Early Intervention

My son's been with AFIT, on EI, since 2mos (he's 14mos now). For us, its key that I do things with him daily what I've learned for the AFIT visits + the handouts they give me. Maybe you could call and ask if there are handouts they could send you, or if there are games/things you could be doing. If they ask why, mention that you're not seeing any improvements and this might open the door for them to refer a new therapist?

Good luck!

you are suppose to do the same thing, called practice. Speech is like any type of growth, slow times and then poof great improvement. Talk to the therapist about your concerns. Also what is the diagnosis? he is being seen at home i think 1 time a week for 45-60 min?

Ask if he would benefit from some private speech as well.

At this age yes lots of play and that they feel comfortable and able to sit and focus.

Are you saying you want to stop the speech therapy? Maybe he's getting near the end of his therapy and there's been improvement and you don't see the need now?

You may be able to do what the therapist is doing but do you know why she is doing what she's doing and what she is specifically working on and looking for? My son got about 12-16 weeks of OT and while I "could" have done with him what his OT did, he did it better for her, paid more attention, etc. b/c it was not "mom" doing it. I personally looked at it like 1.) He needed it 2.) It was covered in full by my healthcare 3.) I wanted to give him every advantage available to him b/c I didn't want to regret it down the road.
My son was 4 at the time (older than your son), but he's always a real "boy scout" for others compared to me!

May I ask what all of your children have needed this therapy for? My son is about to turn 3 and I think he may need some as well. He understands pretty much everything I say, however, doesn't seem to say much on his own, outiside of 2 or 3 words strung together. I'm very sad, almost depressed about this. I feel like either I'm not teaching him well enough, or like something is wrong with him, even though I know he IS a smart boy. He'll be going for his 3 yr. checkup in a few weeks, so I'm sure they'll tell me to look into it and where I can find help. thanks!

Hello W. - I am a mother of three boys and they range in the ages of 25, 18, and my youngest now 6. I first noticed that my youngest was a bright child, but his vocabulary was one of just maybe 2 or 3 words. This in turn started to worry me although I did not know where to turn. I was doing all that I could on my own at home doing what we mothers do best to work with them in all ways that we could think of. I had gone to a party where I came across my sister in law's younger sister who is an early intervention therapist. Early Intervention is her area of specialty although not in the S.J. area, but in NY City. She in turn pulled me to the side & told me she had taken notice of my little one and felt that he could benefit from speach therapy with an Early Intervention Group. She told me she notice's that he is very bright child and as a parent we want to make sure that we bring out the best in our children. Especially when all children have great qualities in them. She said you will want to do this now & not to wait to late, as later on will do them more harm then good. In turn she asked me to plse. do what I could to contact the ECDC Group in my area as soon a I got home on the next business day. I wasted no time it is exactly what I did, my son started Early Intervention at the age of 2 he is now 6 and we just can't stop him from yapping away. So in turn my answer to your question is no it is not to much to get him this help & it is not a waste of time. I felt the same way as you do now, I asked myself several questions such as.. Was this therapy really working? What are these people doing that I am not doing? When I look at it the situation at hand, I kept saying to myself, they're doing nothing different then what I am doing. Although I realized the answer to that ? was NO that wasn't the case -they are specialist in this in many areas. They had assigned my child a Speach Tharapist this is something she speacialized in not I. We in turn are parents we are seeing this very different as mothers. When you narrow it down these are two very different roles. With that being said, my son is now 6 yrs. old he is headed into 1st grade and he will continue to receive the Speech Therapy for maybe one more year for the length of 2 days a week. This will be sessions of a 1/2 hr. a day. Trust me in saying this to you that it will pay off in the long run, it will do your child more good then it will do harm. W. I say to you God Bless you and your family and the very best to you with your child. It will be just fine in the long run this you will see. As parents it is normal for us to worry and have ?'s as this too is ok. Do trust that all will be fine. Good Luck to you with your child W. and relax as time goes by you will see the progress maybe not now, but definately down the road you shall see hugh results. Do Believe in that TEAM that has been assigned to work with your child, they work miracles. They do have your childs best interest at hand my dear. Better yet my Jayden is now reading kindergarten & first grade level books to me. This was something I swore up and down they would never manage to do & boy was I wrong in thinking that. So do believe in your heart that you have made one of the best desicions in your childs life for a better tomrw. It will work out indeed it shall.

Id ask for a new speech therapist before you cancel services...some folks are just more effective than others!

Good Luck!

My boys were in early intervention - for both speech and for occupational (physical) therapy. Because we had two very different therapists, I saw some significant differences. I often questioned the effectiveness of the speech therapy, partly because of the personality of the therapist and partly because it is less "hands on" in many ways. However, my opinion is that it couldn't hurt him, that I did pick up some subtle suggestions for things to do, and I also got positive reinforcement to continue doing some of the things that I was already doing. Since speech is tied to cognitive ability at that age, you can't know what is helping . . . If you are asking if you should continue services, I would recommend that you do. If you are asking if you should do something differently, perhaps you should mention your thoughts to the therapist or to the case worker - I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time that either of them has heard it ;)

I am an Early Intervention Speech Therapist so I can offer some firsthand advice. If you have questions, please ask your therapist. At this age, therapy is mostly play-based so it may look like play but your therapist should be embedding her goals within that play. There is nothing wrong with you asking what it is that she was trying to work on during each session. That may help clarify things for you. Also, ask her for information on ways you can address your son's speech and language development throughout the week. She should be giving you suggestions for this as well. Early intervention is a Parent Training Model so she should be including you in the session as well. Demonstrating and modeling techniques for you to use with you son. If you are already using them, that is GREAT! Some moms are better speech models than others. Even hints such as speaking in short phrases, using an exaggerated intonation pattern, using repetitive phrases (ex. shoes off, socks off, pants off, etc.) can be helpful. I am sure if you bring your questions and concerns to your therapist she will explain things better to you. Good luck!

my son rec'd speech while he was in pre-school at age 3 & 4. It was just a half hour a week and I'm not sure how much it helped. Except, he had speech again in Kindergarten and it was more often and more helpful. But looking back, I think the little bit he got in pre-school helped get him used to the process, how they worked on sounds etc. I also think that maybe that little bit helped him "get the basics". I had also felt, it couldn't hurt. He will be in speech again this year and probably will be for a few more years. Good luck!

My son was in speech therapy at 18 months for free through the Alliance for Infants & Toddlers. He started with a great therpist and she really helped. I'd say stick with it. I notice a huge difference now (he's 3 1/2) and think that he's even a little advanced now verbally. Sometimes someone else doing the same things you are doing really helps (and reinforces what you're doing!). Also, I agree with some of the other moms, if you feel like there's no benefit it may be time to ask for a different therapist. Either way, good luck!

I'm on my second child needing speech therapy. Right now, my 4 year old just finished up one on one at the EI building and will be starting group speech next month. When we moved here, the triplets were 2 and they came to our house to work with my son. It's important to have someone you feel confident with. With that said, there are times when it seems like nothing is progressing and you are keeping up and doing the things that the therapist suggests. But suddenly out of the blue they leap ahead and start blossoming in their speech. Then there seems like a lull in their speech again for a while and then wham, they burst out with speech again. I would just be patient and let the therapist do their thing being repetitive as kids will respond to a parent and a therapist differently depending on the day their having. He's 2 1/2 so he has plenty of time to catch on to what is happening. If you have questions or concerns, bring them up to the therapist. If you want to switch, make the call. It's your child and you need to have someone that you both feel comfortable with.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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