[Cricket1]

My son (4 y.o. in April)has a speech delay. He has been receiving speech therapy since he was two. He now goes to a special needs preschool (he's also hearing impaired) and his teachers have told me that they would like to see him in summer school. This breaks my heart and I'm considering keeping him out of summer school and trying it on my own.

The teachers say that when he comes back from a school vacation, they have a hard time understanding him again and it takes about a week for him to get "warmed up"--talking again and somewhat understandable.

I thought I would post this here in the event that any of you have a language delayed child that you homeschool and what you do for language activities.

Thanks in advance!
Cricket

 

[movaly1]

Does he like school? If so, then I don't think he would mind going in the summer and it is ultimately to help him, right? Plus I don't think it is full-time in the summer (most school districts aren't). You can always have him go some days but not all too.

If you decide not to do summer school, see if the speech therapist will give you a packet of stuff (or ideas of stuff) that you can do at home.

Disclaimer: I am a Speech Therapist.

 

[AmyBoz]

Cricket, I would send him to summer school if that is the recommendation. As movaly1 says, it's usually not full-time and usually not full-summer. Summer school is never recommended lightly, and in this case, it's a developmental concern, which makes it that much more important. Summer school is always more laid back and a bit more fun than regular fun, so I don't think he'd mind as much as you are thinking he will. I wouldn't mess around with this. Speech therapy isn't designed just to help him in school...it's designed to help him in life. Just my two cents...

 

[nuisance26]

~Both my children are speech delayed. Roman is 4 also and only really began to talk at age 3. He has been diagnosed with severe speech delay because he wouldn't talk to the therapist at his evaluation. For a shy kid he talks plenty. His speech is very unclear and inconsistant sometimes. Speech Therapy was recommended for him but our insurance won't pay for it. I don't want to involve the school system, even though it'd be free(horrible stories/experiences relating to my cousin and her three special needs kids). So he isn't getting therapy at this point. Since I'd planned to homeschool him anyway, I seriously see no difference in the adult outcome if I let him learn at his own pace or if I get him therapy. I don't think he could handle time with a stranger at this stage anyway. I'm not doing a home therapy, either. I read tons of books on the subject and basically I just engage him in speech during play. Roman likes puzzles and drawing and reading books. I use his play opportunities to ask him to correctly say words. It's about 50% successful. The evaluation said to aim for 80%. I'm his mom and I've seen such an improvement over the last year that I think we'll get to 80% by late summer. My daughter hasn't been diagnosed yet but beside the 30 words she's said but aren't in regular use, she just babbles away and sings nonsense constantly. Roman was barely even vocal at 2, just the "Ooo"s and "Uppa"s. I have a SIL that received therapy when she was 8 because she had trouble with her "L"s and "R"s. I think that's a more appropriate age emotionally, for therapy. So we're doing completely opposite things. Interesting to see if it makes a difference.~

 

[my4littlebuffaloes]

I have a special needs 4 year old as well. He had a ton of ear infections and was very delayed in his speech. I thought that was it. The speech therapist noticed quickly that it was way more than just a speech delay and he was then diagnosed with sensory integration disorder. He has come so far! He is in his second year of preschool and that was after a year of a ST coming to my house to work with him. Much of his speech problem is the SID effects, mainly low muscle tone. so working with him to strengthen his mouth muscles has been very effective. He has a long way to go and another year of preschool. he will need it for sure. When he starts kindergarden we will homeschool him just like the older two, but for now, he needs more help than I can offer him.

I do work with him at home, mainly on OT stuff, but I try to do the strengthening things like blowing bubbles, drinking through a straw, tart candies, licking lollipops, having him eat stick like things and biting with his back teeth, tongue exercises, etc. I do try to model for him when we are playing and remind him of correct form when I remember. School has been really good for him, because it is a special needs school. When he hits K he will be in a regular class with virtually no support and it won't work for him. He doesn't focus well and is in his own world much of the time. Homeschooling will be great for him. Good luck!

 

[mrsvargas]

My 3 yr old has been diagnosed as having a speech delay, overall developmentally delayed. We are currently trying to get him an appointment with a developmental pediatrician to get an actual diagnosis. Once we get that we can receive more services thru our county for free. Right now, I am paying for him to go to physical therapy, after insurance its about $40 for a 1 hour session, but our insurance will only cover 30 visits. We are currently on a wait list for speech and occupational therapy. Our regualar pediatrictian thinks there may be some other issues as well. For example,Ethan has an absolute meltdown if we deter from our normal everyday routine. He hates to touch anything "unpleasant" or unnatural feeling. He obssesses over certain toys and has to have them with him at all times. If something is out of place, he has to put it where it belongs or if a door or drawer is open he must close it. I could go on and on.

 

[nuisance26]

I have a special needs 4 year old as well. He had a ton of ear infections and was very delayed in his speech. I thought that was it. The speech therapist noticed quickly that it was way more than just a speech delay and he was then diagnosed with sensory integration disorder.

~I just did a search on this. The signs sound just like my kids! Why have I never heard the list of syptoms of this? I've read countless books and articles, how did I miss this one? How did the Dr and the therapist miss this? Explains why Ro needed constant contact as a baby, why he preferred sucking his fingers over the pacifier, why he would never fall asleep in the car, why he'd constantly twirl his feet and kick in his sleep, why he's so clumsy, why he's terrified of stores and public places and snow. My DD has signs too;Evie actually screams when I sing. I'm definately mentioning this to the Dr next month.~

 

[my4littlebuffaloes]

Luke had so many issues from birth - I mean in the hospital I noticed things - that were different from my older 2. it was crazy and we had no idea why, but every kid is different right? so we didn't put 2 and 2 together. Then after the diagnosis, we did a ton of research and it just explained everything we had been dealing with. he was almost 2.5 years old when we found out. It just made everything make sense and it was such a relief to know what was wrong and be able to address it. It has helped so much. The Out Of Sync Child is a wonderful book on the subject. Many doctors don't know what SID is. They don't see it as a problem and are uneducated in it. I talk to doctors about it and the only way any of them knows anything about it, is if they are someone very close to them has a special needs child that deals with sensory problems. If they haven't they are clueless and most of them are clueless. Good luck with everything!

 

[nuisance26]

The Out Of Sync Child is a wonderful book on the subject. Many doctors don't know what SID is. They don't see it as a problem and are uneducated in it. I talk to doctors about it and the only way any of them knows anything about it, is if they are someone very close to them has a special needs child that deals with sensory problems. If they haven't they are clueless and most of them are clueless. Good luck with everything!

~Thank you so much Jennifer! I'll see if I can get that book from the library.~

 

[Cricket1]

Thank you for all of your input! After taking more time to consider everything, I am definitely signing him up for summer school. He needs it. He's been on school vacation this week and even I'm noticing that he's not as clear as he usually is.

His speech pathologist is wonderful at school and although he won't have her this summer, I think the regularity of the program will be a benefit to him.