Preschool speech and language curriculum??

[Jennifer132]

I have a dd2 (almost 3) who has cerebral palsy and a severe speech delay. Her receptive is perfect. Her expressive is quite poor. They are telling us her issue is with weak muscles in the face, so she needs oral motor exercises. I was wondering, does anyone know if there is a speech therapy curriculum of sorts we can use at home? She is in therapy, but it isn't enough for her needs, and I'd like to work with her myself on a daily basis.

[NotSoObvious]

I would actually just work on playful exercises that help her use her lips and tongue. Here are some ideas from many, many years of speech:

 

Blowing bubbles

Blowing out candles (playing happy birthday)

Chewing licorice was recommended to us- not sure what you could use for a young child

Ask the speech therapist for some of that chewy tube stuff for her to chew on while she watches a show or does a puzzle

Put a Cheerio on her tongue, with her tongue sticking straight out and count to 10 while she holds it there

Do the same Cheerios thing, but hold it on "the spot" (ridge on the roof of the mouth, behind the front teeth)

Have her push against a tongue depressor with her tongue

 

 

Oh! I just found this. There is a ton of stuff online. Just make a list and do a few each day.

http://www.superduperinc.com/handouts/pdf/179_oral-motorworkout.pdf

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

This curriculum was written by a homeschooling speech therapist FOR parents. I don't know how young it works, but check it out. I bought the ebook version (the complete set, not just some of the letters) through Curriclicks. We had an usual reaction to it. Here's my blog post about it. But I would recommend it; the ebook is reasonably priced.

[MotherGoose]

When my dd has therapy the therapist gave us homework to do at home that helped a lot. You might ask about that. We had it done privately.

[Alessandra]

Our therapists always gave us home programs. I found it especially helpful because the therapist could monitor what was working in a reasonable amount of time and what was not.

[Jennifer N.]

Oh my goodness, I was just thinking last night I should post here and see if anyone else preschool speech and language resources.  Thank you all so much!

 

But I do have a follow on question.  My son does not have a severe speech delay but he is in the late talker/keep an eye on development range.  Receptive language is great, hearing not a problem.  It is his production of sounds that is the issue.  He is 3 1/2.

 

My question is, how does this affect early reading instruction?  I would like to teach him his letters and sounds next school year (he knows his colors, shapes, can count 1-2-3) but is that even a good idea if he still struggles with making sounds in everyday speech?  A speech therapist gave me a list of sounds he should be making by age/gender norms according to the Iowa scale (?).  He is okay there but on the later end of the spectrum.  He struggles making sounds like /f/, /s/...he often leaves off beginning sounds of words.  His speech is sing songy in that he makes lots of vowel sounds but leaves off key consonants.  We can almost always understand him (tho' there are times we cannot) but outside of our family, people do not always. 

 

I have used LOE and Foundations with my older three and those have been so helpful in teaching me how to teach him to physically make the sounds with his mouth.

[Jennifer132]

Our therapists always gave us home programs. I found it especially helpful because the therapist could monitor what was working in a reasonable amount of time and what was not.

She is in birth to three, so they come to your home, and I see what they are working on. She has given me some games and activities like what is mentioned here, but I was looking for something more structured that would give me something to do each day. Unfortunately her therapist isn't too familiar with the issues my dd has, so therapy isn't all that helpful. We haven't made much progress with her. We are in the process of doing it privately rather than through EI, but the process to get in is lengthy. So I want something more I can do in the mean time.

 

I did find this website : http://www.linguisystems.com/products/product/display?itemid=10019

[Alessandra]

She is in birth to three, so they come to your home, and I see what they are working on. She has given me some games and activities like what is mentioned here, but I was looking for something more structured that would give me something to do each day. Unfortunately her therapist isn't too familiar with the issues my dd has, so therapy isn't all that helpful. We haven't made much progress with her. We are in the process of doing it privately rather than through EI, but the process to get in is lengthy. So I want something more I can do in the mean time.

 

I did find this website : http://www.linguisystems.com/products/product/display?itemid=10019

 

Oh, my kids had EI too. And STs were almost impossible to find through EI in our state. We did a hospital program too, but insurance was terribly limited.

 

The STs who gave us home programs were in school settings, beginning at age 3.

 

Linguisystems has been the preferred go-to place for every ST that I have ever met.

 

It might be worth a shot going to your school district. Whether or not you end up enrolling, the district will know that your dd will qualify for special needs preschool either in district or out of district. If they are nice, they may be receptive to your emailing one of their STs for advice about what program to choose. 

 

ETA Oh, I see your dd is almost 3. I called my district when my kids were 2 1/2 (twins). They sent the nicest possible team to my house -- OT, PT, psychologist, learning consultant, maybe a social worker. The ST was a separate eval, if I remember, due to scheduling. I got excellent written reports that were very helpful.

 

I did it early because the preschool classes were small by law (12) and I was afraid they would run out of space. Anyway, I was told that running out of places was not an option. If the class were filled, they would open a new section and rearrange kids. They didn't have to, but it was nice getting an early experience of 'rights.'

 

Oh, and in some districts, ST are contract employees and also have private practices. IF you were planning to ps dd and IF she would be in district, it could be worth checking out school STs, for the sake of continuity for your dd. I know that is two very big IF s.

[PeterPan]

You don't need a curriculum; you need the right therapy.  http://promptinstitute.com  Find a certified therapist and drive as far as it takes.  If they have Bridge (level 2) training they *might* be able to do it.  Look on the provider maps and see what your options are.  

 

Sorry, I'm just getting hot to trot here.  You're being given a total bucket load of CRAP.  It's praxis, motor control, not just some "mouth weakness."  She needs proper therapy for apraxia, not just "exercises."  The proper therapy EXISTS but they just don't happen to DO it.   :cursing: 

 

So go look it up.  PROMPT is the best intervention for apraxia.  We drive 2 1/2 hours each way for our therapy.  Some people move to be near their therapist.  They will teach you how to carry the therapy techniques over at home.