Searching for Preschools for My Speech Delayed 2 1/2 Year Old Daughter

My son had speech problems, also. He attended through the school district "Talking Friends" which is a speech preschool class that meets at Suisun Elementary. I would call the school and ask to talk with Teacher L., she is wonderful. My son is starting Kindergarten on Monday and there is such relief that he is entering school now that people will be able to understand him. The change in him because of the two years he had are huge!!! Good Luck. L.

I don't know where you live, but the VERY VERY BEST and affordable preschool is Kids Academy in SF. It's located in the Hearing and Speech Center of Northern California. The teachers there are AMAZING. Look it up and give them a call, even to find out more on how to help her.
HTH!

Send her to speach therapy . Let her play at pre school .
Pre school isn't the place to learn to talk .

J. ~
Contact your school district. They are required by law to provide services to you. Don't wait until she starts kindergarden. (They may suggest that you wait.) My son was born with hearing difficulties and his speech was delayed. They tried to tell me that boys take longer than girls. Then I found out that the district is required by law to provide services to any child in the district. They tested him and he started speech therapy @ about 3 1/2 years old. Also, try checking out www.schwablearning.org. There is a wealth of information. Good Luck! Don't forget you are the only one that can advocate for your little one!

Hi,
Is she in speech now? If not, I suggest you work to get her in now, before she reaches 3. The state special education program has an in home program that will help you to negotiate the special education system. Now, before 3, the state offers comprehensive services and assessments in your home. As well you would have a case manager, a social worker, who would most likely have a wealth of experience and knowledge of the area and the system. Your peditrician should provide you with a referal for these services.
You should call the school district office and find out what they will offer you and request a visit, in writing as well as verbally. The public schools take over after three. I can not stress how much easier this will be if you are in the system prior to her being three.
I am a school teacher and a Mom to a daughter who has been in speech therapy, after seizures, since she was 14 months.
Please feel free to e-mail me privately and I will go into more depth if you would like.
Best wishes,
Kathryn

Hi. My friend's son had speech delays this is what she did. She contacted the school district that she lives in, and they had him tested. Yes he did have speech delay so they put him in a pre-school for early intervention with speech. Got him talking and all of that. Even when they are not old enough to go to elementary school that is where you get the early intervention. They really work with the kids. But you have to go through your school district. It is in their best interest to get your child all the help that she needs in order for her to be on the right track when she enters kindergarten. Hope this helps.

You should contact your local Regional Center (on the peninsula it's the Golden Gate Regional Center). Have your daughter go through the intake process - you can refer her youself as her parent. She can be enrolled in speech therapy now! If you suspect any brain injury due to her lack of oxygen there are many, many supportive therapies out there. You have no need to wait.

Contact the Regional Center. Request an assessment. You will meet with a social worker and physician. They will assess your child's risk factors. If they deem necessary - a bunch of funding for therapies will be made available to you and your daughter. I HIGHLY recommend you go this route, and particularly before she turns 2 yrs 9 months. At age 3 the school district takes over the case and there are far less funds available.

I'm the mother of a disabled child - 3 years old, non-verbal amongst many other issues. Trust me - I've been through this system inside and out - it's your best start. Then you can move onto preschool selection. There are many, many preschools to choose from, but first you should have a better idea of her full range of needs.

Marin County Health servcies offers free speech therapy to children under the age of three and will help you get free speech therapy if it's still needed after age three. They should have contacts regarding pre-schools as well. I had my daughter evaluated by them and she had an awesome speech therapist.

First of all praise God your daughter survived!!!! I agree with many of the other responses, check with your local school district. I have a B.A. in speech pathology (Masters soon to come) and I worked for an elementary school for the speech therapist and we served 3 kids that were 3 years old. They succeeded quickly (early intervention is best and they had parents that worked with them at home on the speech activities we gave them).

Hi,
I would definitely go to the school district for early intervention. I brought my son in and they are giving him Speech Therapy which is totally covered. Also, if any other issues come up, such as learning issues, you will already be connected. If you are able to afford ST then I would consider the option of an indepedent ST. On a nutritional note, I would give her Omega 3-6-9. They are great for the brain (neuro system). My son likes it in his milk, however, you can get creative in putting it in foods. However, do not cook it in foods, add it in afterwards. I get mine at Whole Foods, someone there can recommend the combo for a child, and it needs to be refrigerated. Best of luck!

J.

Call your school district and get her evaluated for an IEP. They have special day classes for 3 years olds and they work on speech. My oldest is speech delayed and we had services from Early Start from the time he was 5 months old. When he hit 3 the school disctrict picked up. We lived in Antioch at the time but all school disctrict are the same. If you live in the Mt. Diablo School District I believe Gregory Gardens is the school he would go to at 3.

Hi,

Contact a public elementary school near you. You can call or just walk into the office. they are used to helping people and are very nice. they will have a good idea what resources are available to you and can direct you.
Good luck
J.

Contact the Central Valley Regional Center. They can assess your daughter and provide therapy at no cost to you! They will also be able to refer you to a pre-school that meets your daughter's needs.
My son (adopted) was delayed when we got him and we were referred to the regional center. After a very thorough assessment, a therapist came to the house every month (would have been more often if we wanted it!) and the therapist was very helpful, caring and had many other resources that she was able to make me aware of.

If you ask your daughter's doctor to prescribe speech therapy, you may be able to get special services for free and be able to attend play groups and get one on one therapy for a short time.
This happened to us when we took my son in for his well check up at 2 years old and did not have any words.
He signed up for therapy in October and before January, he had several words.
If the doctor did not prescribe therapy, I do not know how much money we would have spent.

As a preschool speech language pathologist, I need to say, that yes, preschool programs that are designed to address language and speech delayed childrens' needs ARE the place to learn to talk. A language rich preschool and trained professionals are very skilled at teaching children to talk in a "normal" environment which can be more effective than a traditional therapy setting, depending on the child of course. In regard as to how to proceed: Your daughter is eligible for free service from a speech pathologist from birth to three from a provider which is most likely a regional center (some were mentioned in previous emails) depending on where you live, then from 3-5 years of age with your school district or county office of education as the provider (depending on the district/county you live in) and finally with the school district of residence from 5 through 21 years of age, providing she qualifies and continues to qualify for service once she is tested through them. I would contact your school district's office of special education and ask them whom to contact for services for a 2 1/2 year old AND ask them how to get her on the list for an evaulation right after she turns three with the preschool assesment team for your district. Best Regards, E.

Dear J.,

I don't know if your daughter has been diagnosed by a speech therapist but the first step is to call your local school district to have her assessed by a professional. If she needs speech therapy she will get it for free thru your local school district. You don't need to worry about her going to a preschool that provides speech therapy, most do not. My son started speech therapy at a neighboring elementary school at 3 and then had speech therapy until last year while in kindergarten at his home school. Good luck!

Laraine

You should have been referred to San Andreas Regional Center as soon as it became apparent that your daughter was speech-delayed. I put their website address below as well as the description of what a regional center is. Go to the Contact Us section of their website and get the phone number of the San Andreas Regional Center office nearest you.

http://www.sarc.org/earlystart.html

San Andreas Regional Center is a community-based, private nonprofit corporation that is funded by the State of California to serve people with developmental disabilities as required by the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Act. The Lanterman Act is part of California law that sets out the rights and responsibilities of persons with developmental disabilities. San Andreas is one of 21 Regional Centers throughout California serving individuals and their families who reside within Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz Counties.

I assumed that you live in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey or San Benito Counties. If you live in San Mateo, San Francisco or Marin Counties, go to Golden Gate Regional Center. If you live in the East Bay, go to The Regional Center of the East Bay.

If you live elsewhere, go to the San Andreas website LINKS section. Use the link to the Department of Developmental Services. That website lists each regional center in California and what geographic area it covers.

Please make these contacts immediately. It is only 6 months until your daughter ages out of the Early Start services. But it sounds like she will qualify for other regional center services as well as school system services.

--B.

Go to NAEYC.org (National Association of Early Childhood Educators)website. Also, your state or county or local school district should have a link to preschools who can help. I am a mother of 4 adult children, grandmother of 14, and am a preschool teacher. I know some are concerned when speech does not come "on time". I am the oldest in my family, my sister is one year younger than me and I let her do all the communicating until I was 31/2 years old. My parents thought I could not talk, but when I started I spoke in sentences. My first sentence was to tell my aunt (10 years my senior) to shut up because she was interrupting my little sister who was telling my mother a story. Not all "speech delay" is a problem but just the child's own developmental process. Please process the info you are given and use your on "mom wisdom" in making decisions for your children.

J.,
Your public elementary school is responsible for speach therapy when your child turns 3. You just need to call or visit their District Office and speak to the Educational Services department. They will give you some paperwork to fill out along with a release of medical information form so they can get the information they need from your Dr. Then they will set up speach therapy and any other services that your child might need. This is at no cost to you. My son has a speach problem also and it doesn't matter what pre-school he was in they assesed him from the school district and I took him to speach therapy every week and it was provided at one of the school sites. Some districts have a traveling speach therapist and they will come to your pre-school. You just need to find out from your school district what their procedures are.
Good Luck

Hi J., I read most of the replies to avoid duplicates and I hope as a mom who lives near you in Roseville with a child who has received local services, that I can help. I am writing down a lot so print this and SAVE IT For Future use.
ALTA Regional is 1620 Santa Clara Drive. Suite 100.
I suggest calling the Sac downtown office for intake. www.altaregional.org, I believe. Cindy Kenley is one of their intake folks. It is essential to have an eval before she is 3 for several reasons. You need to get her early intervention while her sweet little brain is placid and language development will be enhanced. Check out Super Duper catalogue as well. Start a notebook on her habits and behavior to see if she has any oral motor issues or sensory needs. Chewing on things, tactile needs or avoidance. Read websites devoted to brain injuries. Please ask Alta to add your daughter to the Musica Therapy wait lists with Rachel Furchow at Speech and Language associates. Also, do everything you can to get your daughter in at the UCDAVIS MIND Institute. DO not be discouraged with the wait list, the administrators or the paperwork, as it is well worth it. Her needs may be longlasting and these doctors will be an asset as she matures.
Are you in drycreek, eureka or rcschool district?
Erica Dunning is a fab speech patholgist and teacher and runs a Communication preschool class. There are several others but my son had Erica and she has been doing this a while.
Phillip Williams is the program head and if possible, would be my preference at an IEP (hon, you will learn all of this terminology as time goes on.) and Jeff Chalfant runs the preschool program. Mandy at Jabbergym if you have private pay. I know this is a lot to take in. Just write everything in your notebooks, KEEP every piece of paper, record and video tape her and do not feel compelled to share all details with everyone.
LASTLY, if you ever feel like you are not getting appropriate services for your daughter and need support, WARMLINE is in Roseville and they are volunteers and staff who take phone calls from parents with questions. They are usually parents of special needs children and their advice is sage and wise. They offer workshops as well. They know all of the school districts and specialists and can be a great support. AREA BOARD 3 a FREE advocacy agency through the government. Ask for Lynne if you can. She is swamped but tell her how you heard of her, from C. T. and tell her that you are brand new to all of this. Also, the City of Roseville
has an ADA coordinator Joanie Cameron and Marcy Spina is an adpative Rec Therapist and they offer adaptive swim, sports and access to any art or dance camp with special helpers should she ever need one. You pay for regular park and rec but they will make it work and many people do not know this. They are amazing people and are what make Roseville Awesome.
Now, Bayside Church is big but they have a special program called through the roof and first fridays which you can look into. Marcy is involved in that too. I am not sure if you attend Church but want you to know how much your community supports families. I know there is more to share. A note about my son. He was born emergency c section after a failed version (they tried to move him back into postion after he went breech and was in distressed but he was a big baby and could not move back and he was blue at birth, not needing to go to the NICU and doctors assured me all was fine. It was at his 8 month check up that dr.'s notice low muscle tone and not meeting milestones. That changed our life. I had a background in Learning theory and education but my fantasy of raising my children in natural, developmental environment was shattered and I immediately learned about neurology, brain trauma( words that depressed me) development, intervention, therapy, advocacy etc. I was anxious and still have to work hard to deal with the complexities of being a mother to a child with unique needs while also attending to his precious younger sister, my husband and my own needs. My son is 5.5 now and starting reg Kindergarten. His speech was non existant when his peers were prattling on. Today, he speaks well with issues( sometime dysfluencies and way too fast as we have learned that our son, despite everything, is gifted and a smarty pants which only complicates things. He has splintered skills, talents in one areas above age level and still struggling in lanugage and social emotional skills. If I could turn the clock back, I would have focued more on our bond and less on servies. They pick up on our angst and develop a sense of brokenness that is heartbreaking. My son and I have healed and are close again but we had to work hard. I carry a lot of guilt that I work on daily. I often think that waiting until my mom could get to the hospital to see the baby being born in SF was a contributor to his traumatic birth, that I ate too much and made him too big, that I stressed him out with all of the therapies and that it robbed his innocence and childhood with strangers working on his mouth muscles and body movements and making the poor kid Walk up stairs if he wanted a treat when others just did things naturally..and today he is learning the butterfly stroke in swim, is a sprinter, sight reads, tells time, substracts and draws complex puzzles and maps. His thoughts are still unigue and he sees the details in the world and this is not cool among the 5 year old set. He is socially immature and has a ways to go. HE is going into regular kindergarten with anxiety and I have a team set up for continued intervention and it is a full time job. I fall apart on some days and on days like this when I can respond to a new mom just starting out, feel grateful for how far we have come. Contact me if I can be of help. We welcome to meet up at the park that is being built behind stoneridge school right now. My daughter is 2.5 and She is a great language model. She speaks in paragraphs and is social. I encourage you to find children that are models for your sweet girl.
Lastly, consider a second preschool program with typical children to enhance her language as well. I know this is a lot but thought you could benefit from resources and a story.
Blessings to you and anyone else who may benefit from this response.

Check with your local school district as well because they may have preschool speech programs available.

Go to your local public school district they will be able to recommend the right preschool for her. It might even be free if she qualified.

When I took my daughter for her wellness visit, I was asked a series of questions about her development and this was when she was 2.5. The question asked if my child says at least 50 words. It was the pediatrician that referred the county program First Start. My daughter was only in the program until she turned 3 and from there the school district takes over. We were on the waiting list, but it wasn't until the end of the school year that she started. All the hours that were missed while being on the waiting list is being made up in addition to the regular program. There is a shortage of speech pathologist, so when there is an opening it's best to take it. If you end up canceling a session the time is lost, but if the session is canceled on their part the time will still be made up. Also you might want to look into http://www.php.com

The school district also offers speech for preschool age. Call your local elementary school and ask for the contact to the preschool assessment program.

J., I don't have any advice about preschools. I'm so glad that your little girl is okay. Many children have speech problems, I wouldn't attribute it to what happened when she was 5 months old. If it were me, I wouldn't even mention it except to your Dr. Most moms know that accidents happen, and that we are all lucky that our children aren't seriously injured every day because every parent makes mistakes. But, some people say thoughtless and cruel things when parents make mistakes, so, as I said, if it were me I, I wouldn't mention it, cause I don't think it is relevent.

I would advice you get in touch to the regional center in your county... they will provide help and pay for much of her needed therapies!!! I my self have 2 vaccine bain-injured kids!!!Give me a call if you want to learn about therapies that will make a diference in her life!!!###-###-####

Love, G.. :0)
http://stemcellforautism.blogspot.com/

Has her pediatrician recommended a speech evaluation or recommended you contact your local Regional Center. What about looking into your school district because if she has a speech delay they are responsible for her education?

I think the school district starts providing services at age 3. You might want to contact your local regional center for an evaluation. They provide services and support to children your daughter's age. Call and ask for an evaluation of her speech and language development, and her development in general. There is a school in Dublin you might want to check out called School of the Imagination that is a thereputic preschool that helps with language. You may qualify for a similar program through the regional center. If your daughter has a significant language delay a theraputic preschool is the way to go. Best of luck.

I sent my daughet to a parent participation preschool through Sac unified and she was evaluated and given services once a week at preschool for about 1/2 an hour. Youmay try contacting your school district to see what programs they offer. Good Luck!

my middle son now 3 has speech delay too. I called FAR Northern and they did all the testing on him like his ears eyes ect with specialty dr's. he got a really great speech therapist, now we are at the mercy of the reg school speech programs which i am not to happy with, but at least it is a star.

J.,
You should call the school district in your area. Your daughter should qualify for services through them, including preschool and speech from a licensed speech therapist. She'll have to be tested, and then they'll assess whether she qualifies under the federal law for children w/ disabilities.
My daughter had speech delay, got tested and went through the system w/ special education preschool, speech, and then special education kindergarten. She is now starting this fall regular education kindergarten and LOVES learning. Early intervention is key, and there are a lot of resources out there for your daughter.
Hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions I might be able to answer.
Regards,
D.

There should be a program through Placer County that can do an evaluation (the zero to three age group) and provide services until she turns three, at which time she will be transferred to the school district for services if she still qualifies. Your pediatrician should be able to give you the appropriate number for you to call for an evaluation. If she truly has a delay, they will usually place her in a preschool geared toward improving the delay so she can be all caught up before she starts kindergarten. I think you need to contact the Placer County Office of Education, but I am not positive on that.

Hi J.,
The parents I know who have kids with speech delays sent them to regular preschools. I would highly suggest play-based programs that focus on all areas of development -- gross motor skills, fine motor skills, social, emotional, and cognitive development. The early years will likely skew more towards social and emotional development. Then, see a speech therapist outside of the preschool. This has worked well for the people I know. In particular, I would recommend Reggio Emilia or Montessori based programs. Also, my son was born very early, and there were concerns about developmental delays (more gross motor skills than anything else). and the developmental experts strongly suggested that we send him to preschool early (we sent him at an actual age of 2yrs, 4mos, and an adjusted age of 2yrs, 1mo. However, your situation is different, and I highly recommend you ask the pediatrician for his/her recommendation and for a referral to developmental specialists to get their perspectives. We never would have thought to send our son to preschool early on our own, but it worked out wonderfully. Speech delays have many causes, so getting her into a speech pathologist is key.

You should be able to call the local school district and tell them what's going on and that you want to get her evaluated for her speech. My daughter is 3 years old and I got her evaluated when she was like 2 1/2 years old and come to find out she has hearing loss. So I would check in and find out if they do evaluations on speech and they will send her wherever she needs to go for it to get what she needs.

You should already be starting to contact your local school district to find out what classes and services that they might have available. From the age of 3 they are required to provide services like speech therapy and preschool for children with delays. There are some programs that do sort of small group speech therapy. There is a pretty good resource list at www.php.com
If anyone tells you that "it's not that bad", or "she doesn't need much" please persist with them because communication is SO important to all aspect of life and learning and early intervention can make a big difference.
Best of luck to you

Dear J., God Bless your daughter. How terribly traumatic for your family to have an experience like that, but how very joyful it is that she is well and that your father in law saved her life. I was so teary reading your story. I am not an expert, but I have raised three children, all now adults. I saw many 2-1/2 year olds through my childrearing years that did not speak much, but they all ended up fine. It is possible that the delay in speech has nothing to do with the incident you described. My daughter, Juli, is a speech pathology major at San Jose State. I will show her your request and see what she says. SO many factors, including reading to a child and "labeling" their world for them as they are leaning to speak affect speech. Also, children tend to speak about things they are interested in (i.e., a new place, stuffed animal or doll, etc.) and working with them discussing and describing in simple terms something they like is very helpful. Also, I colored in coloring books with my children from an early age, and that is a great opportunity to bring language into an activity. The pictures in the coloring books, as well as the many colors can be talked about to bring about development of language. Do you sing? Singing is a great way to teach a child to "speak" and also to get them going with numbers, rhyming and more. Wishing you and your family all the best, and I know all will be well! :o) PS - I just remembered that my nephew did not really speak until age 4 - it turned out he had hearing problems. Just a thought.

I also suggest calling Warmline or Alta Regional in your area. Their services are free until 3 yrs of age. My daughter uses their services and is doing really well! Sacramento County Office of Education's Infant Development Program intake ####-###-#### They will speak with you about your concerns and start the intake process. You can also call Alta California Regional Center at ###-###-#### and let them know that you want an assessment done. Good luck!

Follow the advice of Deanne W. I recently had a very similar situation with my son. The district should be able to guide you. There are early intervention programs available for children who have speech delays; most are very good, and provide children and their parents with various methods to strengthen the mouth muscles and the tongue. Initially she probably won't go to an actual school, she'll probably be part of an EI speech program, then at the age of 3(some districts have different age requirements), depending on the progress she has made, she will be placed in an appropriate preschool setting wherein she will be provided with speech therapy. In all the avenues you will have to travel to get your daughter what she needs, above all else, you must remember that you are her biggest advocate. You will know what is good for your daughter...trust your gut!

I agree with all of the moms out there mentioning regional centers and school districts. Yes, they can evaluate your daughter and provide some serivces.

As far as a preschool is concerned, a language rich environment is what I prefer for my 2 1/2 yo speech delayed son, and a Montessori school can provide that. There are many web sites that can inform you about the Montessori Method of education if you are curious.

My son's delay is with articulation, not language development or processing. You will want to discover the area of your daughter's delay before making decisions. Good luck.

I'm sorry to hear. Did you get your child tested for a speech therapist? You may want to inquire through your school district. From there they may know of some preschools. What area are you looking at?

J.,
My name is P. and your little gilr's speech issues sound a lot like my nephews. He is a smart kid, but due to serious ear infections, he had some hearing loss that delayed his speech.
The best thing that happened to him was when he started preschool. He got speech therapy and also got to interact with other kids. You should call your local school district and tell them that you want your daughter assessed. Don't think that 2 1/2 is too young. Districts have classes for kids helping with speech long before kindergarten. In fact the earlier she gets speech therapy, the better. And it is the school's obligation to help her, so there is no charge to you. Contact them soon. Good luck!

You can contact your local school district and they can provide free speech therapy. Also contact Alta Regional and see what services they can provide. They are also free from what I have heard. Good luck!

Hi J.,

Have you tried locate the unified school district? They should be able to help you with the pre-school with speach therapy. Any schools with specialty are affiliated in the unified district. Call and find out what pre-school your daughter can go to. Goodluck finding it. I'm so happy that she is well, and healthy. Thank god for your father in law was able to do CPR. Your daughter is very lucky to be here with all of you and family. Unlikely, when a baby don't breathe that long,it can do damage to the delicate brain. She is one of the luckiest girl! Take care!

Two suggestions:
First, start with your pediatrician about speech or other therapy options.
Second, contact the public school district office where you live. At age three, the school district is responsible for providing your child with speech therapy (and other therapy such as occupational/physical therapy if needed). Look into the Early Head Start program for her.

Good luck.

Hi J. - I have a daughter that requires special attention as well (she's insulin-dependent diabetic). She is starting preschool in 2 weeks and I found that the best resource for me was to contact the local school district and talk to them about what you need from them. You can also find out what school may have a speech therapist on staff, to help her when she moves into kindergarten, etc. Many preschools are now attached to the K-6 elementary schools. I hope this helps!