Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks to 13.35 – I appreciate your kind words!

Actually, we were on the waiting list to get into the shyness study, and she aged out of it while we were waiting. Both sides were disappointed as they felt she was a great candidate. But they couldn't bend the rules, and we understood that.

I think some of it goes with the language disorder. Kids know when people are not comfortable and I know with my child he would clam up when people would demand answers or even conversation from him at that age. He'll sometimes still do it when he's not comfortable with someone. I just read it as he's a good judge of character. Usually he's right about people. I'd watch it as if it is anxiety you want to get a handle on it but not really sure what you could do as even therapy for the anxiety at that age would be hard with the language issues.

Anonymous wrote:I absolutely think you should be doing speech several times a week. At that level, you should also qualify for speech services from the school. Can you give us an example of her normal language use? Is it something like 'Can I have milk?' or more complex? My kid is pretty behind and speaks in 10-11 word sentences at this age, i.e., 'I want to go home now and play with my trains, not to the store.' If she is at 4 word sentences, I wouldn't say she is conversational. I would get a second opinion from another SLP ASAP.

Ot can be pretty normal at that age for a child with a language disorder. I don't think they need a second opinion if they are happy with the SLP. We dropped down to one day a week at that age. Its not something that can be pushed or forced and will take a few more years. If you can, twice a week is better but don't overdo therapy at that age taking away from activities and fun stuff too. 4 word sentences is great for a kid with a delay like that. I was thrilled at that age for that. You can compare kids, even within the same diagnosis. Its not something that can be forced and will come in time.