33 months old academically advanced but severe speech disorder
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Anonymous
| Is he exposed to more than one language? My son was considered lagging in speech. He expressed himself very well with gesture before 3, but he was not speaking. After he turned three, he suddenly spoke two languages in long sentences. |
Anonymous
| Get a private evaluation and speech therapy. Some of the local universities have it low cost or sliding fee scale if money is an issue - U of MD, Georgetown and Loyola of Columbia. Smart and language delay are two different things. Some kids with language issues are extremely smart but they get underestimated due to the language component. Many are very visual and they can decode reading on their own with basic exposure because they can understand through their eyes vs. hearing or speaking. Most early intervention services are pretty poor. If he is a year behind he should qualify for services. Try U of MD first - they have a preschool and clinic that are both very good. |
Anonymous
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Is it possible you misunderstood? A "severe" speech delay should be enough to qualify your child for services even if they do not suspect a cognitive issue.
Is your child bilingual? Is it possible that the evaluators are assuming the delay is due to the normal curve for children exposed to multiple languages? |
Anonymous
Please, op, get him to a developmental pediatrician. I’m certainly no expert, but I’m watching my niece slip through the cracks because my sister is putting all her faith in the public school system. My sister also says “autism is ruled out”—because an EI speech therapist made an offhand comment about her not looking autistic. I’ll say what I cannot say to my sister because she is extremely sensitive. You cannot possibly rule out autism in a non verbal 2yo. |
Anonymous
You shouldn't be ruling anything in or out and a developmental ped can be wrong at that age too. I hate how people jump in saying my child is like that or even worse, my niece, who is NOT your child nor should you be diagnosing, is like that. If child has an expressive delay, its not as big of a deal as an receptive but even so, it can just be a speech delay. Bottomline is this kid needs speech therapy and everyone pushes EI and I don't get why as most of it is pretty bad. |
Anonymous
In addition to the speech therapy, I would consider also teaching him ASL so that he can communicate better in a different way. The width of average is wide in the early years as many kids develop in different areas at different times. Your child may just be on a different time schedule. However, it is prudent to do what you are already doing until you can figure out what is causing the delay. Continue reading to him daily and exposing him to language and other stimuli. |
Anonymous
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Geez, why is everyone being so harsh on OP? If you use your brain for a second, you can figure out that her issue is that MCPS found that the child's speech delays do not qualify him for an IEP because he has "advanced" cognitive skills and does not need special education under the legal standard. She didn't come here to brag about her child, but rather to figure out how to counter this common way that school systems deny IEPs.
What I THINK may be going on is that MCPS found that the child had a speech delay, but that since he has great receptive skills and cognitive skills, this delay does not require special education. OP, I would strongly recommend you hire a lawyer or an advocate so you can appeal the decision. Can anyone here recommend someone for her? |
Anonymous
What's not true? I agree that a child with a severe speech delay SHOULD qualify, but did not in this case. I had a similar thing happen to my child, and I had to fight for the IEP. While she might need to supplement with private, it would be foolhardy to throw away the IEP altogether. My child had both private and IEP services, and we really needed the full package to get him where he needed to be. It sounds like you didn't fight hard enough for sufficient services to be included in the IEP. |
Anonymous
And what's more ... what I said is accurate: you have to FIGHT for your IEP and IEP services. In many cases, they aren't going to be handed to you. It doesn't do anyone any good not to describe the amount and type of effort it takes to get a strong IEP. This isn't to say that people should have to fight; or that sometimes you fight and still get crap. |
Anonymous
We fought with the school. They refused. Since we had access to private through our insurance it made no sense to fight for ineffective services when they were going to refuse, and push their own agenda. |
Anonymous
I didn't fight hard as I saw after several years how ineffective services were and they were not targeting what my child needed. That money is far better spent on a private school or services. Even if you fight and win, you cannot guarantee they will follow the IEP so if your child isn't severely impacted anymore it doesn't make sense to pay the money for an attorney when there are far better uses for that money. It isn't foolish to through away an IEP. We did. No change how the child is doing at school but child is happier without the pullouts. |
Anonymous
There are options for private therapies if you are lower income. What you can afford may be relative. I know people saying they cannot afford it taking nice vacations, living in big houses with nice cars. It was our value to pay for private services and it was worth every penny. Speech therapy for us was a group of 6 kids with unrelated needs for 30 minutes. It was not focused on the curriculum which my child needed as the other kids were not on grade level. Mine was. If a child is that delayed, your best bet is private. U of MD has a sliding fee scale for their clinic. |
Anonymous
No, there really are not options for private therapies if you are lower income. There are very few providers that take insurance ... not to mention needing to take time off work. Plus pulling the kid from school weekly for a private appointment can be disruptive. Not everyone can get up to UMD in any event. If your child is that severely delayed, they can also be getting push-in special ed services. And if they're not meeting their IEP goals then you need to fight that as well. If you have the $$$ and time not to, good for you? |
Anonymous
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Op,
1. you’re doing a great job. 2. focus on communication. If you have an iep through the county, ask if you can take the Hanen program. You can order the book on Amazon or see if it’s in the library: https://www.amazon.com/Takes-Two-Talk-Practical-Children/dp/0921145527/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540412352&sr=8-1&keywords=it+takes+two+to+talk Search Hanen program on YouTube too. 3. bilingualism does NOT cause speech delays. Don’t give it another thought. 4. Get on the waitlist to see a developmental pediatrician at Kennedy krieger and children’s hospital. These visits are generally covered in full by insurance, but check with yours. 5. Mcps denied my kid speech therapy too; they also denied the preschool option, and many years later were at a private sn school still doing speech. They often don’t make sense and have a shortage of speech therapists. 6. If you have the money, I highly recommend the summer programs at National Speech and Basic Concepts. Lastly, give yourself a big pat on the back. You’re doing a great job. |
Anonymous
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Pp here. This is probably the lost in translation aspect of things but your kid isn’t “academically advanced.” He may not be cognitively delayed but while knowing letters, colors, and numbers is great, it doesn’t really mean anything.
Look at his development as a whole and go by the cdc milestone chart. Since your kid is closer to 3: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-3yr.html |