Speech therapy????

Valerie - posted on 11/29/2009

i have never heard of a teacher in day care holding a child back..where do you live? i would defintely have a speech therapist evaluate and it might be free where you live...also your family physician might offer help...

Andriana - posted on 11/27/2009

The teacher is not qualified to make a judgement call like that, check with his pediatrician and if THEY recommend a speech therapist, then by all means, take him to one. But honey, I have been down this road too, with my sister, the self-proclaimed child psychologist nazi. My son is developing the way a first-born boy should be. Don't despair and if you need someone to gripe at about this, I'm here for you.

Kerry - posted on 11/25/2009

Hi tara, We used a daycare a while back and they told me they wanted to keep my son in the toddler area because his "speech wasn't quite there" but a few weeks later another staff member told me they had too many kids in the big room and only a couple in the toddler room amd this was why they wanted to keep him down!! I was soo annoyed and left that place the next week. How dare they try and blame my son when all it came down to was logistics. His speech seemed fine to me so I trusted my instincts. I couldn't understand them wanting to keep him down anyway because he is more likely to develop better speech by being around kids his age......not little babies!!

We now use Family Day Care and I find it a much better alternative.

Tara - posted on 11/25/2009

Thanks everyone for your advise. I have taken it all in and will defs be taking Jaxon to see a speech therapist, even if it is for a meeting and if he is in need of further sessions well I will take him. I must admit I got very hot headed when I was told that he was to be kept down a year as its daycare not a school. But when I had another chat to his teacher yesterday she seemed to go back on her word and told me that she had some one on one time with him and feels that he is confident with his sentances and doubts that he needs to be kept back but would like me to get a professional opion. Still not happy with the daycare he is attending and this has only made my feelings of the place even more sour! But thank you again all for helping me out! =)

Kate - posted on 11/25/2009

I am a speech therapist and the mother of a one-and-a-half-year-old. As a mother, I understand that you don't want to hear anything negative about your child, and as a general rule, if you feel that there is nothing wrong, you're usually right. That said, as a professional, I would strongly urge you to get your little one evaluated to rule out any possible problems. Speech therapy does help and the earlier you start, the more effective it usually is. Also, therapy is usually a lot of fun for little kids. All the little ones that I work with, love having their speech sessions and getting to play with all my toys. As far as price--while private therapy can be costly, if paid out of pocket--there are tons of affordable options! Many school districts offer free therapy at the schools (if you decide that you want him to move on to preschool), many universities will offer free or pro-rated sessions provided by student clinicians under the supervision of licensed therapists, and finally, you can check with your insurance provider to see if they cover speech therapy.
If the problem is strictly one of language, then it may not be necessary to keep him back an extra year--he may be able to move on to the next "grade" and receive speech therapy services to help him catch up in the area that he's having difficulty with. The only way to know for sure is to have him evaluated.

Robin - posted on 11/25/2009

my 3yr old does not speak clearly either, if someone bothers him he comes to me crying, he is also attached what can i do?

Carrie - posted on 11/25/2009

Well firstly he isn't even 3 yet still a baby and it is daycare not school, i don't understand this keeping him back a year in daycare!! Although i do agree speach therapy will only do him some good and ease your mind and better earlier. He is doing good, full sentances etc but see your Health Visitor for their opinion too or doctor. It will ease your mind and they will refer you if they feel it is needed. Try not to worry too much your son is fine and doing well and you ill get the help needed if it is needed, good luck.

Andrea - posted on 11/24/2009

i'm an occupational therapist and work closely with speech therapists. i think that you should definitely get him some therapy/an evaluation. it certainly won't hurt and your county will have an early intervention program that will assess him and let you know if therapy is recommended. do it before he turns 4, because early intervention ends at 3 years of age. they may not even recommend it, but if they do it should be free. after he reaches 4 years of age it is nationally mandated that children are able to receive it in school if it is needed to allow him to perform up to his capabilities in school. sometimes school won't recommend it if it's a minor problem, but i would then recommend private outpatient therapy through your local hospital if you still feel that he's having some articulation problems. insurance sometimes will pay for this, but if they don't a lot of centers have self pay rates that are slightly more affordable. the bottom line is is that if the teacher is seeing a problem i would just get him evaluated to make sure that there is nothing significant going on. early intervention is best for any type of developmental delay! good luck!

Venus - posted on 11/24/2009

Check with your pediatrician, My son started speech therapy when he turned 18 months, he is 27 months now and has improved a lot, he still doesn't say the words correctly ( he starts the words from the vowels and refuses to say the words using the constants. but says mommy daddy, elmo and no VERY CLEAR lol) Your state might offer you a free program for early intervention. We pay nothing and she comes to the house and if he were in day care they would try and work with the day care. I think that he should not have to be held back in daycare.

Brynn - posted on 11/24/2009

my daughter had the same problem. i found out that my county offers speech therapy for kids ages 0 to 3 and 3 to 5. they have two different types of therapist. if you go to your townships website they should be able to answer if your county offers early intervention speech. its usually though the school system and its FREE. they also come to there daycare and work with the kids at school. i would def look into this. my daughter started when she was 3 and now she is 5. she's doind amazing. also my middle daughter who is 19 months is getting early intvention speech because she only speaks 6 words. they come out to my house 2 times a week for 1 hour each time. its really helping... def look into it.

Stefie - posted on 11/24/2009

My sister and myself both had speech therapists. We are both very smart and successful. She was so touched how the speech therapist helped improve her life that she is not at Rush University in Chicago getting her master's in speech therapy. By the way, she graduated salutatorian at high-school, and we both were magna cum laud in college.
She loves what she is studying because communication is so important to the quality of life. Your son just needs help. Just as many children need braces, your son may need therapy. Most children only get this help in public schools where it is generally free. Your insurance may cover this therapy.
Try to feel excited that you may give your child a leg up, by getting help early. Most speech therapists are really good at not only helping children, but also having fun with them.
Good luck to your son!

Brandi - posted on 11/24/2009

Do you have a head start program in your area?????? In our area they offer a TON of services outside of preschool, including speech therapy. My daughter started head start this year and is regularly evaluated for her speech and other areas of development. She has never had any speech problems (other than a slight lisp), but is still evaluated by a speech therapist. I would suggest that he start a preschool program of some sort as he will inevitably talk more often which will make his speech better. Anyway, head start is a federally funded program, so i imagine it would be in your area if you look it up. they really work wonders with the parents to help resolve any potential issues BEFORE the children go to kindergarten where they will inevitably have WAY more trouble fixing whatever the problem might be. Stay positive and give your son lots of opportunities to practice his speech. It can only get better with practice :-)))

Sarah - posted on 11/24/2009

I was bothered when they told me they thought my daughter had speech issues, I have a son who is a year younger than her and is handicapped..and was seeing a speech therapist at the time and she is the one who brought it to my attention. We enrolled my daughter in the local early intervention program and within a few months of her attending...for speech therapy only..she had improved so very much. I recommend you do it, it can not hurt your child....but can help to improve your child's vocabulary. I think it is easier to accomplish this when there young vs. allowing them to attend school and be made front of by other children who do not have the same issue. I say give it a try my daughter did wonderful with it.....you would never know now she had an issue and she attends 1st grade with no problem at all now:) Good luck!

Brandy - posted on 11/24/2009

Wouldn't it be better to do it now in daycare than it would be to have to do it in school? Let the speech therapist assess him and see what she thinks. If she thinks he is fine, tell her to report back to the daycare and let him go ahead. If not, help him now before he ends up having problems in school. My sister in law is a speech pathologist and I know that it doesn't mean your child is slow or unintelligent. Usually when a child has fallen behind in speech, he has excelled somewhere else and I bet that is true for your son whether you have noticed it yet or not. Don't worry, they aren't trying to insult your son, just make sure that he is prepared for his future.