C just turned 8. She still replaces the TH sound with V (Muhver for mother) or F (free for three). We mentioned it at her recent pediatrician appointment and the doctor wrote a referral for her to be evaluated. She suggested we go through the school district.
Can anyone share their experience? What will they do? Maybe just reassure me that 8 isn't too late to help her with this.
My ds is 8 and just started speech this year for articulation - he has a lisp and has trouble with the r sound.
I don’t know if it was covid or it always is slow but it took awhile. I did a written request for evaluation in August, and his IEP was finally done in January and he started therapy right after. He had the screening/evaluation done in October I think and his teacher also had to answer some questions - she also sat in on the IEP meetings. He has weekly sessions for about an hour with her.
The therapist assured me it was not too late and she was confident he would be able to correct his issues.
8 absolutely isn't too late to help with this! They will probably do an articulation assessment (usually looking at a series of pictures and saying what it is or answering a question about it) and may do some sort of play based observation. Going through the school district is absolutely an option but at this point in the school year they may not do anything until the next school year, and if FB memory serves me right she's virtual right? I'm not sure how that factors in, around here it's very district dependent. You may have quicker results going through an outpatient or private provider which insurance may or may not cover. Feel free to PM me here or on FB if you have any more questions! TH is (IMO) actually one of the easier sounds to tackle because it's so easy to visualize via a model, whereas the R sound can be a harder.
8 absolutely isn't too late to help with this! They will probably do an articulation assessment (usually looking at a series of pictures and saying what it is or answering a question about it) and may do some sort of play based observation. Going through the school district is absolutely an option but at this point in the school year they may not do anything until the next school year, and if FB memory serves me right she's virtual right? I'm not sure how that factors in, around here it's very district dependent. You may have quicker results going through an outpatient or private provider which insurance may or may not cover. Feel free to PM me here or on FB if you have any more questions! TH is (IMO) actually one of the easier sounds to tackle because it's so easy to visualize via a model, whereas the R sound can be a harder.
I was hoping you would weigh in! Thanks, I may take you up on sending you a message. She is virtual but because I am on the PTO I am in regular contact with her home school principal. I'll definitely explore private options if they seem to be dragging their feet. I know she "can" make the correct sound because when I model the difference between them and show her the different tongue positioning, she can do it. But she never does it on her own.
Post by DarcyLongfellow on Apr 15, 2021 13:20:07 GMT -5
My oldest daughter was 7 and in 2nd grade when I first had her evaluated, and she didn't really start services until she was 8 and in 3rd grade. She had the exact same issues. It was a relatively quick and easy fix -- she worked with the school speech therapist for just over 1 school year, and she was done with no issues.
Also, from what I learned at the time, DD barely qualified because until very recently kids making that mistake at her age were still within the normal range for when kids learn to pronounce those words properly. So don't feel like you're too late :-)
8 absolutely isn't too late to help with this! They will probably do an articulation assessment (usually looking at a series of pictures and saying what it is or answering a question about it) and may do some sort of play based observation. Going through the school district is absolutely an option but at this point in the school year they may not do anything until the next school year, and if FB memory serves me right she's virtual right? I'm not sure how that factors in, around here it's very district dependent. You may have quicker results going through an outpatient or private provider which insurance may or may not cover. Feel free to PM me here or on FB if you have any more questions! TH is (IMO) actually one of the easier sounds to tackle because it's so easy to visualize via a model, whereas the R sound can be a harder.
I was hoping you would weigh in! Thanks, I may take you up on sending you a message. She is virtual but because I am on the PTO I am in regular contact with her home school principal. I'll definitely explore private options if they seem to be dragging their feet. I know she "can" make the correct sound because when I model the difference between them and show her the different tongue positioning, she can do it. But she never does it on her own.
You know how to find me Also, one more potential issue for school-around here, kids may or may not qualify for articulation help at school if it's mild and doesn't seem to impact them academically. This is something that is a state guideline but how closely they follow it is dependent on the school district itself. I've seen SO many kids that had mild enough issues with S, R, TH etc that they didn't qualify for school services so they went the private speech route instead (since we don't have the same guidelines that schools do). I know you guys are in a different state though so it may not even be an issue where you are!
Post by timorousbeastie on Apr 15, 2021 13:27:07 GMT -5
DD did speech therapy when she was ~2 because she only spoke a few words. Obviously a different experience given the age, but if you decide you need to look into private, let me know and I can tell you where she went. We had a great experience with the place she went to.
It’s definitely not too late, and actually, most of the time in schools, they won’t address this issue until about that age anyway, as it’s a later developing sound. You haven’t missed a magical window for articulation therapy. The push for early intervention is more for language than articulation.
Is she aware of it? Does it bother her? If so, you might be able to find some home therapy stuff online to help her work on it independently since she can already do it if focused. (I typically would not recommend this, but “th” is a unique, very visible sound, and is often more of an issue of practicing it than learning it, if that makes sense.)
Post by luv2rn4fun on Apr 15, 2021 14:22:36 GMT -5
Totally agree with osulori. School district is also a great place to start but they might not get everything done by the end of this year. I requested an OT assessment before Spring Break that resulted in wanting to do his triennial assessments, which wouldn’t be done in time (so we are putting him on the calendar for when school starts vs splitting the assessments between summer).
I don’t think 8 yo is too late to start. I know I was in speech as a kid around 2nd grade (held back so was an older kid). My oldest is 6.5 yo and will likely be in speech awhile for his nasal emission and social language skills.
I brought DD in for her kindergarten screening where they picked up on a slight articulation delay. They referred her to the school speech therapist for an eval. I can't remember if it was the nurse doing the screening or with the speech coordinator that I spoke with, but the way they worded it, it seemed like there was a possibility that she might not qualify for school services if her case was more 'mild.' We just had the eval earlier this week, so I don't have an answer yet, but I am kind of preparing for them to say she isn't delayed 'enough' for services. I may look into private therapy as there is one pretty close to our house, but I guess I'll wait and see what her results are.
Her initial screen with the school was mid Feb. The speech coordinator contacted me like a week later. She mailed a packet for me to fill out and return, then scheduled the eval. So it has been about a 6-8 week process thus far. I realize my case is different as she is not yet in school (will start K in the fall) so things might move more quickly since your daughter is in school currently.
So DD was in speech therapy from ages 2-5. We did a combo of private and school based therapy. Around 7 I realized she was having a hard time with "s" and "th". I had her re-evaluated through the school and they said it's normal not to have "s" until age 8 and "th" isn't something they address at all. They also thought she was likely to outgrow both. I thought that was weird and was all ready to go back to private therapy. Before I could though it resolved itself. In DD's case she really did outgrow it.
It’s definitely not too late, and actually, most of the time in schools, they won’t address this issue until about that age anyway, as it’s a later developing sound. You haven’t missed a magical window for articulation therapy. The push for early intervention is more for language than articulation.
Is she aware of it? Does it bother her? If so, you might be able to find some home therapy stuff online to help her work on it independently since she can already do it if focused. (I typically would not recommend this, but “th” is a unique, very visible sound, and is often more of an issue of practicing it than learning it, if that makes sense.)
My DD got tested at 8 in 3rd grade. Her teacher reached out to me and asked if I was okay with the school speech pathologist testing DD mainly for the letter R sounds. For our district I think you had to be below 20% to qualify for services. DD scored 3% and started doing speech virtually in the fall as we finalized the IEP 2 days before school shut down last spring. I have noticed a huge improvement over the year and we recently had our IEP meeting and the pathologist was very impressed on how quickly DD caught on.
Talk with her teacher and see if they can get the ball rolling for testing through the school district. DD said all Ms B asked her to do was talk about this that and the other thing and then to read out loud some sentences and repeat words. She also tested her hearing to make sure that wasn't causing any issues.
My DD is 8 (3rd grade) and just started speech for similar articulation issues at the beginning of the school year.
Our district screens each child in K and 2 for speech, 1st grade by teacher or parent request. She was already attending Speech Lab (like speech lite, not officially in speech, just tier 3 support if that means anything to you). Her articulation was on my radar since she was about 4 but was considered in the range of developmentally normal so I knew she would not qualify through the school. She is also perfectly understandable to the average adult, reads well above grade level, is an outstanding writer, etc. The only time it showed up on paper was in her spelling (/th was always replaced with f, things like that), thought that mostly resolved prior to starting speech since at that point she just knew how to spell more words. This is why I did not opt for private speech therapy when she was younger.
Anyway, I was just waiting for her to reach the age where her articulation issues would not be considered developmentally normal. To cut down on the amount of time it takes to get all of the paperwork and testing done, I reached out to her 2nd grade teacher around this time last year, even though we were virtual at that point. She agreed with me and suggested I email the request for a speech evaluation to the school's counselor. I did this because I wanted her teacher who had spent a lot of time with her to complete her paperwork rather than a new teacher who would need a little time to observe DD. That would just cost us time!
The school was able to evaluate her via zoom over the summer and we had her ARD shortly after school started in August. She was being pulled for speech (virtually, now on campus) by the 3rd week of school, which is basically the absolute earliest she could qualify and start.
So, even though she may not get services before this school year ends, I would get the ball rolling now. DD absolutely LOVES speech and is always excited when it's a "speech day" at school.
While I’m glad it doesn’t bother her at all, as I’d never want a kid to feel badly about something like that, it might mean she may not be as motivated to work on the issue with you. (It’s always harder to work on something like that with a parent! Kids are always better for someone else!) I’d much rather have that than a child who is really upset about it, though!
Post by aprilsails on Apr 15, 2021 22:31:36 GMT -5
I did speech therapy through the school from age 4-12, so 8 certainly is not too late. I had quite the progression of speech impediments, but I do remember going over the TH activities a few times. I had a severe overbite which was corrected between 9-12. During that time period I regressed a bit and had to redo some therapy because my jaw shape changed so much as a result of my orthodontic work.
I imagine my youngest is going to be in speech for several years. She started at 3 and is 4.5 now. DH was in speech til 5th grade! We’ve had great luck with school services but I imagine you’ll have to wait til fall at this point. See what your insurance will cover for private ST
My son did speech therapy through our school district from age 3 to 6. He just graduated in January (1st grade). He had articulation issues as well (which improved from "no one can understand him" at age 3 to just some trouble with "r" and "sh" sounds at age 5/6).
The only disadvantage of the school district route is that, in our case, you don't go during the summers. Our speech therapist gave us a summer packet to work on and felt like my son wouldn't regress too much (and he didn't). But, we did have to put the effort into doing speech activities weekly.
So, given the time of year, you may want to look into a private option to bridge the gap this summer. However, I was really pleased with what our district offered and obviously the convenience of doing it in school was great, so I'd certainly pursue that option as well.
DD got tested last fall and started services in January at age 7. I had to make the request myself, she definitely got lost in the virtual/hybrid shuffle as the new kid in school and no one noticed anything. The speech teacher sounds very overwhelmed with his case load. DD meets him for 25 minutes a week with 1 other kid and I haven't noticed a huge improvement. I'm going to give it just a little more time to see if this improves on its own with the school's services before seeking private options. And to make things harder for her, I stuck a palate expander in her mouth around the same time she started speech therapy but everything we're taught as orthodontists says that the patient's tongue will adapt. She sounds like she still has the same speech deficiencies regardless of the palate expander so I don't think it's causing an issue for her.