4Yr Old Has Speach Problem, Looking for Dvd's for Help.

My 4yr old also has some speech difficulties and in addition to seeing a speech therepist we visit and play at this website www.starfall.com It is a GREAT website!! Lots of activities to do, songs to sing and games to play. My son actually learned his ABC's in sign language from it among other things. I told his therapist about it and she has been recommending it to other parents. Also by visiting the site regularly Ryan has become very comfortable with the computer. We have had a great experience with it and its completely free so its worth a try.

Contact the school he would go to if he were starting kindergarten. Ask them how to go about having him evaluated. My 4 year old will be starting speech services with the district next week. It was a smooth process and it is free of charge.

My friends son was diagnosed with Apraxia and had speech therapists that did wonders. He is now without speech classes and talks normal. We couldn't understand a word he said 2 years ago. He is 7 now. The therapist was off of Hwy 6 and Huffmeister.

I have had experience with this. It has been 3 years or more and I don't know of any helpful DVDs.

What helped us the most was free services from the local ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) teachers. We had a teacher and observer come to our house and work with my son one-on-one. The tips they gave me to further help my son were invaluable.

If you can't find a phone number in the phone book, you can call a local school for more information.

You need an actual one-on-one speech therapist who can evaluate your son's attempts at sounds as he makes the effort (at each sound... S, R, L, T vs D, Sh, P. K...) and correct lip and/or tongue position in order for him to learn the tongue/mouth behavior correctly. A speech therapist could pin-point exactly with sounds are problematic and require focus.

The speech therapist can also evaluate if there are any hearing issues that are contributing to the speech problems.

I went through speech therapy as a child... (I sucked my thumb too long and it created a 'lazy tongue'). From personal experience, it is much much harder to correct a speech impediment as the child grows older. Nip it in the bud before he gets teased in school!! There are many free state government resources available.

Hi N.. My first son also had severe speech difficulties and we used a variety of resources for him. If your son is four, he's too old for ECI, but he may qualify for free services through your local public school. I personally did not find those services too helpful, though, because they were in a group, only a couple of times per week for very short sessions, and they were not allowed to do oral-motor exercises with the kids.

The University of Houston has a speech clinic that was somewhat helpful. The speech students run a pre-school type program under the supervision of their professors, and the cost is very reasonable. Each child gets an individual session every day as well, that you can observe through one-way glass.

The most helpful option was also the most expensive one, of course: private speech therapy. We saw Ellen Carlin in The Woodlands and were very happy with her for the most part. She did a thorough evaluation, then designed a program for my son's specific issues, using lots of exercises to target the facial muscles involved. She even designed a program for my second son who couldn't suck well enough to breastfeed when he was born.

I don't know of any DVDs (you might do a google search), but it would probably be helpful for you to make games out of things that involve speech skills with your son as much as possible. Blow bubbles. Use straws for drinking. Lick peanut butter and other stuff off a spoon. Fill your cheeks up with air or water and then blow it out. Make funny faces at each other. See how far your tongue can reach in different directions. Pretend you are monkeys and give him - yes- lip massages, where you have one finger on the outside and your thumb on the inside of his lip, and gently squeeze and roll as you go around the whole perimeter. He doesn't have to know that this is for any reason but silliness!

Best wishes!

N.,
I have a child with speech issues, she started at 2 and is 8 yr. old today...still in speech class. The school district can provide a free assessment for your child, just contact the local elementary school. However, the best results we had (she is almost perfect now!) is through private speech lessons. We went to Speech Emporium in Cypress, Tx. Just a few wise words.
Take Care.

I wouldn't rely on a dvd. You need a speech therapist to evaluate him and continue therapy. Start with your school district. My son is 4 and goes for speech at our local elementary school twice a week. It is free and the school will provide transportation if needed.

Your child is eligible for free speech therapy through the school district. I would also take him to an audiologist and have his hearing evaluated. Usually in children that age if they are not talking clearly it is because they can not hear clearly.
If you live near Beaumont they do speech and hearing screenings at Lamar University in the Speech and Hearing Dept.
It is imperative that you get this thoroughly checked out and resolved because it is going to cause him to be behind on reading and everything in school. Sitting him infront of a dvd is not going to do it.

When my daughter was small she had what they called a tongue thrust problem. Her speech therapist was wonderful.. made up games and things for her... using words that she needed help with.... Had her practice looking in a mirror and talking... and one thing that was so much fun for her... (We started her in Speech Therapy when she was just barely 3)......... Was blowing bubbles... How it helped I don't know...but she had her blowing through the wand to blow bubbles... If I run across any of the old games etc I will let you know. It was 30 some years ago when she was taking it.

Have you taken him to the public school y'all are zoned for? They can test him and see if he has a real speech delay and if he does they will serve him. You will just be required to take him to the school. They really like to get children with speech delays into the school before they start Kinder.

Hi! Once a child turns 3, the public school system is responsible for evaluating and providing speech therapy if needed. Call the nearest public school and request an evaluation. In the meantime, amp up your reading time with your son and be positive and encouraging. Blessings!

You should have him tested. At that age, if you can't understand him he would qualify for therapy through the state! It is FREE!! Contact your school district and they will evaluate him. My oldest went through speech therapy from 21 mo. til 4yo. When they are under 3 it is through ECI (Early Childhood Intervention). After they turn 3 you go through your school. Therapy definitely helps. He will begin to get frustrated that he can't communicate. Please feel free to contact me if you need more info.

N.,
Have you thought this as a bigger picture, and looked into ashberger's syndrome. Maybe getting him allergy tested. In Ashberger's Syndrome, they are allergic to wheat, and everything has wheat in it. It shows up as a speech problem in most people in the beginning. But with this syndrome, the Wheat acts as opimium in the body and actually makes it really hard to speak. Don't mean to scare you or make a bigger deal of this. Just wanting to give another view.
God Bless.

one of my girlfriends also has a four year old with an impediment - she was able to get speech therapy through our school district (i believe at no cost)- that may be a place for you to start...

Hi I recommend you get some testing from a speech language therapist ASAP. There are mamy things that could be interferring with his speech which can then become reading or learning problems. The sooner they are addressed the better. You will need to collect data about his major milestones and they will ask questions about the delivery, home life, etc. Speech can be muscles of the mouth, hearing problems, processing issue, etc. I DVD won't address these. Since he is not in school yet therapy may involve multiple days a week. Insurance should cover part but don't wait. I'm a language therapist who works with the kids with dyslexia and other issues once they hit schools. The earlier treatment is started the better they will be. You don't want to start behind. Your pediatrician should be able to send you to a good person. http://www.asha.org/proserv/
this site can help you find someone in your area. Don't wait!

Public schools provide speech therapy for free. Take him to the one in your neighborhood- even if you intend to home school. This is one of those things your tax dollars are paying for, might as well benefit from it! My daughter had trouble when she was about 3 and I had her evaluated. She grew out of her lisp as the therapist said she would- no intervention needed- but they help MANY of the kids BEFORE they become school age. (I think 3 may be the minimum age for school kids- whatever- he's old enough.) Good luck.

Hi N.,
My 3 year old son was diagnosed with Apraxia, a speech disorder,when he was 2 years old. We sought help through Early Childhood Intervention, then proceeded with a private speech therapist. Once my son turned 3, he was eligible for speech therapy through our local school district. He now attends weekly speech therapy classes (for free) through the school district, and we continue w/our private speech therapist on a weekly basis as well. I can tell you from experience that it's imperative to get these little kids speech therapy as early as possible. Your pediatrician would be able to provide you some resources/names for your area. Good luck!

Your family Dr. should be able to refer you to someone.
Good Luck!

I definitely recommend that you get her screened or evaluated to identify the specific areas of impairment. Visit www.speechlanguagemilestones.blogspot.com and there is a checklist for speech-language development milestones.

T. offers speech therapy and physical therapy ###-###-####. We also offer FREE SPEECH-LANGUAGE SCREENINGS. Visit at www.turningpointspeechtherapy.blogspot.com

Hi there I had problems with my 2 year old, (my request wasn't asking for help for him, but for me, since his squealing and screaming was making every nerve in my body squeal back, I followed the advice of some of the ladies here and called any baby can and had them evaluate him, most people qualify for services for free and they come to your home and work with both of you. Be careful what you wish for :) Now he is talking more and more and we can't stop him :) They also are a good tool to have at your disposal because they can connect you with and help you qualify for other services down the road if you need them.It can't hurt anything and can help bunches, I am certainly glad I did it!

I am a speech therapist. A DVD won't be your answer. Take him the grade school he will be attending to set up a speech and language evaluation. You can receive services for free there. Good Luck!

When my daughter was 4, she lisped. I had her tested, and she went to a public school one day a week for speech therapy. It cleared it right up. This was in Louisiana, so I'm not sure how you'd go about getting it done it TX. Call a speech pathologist at a school, and she should be able to tell you the procedure.

I would strongly recommend you get him into speech therapy. If you cannot afford speech therapy or if your insurance doesn't cover it I would look into ECI (Early Childhood Intervention, well actually at 4 you can contact your local school system. They provide services free of charge. At 4 your child should be talking so other people can understand most words, and the earlier you intervene the better adjusted socially your child will be (I am sure you know all of that, which is why you are asking for the advise). The services again are free and you just need to contact your local school system. The speech therapists there will also provide you with things you can do at home.

It might be helpful to have the little fellows hearing checked.. my son had trouble with speech and at bout 2 years old we found out he was hearing impaired...

Hi N. -

It's awesome that you want to be so proactive in getting him help; my recommendation would be to definitely use a speech therapist, and ask them about videos you can use at home.

My 4 year old has gone to Little Tesoros for physical therapy, but They may have speech therapy there as well. I know they hvae OT there, and work with developmentally delayed kiids as well, so I'm guessing they'll have someone there or be able to recommend another speech therapist if they don't.

http://littletesoros.com/

Good luck!

Victoria, single mommy to two girls, 4 years and 21 months

Hi N.,

My son is in the speech articulation program (PCLP)at one of our local schools. We had a speech therapist through ECI (Early Childhood Intervention when he was 2 yrs old). Then once he turned three (last April), he was evaluated by a speech therapist from our local school and qualified to be part of the speech preschool program at the elementary school. They take kids as young as 3 yrs old, and he attends two days a week, 2 hours each day (it's all free). It's similar to a regular preschool, but the teachers have a speech therapy background and they focus primarily on speech articulation for him. They have other speech programs (ie. languange developement depending on what your child is needing). To keep the classes small, they only take the really severe cases. They will also test his hearing, which I think is the first step...just in case he might not be able to hear certain tones/pitches. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Since he's 4, your local public school can have him evaluated and provide speech therapy at no cost to you.

good luck,
d

Hi N.,

We had great results taking speech therapy from the public schools. My son started when he was four, and he was released from the program at the beginning of 1st grade. When he was in kindergarten, he would see the therapist during school hours, plus his kindergarten teacher knew what was going on. Like someone said - your are already paying for it!

Good Luck, A.

Just to second a wheat allergy- my 4 YO is almost unintelligible when she has anything with wheat, gluten, barley, a few other gluten containing grains. My sister finally put her 3 1/2 YO on a gluten free diet when she was considering putting her in speech therapy and voila, she can talk!

You might check The Kid Friendly ADHD AUTISM Cookbook on food sensitivities.

And the spelling of AS is Asperger Syndrome, BTW.
S.

Look into public school pre school. If your son is able to get in no that program then a lot of the services that you need will be free.

We just met with a speech therapist for my daughter with Down's. She recommended signing times. She indicated that children tend to pick up speech quicker/better when they learn it in conjunction with signing. There are lots of great resources mentioned in your responses. We are in the ECI program and everyone we have been in contact have been WONDERFUL. I would sure reach out to the resources available. Your heart will feel much better.

Go to the front office of your zoned elementary school and tell them that you would like to speak to someone about having your son tested for speech therapy. This will begin the referral process to determine if he is eligible to receive speech services through the school. This is all free (yay!). It sounds as though a DVD isn't going to cut it. Make sure that you go to the school ASAP, as the longer you wait, the further down the testing list your son will be on. Best of luck!

let me tellvyou that my 6yr old had some of the same problems. We went tne conventenial route with speech therapy and now we are going to the University of houston speech therapy clinic and looking for a more detalied answer. You may want to try it. the fee is based on income and there are many therapist available to evaluate you child. goodluck ! D.

N., My child was diagnosed with repetative and express language speach problems at age 5. At the time she was going to a private school and her teachered asked for us to have her tested do to not being able to say certain letters and I did this at the school that she would have attended if going to a public school. It is done for free. Although she ended up not have a speach persay problem she, they did find the repetative and expresive language problem. I would try there first and if he is diagnosed you should qualify for him to have classes there. I am not sure what disctrict you are in, but I am in Cy-Fair and I can tell you they have done wonders for my daughter. She has dyslexia also. At an early age we noticed she did not say certain letters very well, but as soon as she had tubes she was a lot better, but had to learn certain letters again. At times I catch her saying the th as f sound. Not saying he has this problem, but if he has had a lot of ear infections over the years it might be worth going to a ENT and if he has well it might be that he just has to relearn how to say certain letters. Good luck and be sure to stay on top of it.