Speech Delays, This Is a Long One.

I don't think I saw anyone mention the Walker-Scottish Rite Clinic. It is a FREE clinic for children with speech and/or language delays. They can usually get you in pretty quickly for an evaluation, but then the wait for services is about 6 months. They test for expressive and receptive language delays, as well as articulation problems. At least you can get an evaluation though, that way you'll have a second opinion. They are located in the city on Olive Street near SLU and the Fox.

Hi M.,

My son just turned 4 and he has a speech delay. We have known since he was 2 but that is because I was looking for it. My husband had a significant one as a child and it runs very strongly in his side of the family (his mother, him, his brother, my son, two nephews and one niece all with a speech delay when they were young). I think it's easier for other people to hear than for us parents because we understand our children from the beginning.

It didn't take us 120 days, but then we went through our insurance to get speech therapy and never through the school. We just had our P.C. physician write up a referral and went from there. You might see what, if anything, is covered with insurance.

In the meantime there are things you can do at home. It's really important that you stay patient. It works best when it's seen by your child as play. I am going to put a website on here that my have some ideas of things you can do at home to start working with her until services are made available.

http://www.angelfire.com/nj/speechlanguage/Onlineactiviti...

I hope this helps.

M.,

It is probable that if she has a speech delay, that she was delayed from the get go, but it is also possible that she met early milestones and now has a delay.

The school is a great resource, however, it is not going to be enough. Schools are required to identify children with needs and then make her functional in the classroom setting. I don't know about you, but I have never met a Mom who said "I want my child to be functional!" You want her to live up to her potential, and the school is not required to do that.

Continue with the school evaluation, but also call a speech therapist and make an appointment for a private evaluation and start therapy asap. Even if you have to pay, more intervention as early as possible is what she needs. If I am picking up on the tone of your post right, you are kicking yourself that you did not pick up on this any sooner, but the people you pay (your pediatrician and your educators) should have warned you sooner, especially her pediatrician. That is all too common unfortunately, but don't beat yourself up, just get her what she needs right now.

Dealing with the school can be difficult. There is a web site www.wrightslaw.com that can help you understand. There is no set timeline for speech therapy, some kids need 120 days, some need therapy for years. You will get a prognosis from your private therapist. Please get the private evaluation, you will not be sorry you did. You never, never want to know less than the school about your child, and you want to own the evaluation that holds her diagnosis.

Good luck, again, don't beat yourself up.

M.

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I'm confused as to what her problem is. Is it articulation (being understood by others)? Is it not being able to say words? Is it having the ability to speak, but not doing so? These issues may have very different causes and different people to work on them.

I agree with the others that it couldn't hurt to start some speech therapy before the school system evaluates her. It may not hurt to try to get the district to evaluate her before the end of the school year. They really should start providing services, if needed, during her last year of preschool to get her ready for kindergarten! In my case, the school district rushed getting my daughter evaluated for this reason.

C.
www.littlebitquirky.blogspot.com

Does she not want to talk or she can't talk? She should definitely have a full vocabulary by 4. Of course, there are some words she will struggle with, but yes, she should be understandable to strangers. What is she specifically struggling with? In Ohio, we have early intervention programs that are run through the county and state, not the school system. You're going to want to look in to something like that in your area since it seems like the therapy through the school isn't going to work for you.
In the meantime, work with her at home. As her very specific questions about her day. Make her talk to you. Speak slowly and have her repeat what you're saying. Over exaggerate the way your mouth and tongue work when you speak. It won't happen overnight. It's going to take some time. Be patient and practice practice practice.

This was years ago, but my nephew went to a rehab hospital for speech therapy when he was 3. He was saying absolutely nothing and they did a great job. Goodluck

If you have private insurance, ask your pediatrician to give your daughter a referral to a speech therapist to have her evaluated. A speech therapist should be able to tell you whether you have cause for concern and can work on whatever may be causing your daughter's speech delay such as oral motor planning, auditory processing disorder and the like.

Also, 120 school days sounds like an awful long wait for your school district to evaluate your daughter to see if she qualifies for an early childhool preschool program. I know your daughter doesn't have autism but I would recommend contacting one of your local autism parent support groups and asking one of them there what the proper protocol is and if there is anything that can be done to speed up the process. Someone there should be able to help you.

Hoping that everything turns out well for you and your daughter. Blessings.

I agree your physician should have noticed this. Also I was on alert for this in my daughter because we found out she is tongue tied and at 15 months only had like 3-5 words. We went through parents as teachers and they did an evaluation and helped get us in home speech therapy. She is now two and still only has 20-50 words but very few are clear and she has a lot of problems with certain sounds.

Sounds to me like you need to find someone outside of the school since they obviously do not have adequate ideas of what she needs. Get ahold of your insurance because many times they have lists of therapists that they cover. My issue is my daughter is so far behind on speech that even I don't completely understand what she tries to say.

is she just a shy child in general? my daughter would not say a word to anyone but my husband and i until she was 2. my in laws swore up and down she had speech issues or that she was not able to talk. we knew she could just fine. We started her in a play class and she has grown in leaps and bounds. She is 4 1/2 now and i swear she never stops talking. she talks about everything. Sometimes i confuse here words here and there. the other day she was saying her brother was "cheating" and i thought she was saying, "seating" so i was really confused. But as a whole, she is a total chatter box. she must get it from me. lol.

i agree with everyone else that you should pursue it through you insurance. they are likely to help you jump on it faster! the sooner the better, it could be nothing at all, but just in case, its always good to do things quickly.

Yes, at 4 years old strangers should be able to understand everything she says. It's possible that she is self-conscious of her speech and that's why she just stays quiet. My son just turned 3 and prior to starting school at a development preschool through the school district, he didn't talk at all around other people and not a whole lot around us. He seemed very "shy". However, since starting the school 2 months ago, he went from strangers understanding about 25% of what he says, to them understanding about 65%. Now he talks everyones ears off. :-) He was in speech therapy for 2.5 months prior to starting the preschool and we were doing the "phono program". I saw very little and very slow progress with that. In his preschool now he has excelled and his speech has grown by leaps and bounds. Finding the right help can be difficult.

I did not have much trouble getting him evaluated or qualified through the school district, although they did drag their feet a bit until I called inquiring status. However, I was told by several people that you have to be the squeeky wheel. Just keep pushing, calling, insisiting...It's your right and there is NO way it should take that long to get an evaluation. That's ridiculous. You can have her speech evaluated on your own through a speech therapist. Call your pediatrician's office and ask for a speech therapist recommendation. They will evaluate her and give you a written report. You can pay out of pocket for this (prob about $35-100). Some health insurance companies cover it. You will need to call your insurance company and find out.

As for not wanting to talk about her day, that could be personality driven. I have another child who would never tell me what happened at school. It was like pulling teeth to get anything out of him.

So, get your own evaluation and if she does need therapy be the squeeky wheel. The sooner she gets help, the easier it will be on her. Feel free to message me if you have more specific questions. I have a 2 year old and a 3 year old with speech delays. My 3 year old was diagnosed with a "severe speech delay". My 2 year old does not talk at all, not one single word. So, I have some experience. Best of luck to you!