My 5 year old has a lisp (pronounces "s" with a "th"). I never have given it much thought until recently, when all of the research I found (and talked to a friend who is an out of state speech therapist) states that he should have outgrown it by now. Every website I visit tells me that by age 4 1/2, the child should be evaluated if the lisp has continued to that point. They point out that many parents wait too long (3rd grade for example), and it makes the lisp very difficult or impossible to cure by that point. However, the speech therapist at our son's school says it is a developmental thing and doesn't seem concerned. Any of you ever dealt with this and if so, what did you decide to do?
Thanks in advance.....
The school will not treat an articulation issue unless it causes the child to be disfunctional. They can, but the vast majority will not, and they are not required to provide services unless there is an educational need.
You can take her to a private therapist and get an evaluation and therapy, and you may have insurance benefits for some or all of it. In most cases, a simple lisp will not take that long.
M.
Ask your therapist at what age does he/she think it becomes a problem if not outgrown. Maybe 6th birthday? and then talk to him or her again then.
OR have your pediatrician send you to a speech therapist and see how much your insurance will help pay for therapy outside of school.
Has your sons teacher noticed anything or said anything about him having a lisp? If the school's speech therapist was not concerned then I would not be concerned. Maybe your out of state friend can speak with you son on the phone and give an opinion as well! I would wait and have him evulated again next year when school starts to see if the speech therapist has noticed any changes.
My mom was concerned when I started Kindergarten as "Mithy Thue", but the speech therapist at my school met with me, evaluated me and said I'd grow out of it too. It made my mom very nervous, but I did grow out of it by the time I started 1st grade. You can have your son evaluated by a speech therapist not connected to the school at your own expense or just keep an eye on it and make sure he's reevaluated in 6-12 months if no improvement is happening. Good luck!
I would wait until the end of KG & then address it again. As he learns to read & sound out words, he may develop beyond the lisp. If not, then you will be able to prove it is a handicap for him.
Cherryville is part of a small district & they may not have the funds available. I have a friend (a teacher in Viburnum) & even her own daughter was refused treatment for learning disabilities.
When my son required daily physical therapy, I approached the school district with a request to allow this during his gym class period...with us footing the bill.....(it was a weird situation & our therapist actually did go from school to school for this type of therapy. Unheard of in today's times.) .....anyway, the school refused to allow this for insurance/liability reasons. Soooo, my son had NO choice but to sit & watch the kids do gym. Totally sucked....until I figured out that he was entitled to "something" during this time period. Sometimes he was dropped off at the library, sometimes the computer lab....& sometimes he was in the gym - but with his own little tub of toys/activities....which then turned the tables on the rest of the class! They ended up fighting over who got to play with him & the toys! My lesson learned was: you get what you fight for!
