Speech Therapy?

[k2bdeutmeyer]

How and when do you determine if speech therapy is needed for your child? I have a 3.5yr old Elmer Fudd, LOL. I don't want her to grow up always saying a "w" sound instead of "r". I've tried working with her some, but really haven't gotten anywhere. At what point is this a concern? I don't even know how to go about getting her help if it's needed.

[Oak Knoll Mom]

This might help. Find your child's speech and hearing age

[Carpe Diem]

/r/ is the most difficult sound to produce because there are so many forms depending on the position in the word. There are over 20 variations. Try saying: run, painter, or, are, air. Your mouth and tongue are in different positions for each.

 

Different sources/researchers site different age of acquisition.

 

Does she have any other speech errors? How intelligible is her speech?

 

I wouldn't worry until she is a few years older (around six or even seven.) This is considered normal age of development where 90% of kids have mastered the sound.

 

If there are other concerns then she might benefit from an eval sooner. You can start with a doctor's opinion/referral.

 

Others may have some resources for you to work on /r/ at home but it might be best to wait until your dd is older.

 

HTH

[creekmom]

You can have her evaluated by calling your local public school. Both my sons received speech services from the local school starting when they were 3 (even though they were homeschooled). If you think she has a problem making certain sounds, it's better to get them help sooner rather than later when habits are harder to break.

[nukeswife]

If her only issue is the /r/ sound I'd give her more time. My dd who is 8.5 went to speech therapy at the local PS last year and they worked on her /l/, /s/ and s-blend sounds before even starting the /r/. Her therapist said that it's normal for kids under 6 to not have mastered the /r/ and that some kids don't fully get it mastered until age 9. My dd still has trouble with the /r/ from time to time but it's getting better. So hang in there, that's just a difficult sound to get.

[Pamela H in Texas]

If /r/ is her only problem sound, she will not qualify for speech therapy now or even in a couple years.

 

I had a friend whose daughter, about 9, sounded like she was from somewhere else. By teenage years, she was fine. However, my own son had lots of speech therapy and can only do beginning /r/, not /or/, /ar/, etc; but the therapy worked for most of the other sounds (at 3.5 years old, he was in the ONE percentile for articulation meaning that 99% of kids could articulate more clearly).

 

Anyway, so IF there are other sounds, I'd at least have an evaluation. If it is JUST the /r/, I'd not even bother because it won't put her behind AT ALL, much less enough to justify speech therapy to an insurance company or school system.

[k2bdeutmeyer]

Thank you all so much! She does say some other things differently, but I figured that was more an age thing. Hmmmm. She has had a LOT of ear trouble and is on her 3rd set of tubes. Some things I can think of off the top of my head are (though I think the majority are just mis-pronunciations):

 

"jwump" = jump

"dice" = because (I do think she can say because, she just doesn't?)

"haf-foe-got" = forgot

"stis-tuh" = sister

"cwapp-uh" = grandpa

"Mee-luh" = Malea (pronounced "muh-lee-uh")

"munch" = lunch

"Mah-ook" = Mark

"Say" = Shay

"pway" = play

"fee-nuh" = finger

"eeks cweem" = ice cream

"monk" = milk

"wis" = with

"dipping" = dripping

 

Again, I don't know how many of these are typical 3yr old mis-pronunciations and how many are truly issues with her speech. I know several of them we have tried to correct, but she continues to say them the wrong way. People do often have a hard time understanding her, though it has gotten better. She tends to talk quite quickly and has a very high pitched voice too, so I know that contributes.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Go get an eval.

 

You might also get the speech therapy program that is on cd. It's something sisters or something? I don't remember.

 

Repeat things correctly to her. Pick a sound to encourage her to start practicing (/l/ was the first 3 yr old one we did and it looks like she could use that one).

 

Speech therapy at this age is really just play with some homework for the family. The time may be an issue, but better to address it now.

 

:)

[Pink Fairy]

I agree with getting the eval. It's free, after all, and will give you some peace of mind either way. We've been in individual speech therapy for the last year, and in September are transitioning to the preschool version that the ps provides. I had a real reluctance to put my ds into speech therapy initially. I don't know if it was the labeling that bothered me ("speech delay"), or the idea that he needed something I couldn't provide. It wasn't long before I realized that speech therapy is more about teaching me what to do at home with him than anything else. And we both enjoyed the sessions, because they were all about playing with cool toys (his view), and learning how to play intentionally at home (my view).

 

Hope all goes well for you!

[athena1277]

I'm going to also recommend getting an evaluation. My ds is very hard to understand. I took him recently for a speech evaluation. I did not realize just how very bad he was until I sat and l listened as he tried to say stuff for the evaluator. When you are with a child so much, you don't often realize the full extent of the problem. Plus, if they say she doesn't need therapy, you have that peace of mind.

[Carpe Diem]

but because she has multiple errors and is hard to understand she should have an evaluation. You could google phonological processes to see if you think she has any of those types of errors.

 

You should be able to get an evaluation at a local public school.

 

Keep us posted.

[LizzyBee]

When in doubt, get an evaluation. My experience is that SLP's won't recommend therapy unless it's necessary. I didn't really think my dd needed therapy until her evaluation showed that her articulation was below the first percentile for girls her age.

 

If your insurance covers speech therapy, I highly recommend going private. Most schools offer only group therapy while private therapy is one-on-one.

[texasmama]

I would get an eval at the local public school, as well. Two of my kids received speech therapy services through the public school. She has some atypical errors, IMO, but only a professional can tell you if she needs or qualifies for services.

[phathui5]

I would recommend contacting Early Intervention or the equivalent for your state as soon as you think there might be a speech issue and having an evaluation done. I really wish that I had gotten my 4 year old started with speech therapy sooner (started when he was almost 4). If I had asked about it earlier, he might not be making the slow progress that he is.

[LizzyBee]

An SLP in my area recently started this website that you might find helpful:

 

http://www.educatorpages.com/Page.aspx?p=19074

[k2bdeutmeyer]

I looked up the number for our local Early Intervention program and will probably call them tomorrow. I'd rather have her evaluated and be told that she's right where she should be than not do it and wish I had.

[katilac]

If your insurance covers speech therapy, I highly recommend going private. Most schools offer only group therapy while private therapy is one-on-one.

 

Always check out what's offered: I think this must vary widely by area. My dd's speech therapy via the schools was always private. The kids who were in group therapy were those who had dx of language disorder, rather than just speech disorder. The group aspect was considered essential for them, so you had the odd situation of the 'mild' kids getting private services, and the 'severe' kids getting group services.

 

Along the same lines, it's also not true that speech services are never offered if they think the child will outgrow the problem on their own. My dd's eval said she would almost certainly outgrow her issues by 6 or 7, but because she was reading and verbalizing at a high level, the articulation issues were considered to be 'interfering with academics' and we were offered services. We live in a high poverty area with a high demand for services, so I was pleasantly surprised at the decision.

 

We had a wonderful therapist, great results, and an overall good experience. I know some people have horror stories about dealing with the school system, but it was very positive for us. Although, the weekly visit to the local elementary school certainly kept us determined to home school!

[ElizabethB]

With my son, I found that watching Leapfrog's Talking Letter Factory DVD improved his speech. My daughter was already speaking very clearly when she watched it although they watched it at basically the same age.

[fhjmom]

I looked up the number for our local Early Intervention program and will probably call them tomorrow. I'd rather have her evaluated and be told that she's right where she should be than not do it and wish I had.

 

I don't know if the age range is the same for all states, but here "Early Intervention" only covers up to age 3. Once a child turns 3 YO, they fall under the school district's special education/child find services. Just wanted to give you a heads up to check on the ages so you don't waste time talking with the wrong agency.

 

I would also recommend getting an eval, but since she has a history of hearing issues, I would start with a full audiological exam if she hasn't had one. I would want a full booth test with a pediatric audiologist. Even if her ears are clear of fluid, there are many cases of kids having other hearing issues, as well as language issues that hang around once their hearing is normal because they acquired language when their hearing was compromised. These issues can involve the hearing/listening centers of the brain and deserve an eval by an audiologist in addition to a speech path.

 

Mommy's tend to know when something is amiss. I always recommend following your mommy-gut even if it is to rule something out so you can put your mind at ease.

[k2bdeutmeyer]

This is the agency I was going to call:

 

http://www.aea10.k12.ia.us/divlearn/referrals.html

 

They are kind of the school district, I guess. They do all the testing for the schools, so I imagine it's the right place. I'd like to avoid contact with our local elementary school if at all possible (though it might not be possible), because I JUST pulled DD1 from there at the end of March. We weren't/aren't on the best of terms (DD was physically assaulted).

[Perry]

This is the agency I was going to call:

 

http://www.aea10.k12.ia.us/divlearn/referrals.html

 

Yes, Grant Wood AEA is the place to start.

[k2bdeutmeyer]

Thanks Perry....I was pretty sure that was right, but you never know, LOL!

[WindblownIdeas]

My 9yo has been told he has an accent. r's and l's are the issue. I would like to find something on CD. He can pronounce them easily if he tries. These seem to be habits developed from earlier years.

 

Shannon