We have a 4 year old son who has a slight speach problem. His dentist says he has a high arch on both sides of his mouth which accounts for part of his problems. He thinks that when his molars come in, that will correct part/all of the problem. In the mean time, we would like to get him into some sort of therapy for the problem. However, the speach & hearing center here is quite expensive and my insurance will not cover the sessions. I'm trying to find out if there are other options locally that we could look into. Any suggestions, or contact information would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much for all your imput. I've been told that since our son is in private school, he will only be eligible for help thru the public school system until he starts kindgerdarten. Since he starts kindergarten this fall, we might be able to get some help thru the summer. I'm also asking our pediatrician for any referrals. Thanks again to those who responded.
Have you tried looking into the public school system for help? My son also has a speech problem, He receives therapy through the school system and will continue to get it until he passes the expectations. They come to his daycare to tutor him once a week.
Enroll your child in preschool.
Both of my younger sons attended preschool and were assessed for visual, hearing, speech, and teeth while they attended, when my youngest failed the speech part, he was given free speech therapy through the preschool I do not know if it matters what type of preschool but my sons went to a presbyterian preschool. But anyway, once he left preschool he went to public school which also offers speech therapy.
Good Luck to you!
B.
you might want to check out the school district for speech therapy, usually when a child is over 3 they do it, check into it. Your tax dollars at work too, not your insurance!
My son had speech problems due to a lot of ear infections when he was little. After we got tubes put in his ears, he could finally hear what we were saying. But all the years that he couldn't hear us, he didn't learn how to speak correctly because he couldn't hear with all the fluid in his ears. He attended our preschool here in Paris where we live. Mrs. Chamberlain did a wonderful job with him over a few years. You can't even tell he ever had a problem. I'm so glad our public school system had this to help our son. Maybe you can also find a program like this..L.
You should check your preschool program. In our area they will do a speech eval and if he qualifies this can get him into the preschool program plus give him speech therapy at the schools expense. If it is just a temporary thing that will be fixed with molars then by the time he moves on to K the speech therapy may not be needed.
The Shelby County Schools in Memphis, TN offer free speech therapy. I don't know where you are located, but check your public school.
If you live in Buncombe County, your child may qualify for speech therapy with the school system. The evaluation is free, and so is the therapy...they can even come to your child's daycare for the weekly session. My daughter received therapy this way for a year. Call the special ed department of your local school system.
Hey B.!
Sounds like you might want to contact your local board of education to request a "preschool speech assessment." Speech therapy is covered under TEIS (Tn Early Intervention System) up until your child turns 3 yrs old. On their 3rd bday, they transition to the care of their local county's special education department. They will give you some information/paperwork to fill out and once they receive the completed paperwork, they a have a certain number of school days to complete the assessment. At that point they will determine if your child is eligible to receive services. It will be of no cost to you. You would just have to take him to a local school as if you were taking him to a clinic for therapy.
If he DOES NOT qualify, you can check with you pediatrician for options as well as the school where you have him assessed.
Hope this helps. Feel free to ask if you have any questions. I have been a pediatric speech therapist for 14 years. :)
Good luck!
J. M.
www.jennifermcveyslp.com
My 4 year old son attends speech therapy once a week at the elementary school in our district. It is free and very helpful. I learned about it thru the health dept, although you could call partnership for young children or the school system.
Have to tried contacting your local preschool. My mother is a speech pathologist and I know they have speech therapists that rotate within the school system to the preschools to provide therapy. That may be an option for you. Enrolling your child into the school system would provide you with free speech and language services if your child tests results show deficits.
My daughter had a speech problem (stuttering) at about that age and we looked into getting speeech therapy for her too. We ran into similar problems with the cost of it and insurance not wanting to pay. I found out that our school system had to provide free speech therapy to any child who was in need. I had to wait until she started kindergarten (but if your son is four, that wont be long) and I called a meeting with the teacher, principal and speech therapist) They did some testing on her and she started therapy very soon after school started. Her teacher had never noticed the problem because she wouldn't talk in class, so call the meeting right away (don't wait for the teacher) I am happy to report that she is now in the thrid grade and doesn't even remember stuttering!
If you contact the local school system they can get you the help you need at no cost to you. They will have to evaluate your son to see of he is in need of the help but then they will determine what services he would need and how many times a week.
Go to your local public elementary school. It is free, atleast here in Charlotte, NC, to register your child there. You have to be flexible w/when they can fit your kid in w/their schedule. They have speech patholigists that can assist. I know our speech program has a few preschool aged children & homeschooled children and they do not have to pay.
Hi B.,
I agree with the other moms about contacting your local public school system for a speech evaluation to begin the process of receiving free speech therapy. Depending on where you live, you might also look to local universities for research or training opportunities. In the Nashville, TN area, families can find speech therapy free through research by visiting www.kc.vanderbilt.edu/studyfinder. There are also free speech therapy options at TN State University's program that trains speech-language pathologists.
Perhaps there are similar programs in your area.
