Normal.

You should probably get a SLPA of any sort just to get started and you can also google/YouTube for whatever specific artic issue you notice on your own. There are many great YouTube videos and online resources.

We paid thousands, but it was worth it. We started at age 3 and finally finished at 5.

Just start. Find anyone and start.

Anonymous wrote:My 5 year old needs speech for articulation. Can’t find any that are in network for insurance (and the ones that do take it arent therapists but slpa which is assistants) so have to pay someone around $70 for a 30 minute session. He won’t qualify for speech at school because you have to be low functioning like bottom 20%. Is this anyone else’s experience? It’s frustrating because I’m the only one who can really understand him and he’s going into k.

Have you had him tested by the school?

Even with insurance, my kids speech is 95 a week.

There are definite differences between medical and school speech services. This is the set of norms used by most school systems. I would bet your kid won’t get services or will get an intervention program that isn’t a true IEP.
https://www.veipd.org/main/pdf/webinars/readable_iowa_nebraska_norms.pdf

Both my kids went to speech, a lot is done at home with homework and correcting which is good. You just need to know the way to prompt where to place tongue/mouth to help at home. I would pay for the SLPA. If no one is truly understanding him at all, he is more likely to get speech through school, so definitely hammer that home and ask for an Eval right away. Write a note saying you are requesting to meet as a team and want testing for speech asap. You have the right as a parent to request testing and you may need to be firm to request.

Kids with speech issues tend to get bullied at school. Not always, but be prepared and keep your ear to the ground. Our kid had a light speech impediment and got bullied in the early grades, then got referred to an eval with the in-school speech therapist. Our kid had an in-school speech IEP from from second grade on. Our kid had articulation issues, as well. Never heard of the "low functioning" 20% rule?

Always go to the teacher's conferences. Ask the teacher how your child is doing socially. Does he have friends in class, etc.? Does your child speak in class (kids with speech issues can be very quiet like a mouse if they feel self conscious)?

Also ask your child every Friday how school is going. Listen closely. If your child is getting made fun of for the way he speaks, it will be revealed to you. My child didn't want to go to school anymore. If it happens, then contact the teacher.

I believe schools only have a certain number of IEP spots, but those spots do open up as students master speech elements.

Are you in Virginia? What are the sounds in error? An SLPA can definitely drill articulation sounds.

I think an SLPA is fine for this. Like any field, some will be better than others, but an SLPA can conduct all the therapy - they just can't do some of the testing and paperwork. For more complicated cases I would prefer an SLP, but not for a few sound errors.

When he goes to K ask for an eval again. A big thing for them to approve for services is that his speech delay affects him. When my daughter went to K I said how it bothered her that people could not understand her (which is true). She was able to get approved for services then. She was evaluated by the county prior to K and did not qualify initially.

I have found it to be difficult to find someone who takes insurance. If you have access to a health care FSA, that helps a little.

I also agree about asking further about the IEP. My DC qualified and he certainly was not at lowest 20%.

It’s a total pain, OP. We found someone who takes insurance, but it’s still $60/week in co pays and I really don’t love the practitioner.

Definitely try the school again, and push.

You could reach out to the speech therapist at your child's school and see if they would do private lessons.

The assistant might be good enough - artic is a common problem and require some experience but not a genius to fix once you know the techniques.

I am surprised that he doesn’t qualify at school - my second grader qualifies because he can’t say “r” in the middle of a word properly. That’s all it took. Are you still in the DMV?

You could try getting a private eval - they want your kid to be delayed to sell services, so they are more likely to find a significant delay. Then you take the report to school and demand their services. It can make a difference in borderline cases, supposedly.

My 5 year old needs speech for articulation. Can’t find any that are in network for insurance (and the ones that do take it arent therapists but slpa which is assistants) so have to pay someone around $70 for a 30 minute session. He won’t qualify for speech at school because you have to be low functioning like bottom 20%. Is this anyone else’s experience? It’s frustrating because I’m the only one who can really understand him and he’s going into k.