoppy]

We had DS evaluated at 3 because there were a few sounds he was having issues with and he has a bit of a tongue tie. The sounds he had difficulty with were ones that take longer to fully develop. Also, when I mentioned it to daycare they hadn't noticed it, but it definitely was noticed by the speech pathologist. There is no harm is getting evaluated and if an issue is found early intervention is helpful.

[Deleted]

I agree with you. I would be concerned too. I would definitely try to get him evaluated.

Good luck! Hope you can convince your H to get your DS evaluated.

[twinsinmd]

I'm a SLP in the schools, and I say get him evaluated.

And not because I even think or know if your child has a speech disorder, but because as a parent I think it's best to have someone else come out and either tell you yes or no. As a parent, I even know how hard it is to decide what is normal and what isn't normal, so it is not going to hurt to have it evaluated.

[dcrunnergirl]

Definitely have him evaluated. If for not other reason then it will give you a chance to ask any questions you have and voice concerns. Speech has made a huge difference for us, not just in the kids' progress but also in my anxiety levels b/c I have someone to bounce questions and concerns off of.

[Deleted]

I would go ahead and have him evaluated, if only for your own peace of mind. Otherwise, if you are anything like me, you will continue to worry and obesess about it. Better to find out for sure and get him help if he needs it! GL!

[pugz]

have him evaluated to put your mind at ease, earlier the better

[Willis Jackson]

It can't hurt to get him evaluated.

[Deleted]

speech therapy grad student checking in!

push for an eval. usually most kids have to score pretty low on a standardized test to qualify for services (below 16th percentile for other kids their age, and in some areas below the 2nd percentile) but it is worth looking into. the sound substitutions you described are what we call assimilation errors and it's hard to say exactly when they should disappear (because all children are different), but it's definitely something to test for and keep an eye on throughout development.

kids with speech sound disorders are more likely to have reading problems down the road so this is definitely something you want to be as proactive about as possible. good luck!

[Deleted]

Thanks everyone. I'll push for an evaluation. DSs teacher said she could get someone in to the classroom to evaluate him there or we could have them come to our house. I think the classroom might be better because there's a less likely chance he will bounce off the walls or clam up with the addition of a stranger.

I think H does not want the evaluation because he thinks DS is fine and he is worried about them stretching to find things wrong which I don't agree with. I think it's just an evaluation, why not make sure.

Septimus - that's interesting about your son that didn't qualify until 1st grade. Thanks for sharing that.

[Ashley&Scott]

I'm glad you're pushing for the evaluation, I would too. I think doing it in the classroom is probably a good idea for the reasons you mentioned.

[Deleted]

Oct 21, 2012 9:13:31 GMT -5 tacom said:

speech therapy grad student checking in!

push for an eval. usually most kids have to score pretty low on a standardized test to qualify for services (below 16th percentile for other kids their age, and in some areas below the 2nd percentile) but it is worth looking into. the sound substitutions you described are what we call assimilation errors and it's hard to say exactly when they should disappear (because all children are different), but it's definitely something to test for and keep an eye on throughout development.

kids with speech sound disorders are more likely to have reading problems down the road so this is definitely something you want to be as proactive about as possible. good luck!

Is this uniform because at 3 there's a federal program? Because DD qualified for speech therapy at 15 mos with just a 25% delay.

OP, I would absolutely get him evaluated. No one thought DD was delayed, but I had her tested at 15 mos for expressive communication (not really speech at that point), and she qualified. She loves her speech therapist - it's been a great experience.

[Deleted]

If there is any doubt, any at all, I would not hesitate to get him evaluated. It can only benefit him.

[bunchkie]

I'm also a School-aged SLP. I'm always happy to do a screening for any concerns. I say go for it.

[Deleted]

Oct 21, 2012 20:19:31 GMT -5 BirdGirl said:

Oct 21, 2012 9:13:31 GMT -5 tacom said:

speech therapy grad student checking in!

push for an eval. usually most kids have to score pretty low on a standardized test to qualify for services (below 16th percentile for other kids their age, and in some areas below the 2nd percentile) but it is worth looking into. the sound substitutions you described are what we call assimilation errors and it's hard to say exactly when they should disappear (because all children are different), but it's definitely something to test for and keep an eye on throughout development.

kids with speech sound disorders are more likely to have reading problems down the road so this is definitely something you want to be as proactive about as possible. good luck!

Is this uniform because at 3 there's a federal program? Because DD qualified for speech therapy at 15 mos with just a 25% delay.

OP, I would absolutely get him evaluated. No one thought DD was delayed, but I had her tested at 15 mos for expressive communication (not really speech at that point), and she qualified. She loves her speech therapist - it's been a great experience.

At 3 they go to the school dept because of federal funding.

We got referred to early intervention for DS2 at 15 mos. He wasn't walking or talking. Every state has different standards to qualify for services.

In TN you had to be either 25% delayed in 2 areas or 40% delayed in 1 area. DS2 qualified because he was 27% delayed in speech and gross motor (he wasn't walking). By the time they came to do his specialized evaluation he was 56% delayed in speech and fine for gross motor (only skill needed before e is being able to walk and he started walking at 16 mos).

Every state is also different about how they do EI. TN took my insurance info, but I didn't have to make co-pays or anything. It was all free. They came to the house twice a week for 1 hour to work with him.

My friend in Mass with a special needs kid had to pay for services but it was on a sliding scale based on income.

[dragonfly08]

I'm glad you've decided to get him tested. It doesn't hurt, and if there is an issue, early intervention will help so much.

My niece had a lot of trouble with certain sounds. The one I remember best is that she said "tuttie" for "cookie". But other "c" and "k" sounds were just fine. My sister had her evaluated and they placed her in school-based speech therapy for a year or so. It worked wonders and now she's got no issues at all. A friend had similar issues with her son. The therapist said he'd likely outgrow the speech issues without intervention, but in the meantime he ran the risk of developing bad habits that would later be hard to break. Therapy/intervention helped him catch up before any of those habits could take root and now he's in first grade and doing fine.

[statlerwaldorf]

I would get him evaluated. DD loves speech therapy. All of the evaluations and speech therapy have been really fun for her. It's no different than playing to her. DD had a much more severe delay and it's made such a huge improvement in her behavior now that she can better express herself. Lots of kids have speech delays and go on to be normally functioning kids when they are older. Getting a speech diagnosis isn't going to label him for the rest of his life. If he has a speech delay, he has it whether you get him evaluated or not. Early intervention can help him catch up easier.