5Yr Old with Speech Problems

Lots of kids are slow in speech. They usually come around in elementary school. Most teachers evaluate students not just on their oral skills, but written as well.

I've noticed plenty of kids who had speech problems early (i.e. impediments and difficulty speaking) are just fine later in elementary school (i.e. 4-6th grade)

If the teacher notices his speech as abnormal she will visit with you. If she doesn't then ask her about it when you have teachers meetings.

Hi S. :)

I have both personal and professional experience with this and I thought I'd share a little.

First of all, I absolutely concur with the other moms here. It is time to force the school to assess your child. The school is required by IDEA (see link: http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home... for a state specific write up on the subject ) to assess your child for Special Education interventions they may need - such as Speech Therapy. As part of the FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education) part of IDEA, they must then provide those services the child needs at no cost to the parent.

Three of my six children have been in the speech program (one has been in it for four years now!) Each school system is a little different about the way their services are implemented, but the governing laws are the same. A school district evaluation can be requested in two ways: a) the teacher can request the district do an evaluation or b) the parent can sumbit their request in writing to the school stating that they would like an evaluation for their child. They have 30 days from the time of your request to comply. It is also true that as one mom pointed out the school districts have financial reasons for attempting to stall or deny this process - so keep your eyes on things just to be sure that they are progressing. Honestly, I would type up a written request to the building principal and then send a duplicate copy to the Special Education Department of your local school board stating right in your letter that you have submitted the document to both locations. I have had people at the district level go back and tell me that I have to talk to the teacher, and have him or her initiate the process, but it IS NOT true, and is simply a delay/deny tactic the schools like to use. In my letter I would also state that I would like the eval to be a FULL (autism spectrum) evaluation for my child on the grounds that if there are any other additional concerns that need to be addressed, it is better to know and be able to provide interventions as early as possible. Hopefully your school district will be one of the more straightforward and easy to work with ones!

The evaluations will be done by a Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET) who will provide a report. This report will be reviewed at a meeting with you, the teacher, and at least several of the folks who contributed to the report. This is what the school will use to determine if your child needs an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) - the document that states what services or interventions the school will provide and how often.

IF you do not agree with their findings, you DO NOT have to submit to their decision. You can request an IEE (Independent Educational Evaluation). This allows someone outside of the school district payroll to evaluate your child, and the school will pay for it. If this happens, the district will likely give you a list of "approved providers" including costs. You have a right to choose ANY provider to do the independent evaluation so long as they meet the agency (school board's) criteria for who is qualified to provide the evaluation. You DO NOT have to choose from their list. (unless you want to of course! :) ) At any rate, YOU are your child's best advocate, and it is YOU that truly has your child's best interests in mind more than any other party, so do whatever you feel is right and don't let them bully you or talk you into agreeing to something (or lack of something). I've personally seen some pretty outrageous things go one at IEP meetings - BUT I've had good ones too!

Also, be prepared for your meeting. Write yourself a note of challenging behaviors or situations that your child faces and if you can use or show specific examples, be sure to do that. Many parents also like to use an Educational Advocate. I found a list of some near you here: http://www.illinoisspecialed.com/#Child-Advocates An Advocate can help guide you through the process if the district fails to hold up their end of the IDEA guidelines or if you disagree with the district's MET findings.

Good luck!

Contact your school district asap and have him evaluated. If he qualifies, he will be placed on an IEP and you will be contacted by the speech therapist. Sometimes your home school will have a therapist on site, and other times you may have to take him to a different school within the district.

My son needed speech therapy from the time he was 2 until he finished kindergarten. When he was in pre K, we had to go to a local public school. Once he was in kindergarten, he received services at our school (a private Catholic school) by a therapist from the local public school district.

All of this was well worth it. He went from being a shy, quiet preschooler who hardly spoke to anyone for fear of them not understanding him to an outgoing, second grader with lots of friends.

Don't delay! Sometimes when you call the school district this time of the year, they'll say they're not doing evals until December. After December, they don't usually do them again until May.

I'm not trying to fuss at you here, but I want to tell you that you shouldn't have paid one iota of attention to your caregiver's advice that speech help wasn't necessary. She is a caregiver. She's NOT a doctor, not a speech pathologist, has NO understanding of speech and language issues and shouldn't be advising you for this. And mom, you shouldn't have listened to her.

Your child is behind the eight ball and he needs help. Get him to a speech therapist NOW and get an evaluation done. He is going to have a lot of trouble in school if he can't communicate well. Good receptive AND expressive language is necessary for success in school, and early intervention is critical. It's past time. Get him some help.

My 4 year old has been in speech sice he was 2 1/2. We started with a private theapist, but he has been receiving services through the school district since he turned 3.

Has his kindergarten teacher said anything to you? The school should be able to provide services. My son goes to PreK and is pulled out for speech twice a week. He has made amazing progress.

Talk to the kindergarten teacher and request that your son be given a speech evaluation. The speech teacher will pull your son out of class and evaluate him, then set up a meeting to go over the results with you and make a recommendation. If he does qualify for services, he will need to have an IEP. Please don't let that bother you in any way. It is a good thing. It means they will put I his needs and the plan in writing so that you will know it is being followed.

Please talk to your son's kindergarten teacher. The sooner you address this, the better off he will be.

ETA - While I do agree with much of what Leigh said, speech therapists in schools have their Master's Degrees and do so much more with kids than simple articulation. My SIL is a speech therapist, and i watched my nieces while she finished her degree. she has also been a true advocate for my son. This is absolutely the place to start.

Leigh's is correct in saying that he may have issues other than articulation (how to form the sounds), but speech therapists deal with all aspects of speech.

Yep, definitely talk to the school district and request an evaluation. My school district is pretty responsive and pro-active. They want the kids to succeed. Many schools have a speech pathologist either on-site or one that travels to each school to help the kids. Good for you for trusting your gut.

I could tell right away that my daughter was not speaking as well as some of the kids in her class. I wanted her to go to Park Tudor (a private school) because I thought they would help her better than public. In order to enroll you had to have a private assessment by a specialist. It cost 250. I paid for it and they said that she had a processing disorder which is a communication issue. She just had a hard time processing what was said to her. They suggest that I get an evaluation done through the school. I took the paperwork they gave me and turned it in to the school and they reevaluated her and placed her in speech therapy through the school. The speech therapist came to her class every week and saw her for three years. The school covered the therapy. It is covered through your tax dollars.

She did not get into Park Tudor. She is no longer in the speech therapy with the school that stopped about two years ago. But I didn’t think she was ready to be out of speech therapy. I have her going to Riley for another assessment that my insurance is covering. I will give the school the results if they say she still needs speech. If not I will see what they recommend.

My point is never rely on another person for what you feel is right about your child. You are the best advocate for your child. No one will fight as hard or as long and be as dedicated for your child as you will.

Please get a professional intervention now -- do not wait. If he has any issues going on, it's infinitely better to get them recognized and dealt with early; the longer you wait, the harder it will be for him to change his speech.

When you say he "can't make a complete sentence," that does not sound like a speech issue -- speech therapy is about helping kids with the formation of sounds. Not being able to structure a complete sentence -- if you mean he cannot arrange his thoughts into the right words -- is not a speech therapy issue but a possible developmental and learning issue. If you actually mean that he stutters and can't get words out, yes, that might be more a speech issue rather than a developmental thinking issue but it's hard to tell from the post.

I would see the K teacher in person today and be sure to give a very detailed set of examples of the problems you have seen. Ask what the school provides in terms of speech therapy and other interventions. And then, separately from whatever school wants to do, I would take him to the doctor ASAP and get a fast referral to whatever specialist is needed to start evaluating his speech problems. He may just need speech therapy for sounds and getting words out, or he may need other interventions if he really can't make sentences because he can't put the thoughts together verbally.

Good luck. Early intervention is critical so get this ball rolling today. There are SO many interventions available that you WILL find what he needs so be confident that this is something you and he and the professionals will get through!

Updated

Please get a professional intervention now -- do not wait. If he has any issues going on, it's infinitely better to get them recognized and dealt with early; the longer you wait, the harder it will be for him to change his speech.

When you say he "can't make a complete sentence," that does not sound like a speech issue -- speech therapy is about helping kids with the formation of sounds. Not being able to structure a complete sentence -- if you mean he cannot arrange his thoughts into the right words -- is not a speech therapy issue but a possible developmental and learning issue. If you actually mean that he stutters and can't get words out, yes, that might be more a speech issue rather than a developmental thinking issue but it's hard to tell from the post.

I would see the K teacher in person today and be sure to give a very detailed set of examples of the problems you have seen. Ask what the school provides in terms of speech therapy and other interventions. And then, separately from whatever school wants to do, I would take him to the doctor ASAP and get a fast referral to whatever specialist is needed to start evaluating his speech problems. He may just need speech therapy for sounds and getting words out, or he may need other interventions if he really can't make sentences because he can't put the thoughts together verbally.

Good luck. Early intervention is critical so get this ball rolling today. There are SO many interventions available that you WILL find what he needs so be confident that this is something you and he and the professionals will get through!

It does sound like he has a speech issue. BUT, schools have speech pathologists, and teachers are trained to pick up on speech problems. It's unlikely she'd categorize him as a slow learner. So school, where they'll provide him with all kinds of services, is right where he needs to be.

The one thing I'd add, though, is that it might be good to check with his pediatrician about his hearing. This is one (by no means the only) origin of speech issues. And in terms of his schooling, it's important to figure out right away if he has trouble hearing what the teacher says.

P.S. My son had a number of articulation issues at 5. Not to the point where he got frustrated trying to communicate or couldn't repeat things -- but he couldn't pronounce "th," "ch," "sh," or "r." He got two years of speech therapy, and now his articulation is crystal-clear.

Most schools have a speech pathologist. Find out what the protocol is for getting him evaluated in your district or talk to the pediatrician. My DD is on the watch list for her school because she has some articulation concerns that are behind her age (also an August baby). There is a wide range of normal and the speech pathologist can tell you if he's in that range or not. At this point, my DD is not in speech therapy, but we continue to work with her at home per their guidance. If it persists in Dec., she will likely do some out of class therapy.

You can also try to work with some of his major concerns - does he slur his speech? Substitute sounds? Does he talk too fast or too mumbled? Again, a pathologist can guide you. For me, one of my concerns was that DD would not be able to sound out words or spell properly with her substitutions, and while it has come up here and there, so far she's doing pretty well.

If he can't make a complete sentence, what does that mean? That he can't say all the words clearly or that he cannot come up with one? My DD can go round the bend before a full sentence comes out, but that's just her thinking out loud. There is no problem with her being able to say, "Mom, can I have some milk, please?" I find that my DD goes off in la la land when she's telling me a story and I think that's just a developmental age thing.

My grandson (almost 8) just got released from his ear doctor. He had speech, hearing & vison problems. He heard everything as if it was underwater. If you can't hear the words correctly, then you can't repeat them correctly. Now if he doesn't answer, I know that he is ignoring me. LOL Please have his hearing checked ASAP.His pre-k teacher noticed a problem & kept putting him in time out. She called him a "problem child". He was in speech therapy for 2 years at his school.....K & 1st grade. Hang in there, it does get better.

Do not wait for the school or teacher to point out your son needs help. You already know this and they may not ever point this out. Budgets are tighter than ever and if there is a problem they know they will have to provide services which is expensive.
Personally I would have him evaluated privately and then bring your report to the school. In my experience schools have their own agendas and can be biased.
Articulation issues are still common at age 5 although others should be able to easily understand him by now. I am much more concerned that he has a hard time making sentences and having a conversation. This in my opinion needs immediate attention. Call your pediatrician and ask for a referral today.

If he has a speech problem at age 5, then yes - please get him some help! At age 2, it's a bit early to worry about complete sentences, but at 5 he should be almost fully understandable. He should be speaking in full sentences and carrying on conversations. If he's not, talk to his teacher. See if there's a method in the school to do an evaluation. If he's in the public school there will be a way to get him some assistance.

Get him evaluated ASAP. Probably should have been done a while ago. Go to school tomorrow and r equestrian an evaluation.

See what the teacher says, if you are really, really, concerned you can ask the school to do an evaluation. They might balk a little, but don't back down.

My advice is that you request speech & language testing for your son through the school district ASAP. Then you'll know if there is a problem, what exactly the problem is, and how to fix, or at least, work with it.

Please, Please, Please talk to your pediatrician! Our son has a speech delay also and was recommended for evaluation at 18 months. We started therapy and after a year, he had enough speech for them to do developmental testing - they found the problem and now we can address it correctly. In just the last month, he has made huge strides. Please talk to your doctor and look into speech therapy, it would be so worth it!