I had a recent post about my son's IEP. I also want to know how other parents are dealing personally with such an issue. I know everyone's situation is different and not all children will have similar behaviors because of whatever their developmental disorder or delay is. But...I think my son's speech delay (he has not been diagnosed official with anything) is the cause of his temper tanturms, which involve hitting, tossing things across the room (whenever I tell him to something) and not wanting to be potty trained. It has effected my life so much and it is so confining because I can't take him anywhere without being embarrassed at some point because of his behavior. He is not like this all the time but just enough so that it is a problem. I have constant complaints and reports from his daycare and I believe that they are just not capable of dealing with him. And I don't know who is. my Husband and I both work full-time so he has to be in childcare during the day. Its just so frustrating some days I've reached out to so many agencies and people for support and some type of guidance but it seems as if I can't get help. Sometimes I feel like I'm making a big deal out of something thats not. But if that is the case why do I feel so bad most of the time? After all he is only 3 years old I should be in control of the situation. Right??
Any Advice or thoughts would be so appreciated.
My daughter is labeled Speech delayed/cognitive delay.
She goes to school part time. Have you tried the macomb intermediate schoo district. Email me
C. S.
Hi B.,
I have a 3 year old daughter who seems to be having a lot of the same issues as your son. Which school disctrict are you in and how are they helping you? I know your posting was some time ago but I would like to know how things are going. Maybe you have overcome some of the issues and can be of some help to me. If anything maybe we can be of some support to each other.
I have been lucky enough to not have any children with delays.But, I have a 3 yr old daughter who has outburst just like your sons.If I give her something she does not like to eat it is nothing for her to toss the whole plate on the floor.I have tried everything to try and get her to stop.Nothing seems to work but consistency and getting her away from the situation and concentrating on something else.I personally am wondering if my daughter might have add..But like you, I am at my wits end with her.I think your son is going through alot of normal three year old behavior.Some could be from his speech delay because he is frustrated and cannot get out what exactly is bothering him.But I bet alot of it is "normal" for the age.. When I read your letter I thought " is she talking about Ash??"haha I do understand what you are going through.I have not taken mine to a restaurant in a couple years because she embarasses me so badly.I try to leave her with dad for any kind of shopping..lol..But if she is alone she is better in public.. Good Luck !!!
Hi B.,
I'm sorry things are hard right now, hopefully with some intervention it will get better. I't possible at the end of the
evaluation process your son will be eligible for some school intervention that will help. Also if you have health insurance he might be eligible for some intervention through them. Often school intervetion is good but a little outside help is also good. If you have health insurance read the policy manuel and see what you are eligible for. If your child does not have insurance
call 1-800 MI Child for insurance.
I've read some of the other responses since posting mine. Here's a though,I know some parents aren't comfortable with this, but
some young children are on medication. I would talk to your pediatrician and see what they say. I think I also made the suggestion before about an infant mental health therpaist they may be able to sort this out. Hope that helps.
L.
B.
Have you sought out your pediatricians advice regarding his temper tantrums or outbursts? Has his hearing been tested? Again I found going for a complete evaluation for our daughter provided many anwers that allowed us to help her move forward which she has done and is a totally different toddler now.
good luck and use the resources you have available to you through your docs and ask the day care if they employ a social worker or call your local school district for an evaluation for his behavior, some of his frustrations and outbursts may be related to his frustration of NOT speaking and being understood.
E.
B.,
I am going through something similar to you..I have 3 boys, one is 7 years old and has Autism. It is sometimes difficult to take him anywhere also, because of the temper tantrums, trust me I isolated myself for a long time, because it was easier than dealing with people staring. He also has speech delay and is just beginning to have some. Potty training is another issue for us. I have 4 years of IEP experience. I know how you feel about noone wanting to help. Just ask any other parent of an Autistic child how much support and help we get... I would be willing to help you in any way I can...Good luck!!
Don't despair. I had a similar situation - my son was not speaking (no words, nothing) at 20 months. He was TERRIBLE with the grunting, hitting, agressive behavior....I HATED it. I felt exactly the same way. However, we went through the IEP process and started getting some speech therapy through the schools - basically it was a LOT of play time for my son - trying to get him to respond (with a verbal sound). Then, we sought speech services through a hospital therapy program (we've used North Oakland Medical Center (NOMC) and Beaumont) - NOMC has a special speech program for people whose insurance doesn't cover speech therapy...I don't remember the specific cost, but it was approx. 12 (30 min) sessions for $250 - which is a steal to help your child communicate!. Beaumont doesn't have any special/discount pricing - but they do accept insurance. BOTH programs were great. NOMC started (at 22 months of age) to use sign language with my son - and that's when his behaviour started to improve. Once he was able to 'sign' for thirsty, eat, potty (yes, my son was potty trained before he could speak), cookie, cracker, etc. he was back to being his fun loveable little self. My son was diagnosed as 'oral-motor apraxia'...which is a devastating diagnosis - especially if you research it online! It's taken roughly 2 years of speeech, lots of repetition of words, and lots of prayer - but my son is almost at a normal speech level. Stay strong, don't let the bad days keep you down!
Hi B.,
I too have a similar problem with my 2 years old. He just turned two on 20th sep. He just says a very few words for his age. Though he's able to follow simple directions he is not able to tell his needs. He can only point and grunt. He too has got issues with his behaviours. There are so many people working with him but we are not able to see a change in him. He is in to early intervention and goes to school twice a week. There is a person coming home to help me tackle his fussy behaviour. all these are going on for nearly a year now. but we actually couldn't find a major change in him. Even at school he would cry for the whole two hours and they are not able to mold him. Because of his behaviour the speech therapist said she can do nothing with him to improve his speech unless he cooperates with her. I too really don't know what i should be doing. I was told by one of my friend that the behaviour could be because of some sensory problems too. He is got difficulty with chewing foods. He can only just swallow foods. He doesn't take any crackers or anything of that sort which definitely needs some biting and chewing. Just from today i started giving him some fish oil as i heard that sometimes DHA in the fish oil improves behaviour as well as help with speech too. If u r interested u can also try and see and please do let me know if it helped. Where do u live? I live in Troy, Michigan. keep in touch. Regards, Vidhya
PLEASE go to the website www.apraxia-kids.org and start reading some of the articles and posts from the list serve. Apraxia is a speech condition, but there are ton of parents on the list serve whose children have other speech problems and developmental delays. I have learned so much from this group of parents that I can't even begin to tell you!
I was in the EXACT same situation with my son when he was two. When I read your post it was like reading something I wrote a couple of years ago. He would hit, bite, and scream. He wouldn't potty train, and he would act out so much! I would literally just sit and cry some days wondering why I was such a bad parent. Then I found this on line support group! We also have a Michigan support group for kids with apraxia and other speech problems that has just started. I can give you the info if you are interested.I could go on for hours. If you would like to email me at my private address we can talk some more. ____@____.com
Take care,
J.
I hope that this message brings you some hope! While reading your post, I felt as though I was reading about myself and my daughter.
She was just recently diagnosed with a Sensory Processing Disorder and she will be starting Sensory Intergration Therapy at Beaumont in a few weeks (There is a light at the end of this tunnel and this is not something that my daughter will have to be in for the rest of her life) There are some other great facilities that deal with these issues as well: The Kaufman Center and the Abilities Center (both in West Bloomfield)
If you would like some more information you can go to:
www.kidspeech.com or www.input.com.au
Good Luck to you and your family!! I hope that you find the information and help that you are looking for!!
I was the one that responded regarding getting an advocate for your IEP meeting. What you are probably seeing is a frustration level b/c of his speech delay. He cannot either comprehend and/or let you know what he wants/doesn't want. This causes major problems until he hits a point where he can comprehend or relay his feelings. This of course can't happen without speech services. The example you provided is an excellent one to relay at the IEP, more of a reason for him to get more speech services. If it doesn't get under control (by intensive speech therapy), then it will turn into behavior, and instead of having just a speech problem, you will have a behavior one as well.
Let me know if you have any more questions, I would be glad to help if I can.
Hi -- my daughter's special ed teacher recommended taking pictures of common objects ( cup, crackers, book, different toys) and laminating them to make a "book" that she can use to point to desired objects that she can't name. This, plus signing seems to give her a better sense of control, and helps her be less frustrated. I don't know if this might work for you, but it's worth considering -- good luck!
-- N.
