When and how to start speech therapy
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Anonymous
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We are at TPES and my DD is very talkative but has a few issues when it comes to pronouncing some letters.. for ex. j sounds like a d, and sh comes out as s.
Does anyone one know when you would start speech therapy or is it too early for that? Thanks! |
Anonymous
| Is your child in K? Start now - they should have those sounds down by that age. |
Anonymous
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yes, she is in K. I thought now was the right time too, especially since when she answers questions in class, she sometimes has to repeat her answer 3 times until the teacher understands. must be frustrating.
should i ask the teacher or contact someone to do private work? |
Anonymous
| You can ask for an assessment. fyi: TPES won't do anything involving speech therapy in the school unless there's an academic issue involving the speech. |
Anonymous
If OP's child has to repeat herself three times to be understood by the teacher, then there is an academic issue. OP, I had my son evaluated at the U. of Maryland the spring before he started K. They did a very thorough evaluation which was accepted by MCPS for speech services, which he started in K. You should have your child evaluated, but you may want to engage a private party to do so - just make sure that MCPS accepts the evaluation (I think different parties might use different standards). Good luck. |
Anonymous
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^^^PP here with a link:
http://www.hesp.umd.edu/landing/Clinic |
Anonymous
OP here, thanks for the info.... academically the teacher says she is doing great and very engaged. This was the first time that I realized it could actually be a problem since she was called on a few times while I was observing. Should i assume that if the teacher hasn't said anything yet, we should just look to hire someone ourselves? |
Anonymous
| I think it's worth talking to the teacher about. The only way to find out if TPES will do speech therapy or not is to ask! |
Anonymous
| I would have done it a few years ago but U of MD is great for speech and I would absolutely do it now before it becomes a bigger issue. |
Anonymous
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My child was pronouncing k sound as t sound. Cat was tat, cut was tut, cake was tate.
We did not figure out that he was repeating some swear words (because we did not use them and he was not saying it in context) , and thought he was trying to say foot when he said fut. |
Anonymous
Yes. MCPS will not encourage you to seek out help - it will require more resources of them. You need to take charge. |
Anonymous
OP, Public school will not pay for services that don't have an "educational impact," however, if your daughter needs to repeat herself so that the teacher understands her that is definitely an educational impact. Ask the school to evaluate her. They should be providing services if she cannot be understood which requires an IEP. If they don't provide speech therapy, keep at it until they do. (I would definitely consider private in the meantime at any case b/c the older a child gets the more difficult it is to correct certain things.) Articulation can be corrected fairly easily, however some sounds may be difficult to make lifelong b/c of the genetic roll of the dice. This is a straightforward chart of what sounds by when: http://www.kidshealth.org.nz/speech-sound-development Don't stress about it and keep it fun for your DD. |
Anonymous
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Definitely recommend HESP at UMd. Expect a waitlist though. In the mean time, ask for an IEP screening through the school Don't wait for the school to put in the paperwork. Schools have more time to finish testing when a teacher files for screening compared to when the parent files.
My daughter also has articulation issues, mostly resolved now, but fronting (/t/ for /k/, and /d/ for /g/) also missed blending. |
Anonymous
| Do you have yo pay for UMD screening or is it a public service? My DS has speech issues in 3rd grade but MCPS won't provide therapy because he is above grade-level in reading. |
Anonymous
Document this via an email expressing concern about what you saw to the teacher. Is she also having trouble being understood by peers? Previous poster was right -- if speech is interfering with her ability to be properly understood the first time, then it is "adverse impact" on academics even if your child's "grades" aren't being affected. For example, having to repeat oneself frequently in front of others can affect self-esteem and the willingness to answer questions and participate in discussion, even though those might not affect "grades". Demonstrating "adverse impact" is one of the prongs of the test to achieve an IEP or to receive services or 504 plan. (The others are a documented disorder and the need for specialized instruction, but this latter is only for an IEP). FWIW, our child had a clear speech disorder, diagnosed by an SLP. We asked MCPS to provide services. The MCPS SLP refused saying that these speech difficulties are considered a normal part of development until age 7 and therapy would not be provided because our DS' speech could still normalize on its own before age 7. Even by age 9, MCPS SLP was still insisting it was "normal" development (not professionally accurate), then that even though the lisp persisted no services were required because he could still be understood. Finally, when we won services, MCPS would only do 1/2 hour 2x a month -- a totally inadequate amount. In retrospect, I wish I had just ignored the system and taken him in for private speech therapy when he was young. Now at age 9 we are doing therapy, and he is making good progress, but I wonder if it would have been easier/faster if we had done it at a younger age. |