We had my son (who is almost 3) screened today for the school district's speech program. He failed the screening (for articulation). They did the further testing and he was not far enough behind to qualify for the program. He was at the 17th percentile and has to be at the 7th (or something like that). They are going to prepare a packet for me to work on with him. They said if he doesn't make progress to have him re-evaluated in December. His scores now would qualify him for the program if he were 3 1/2. I certainly hope that isn't the case since it would mean he made 0 progress in 6 months.
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with any programs designed to help preschoolers with speech (articulation) problems? Or has anyone had any experience with private therapy? If you have any ideas I would love to hear details (including costs, if you know them).
Thanks so much for your help. I appreciate it!
Hi A.
My son went to private therapy from 4 to 8 years old. We went to Children's Speciality Center in Desoto, Tx.
Good Luck!
A., you might check into the Speech and Hearing Program at the University of North Texas in Denton. I took my son there and he made a lot of progress. They also have an early reading program. They work one-on-one with both a graduate master's student and supervising faculty. We paid $30 for a 45 minute session once a week. It was a big expense for a while but it was worth it, and of course tax deductable at the end of the year.
I saw that you live in Ft. Worth. TCU has a speech and hearing clinic which graduate students provide therapy to the clients under the supervision of a licensed speech pathologist. Also, UNT and TWU have speech and hearing clinics which provide speech services and the fee is based on a sliding scale and I believe they all probably can file for insurance. I don't where you live in Ft. Worth but you can look at Our Children's House of Baylor - they have several locations in the DFW area. I am speech-language pathologist in the schools and yes the 7th percentile is our eligilibity but we also look at overall intelligibility in conversation. I would encourage you to model the correct articulation for him.
I don't have any first-hand experience, but I have always heard people refer others to Early Childhood Intervention. I'm sorry I can't provide more, but explore that option. I am an elementary school teacher and I have sadly not ever seen much progress out of my students who were in speech therapy at school. I'm sure it is better in other places, but not my campus, and we've had several different speech teachers over the last 8 years I've been there.
How frustrating for you. I have been in your exact shoes. My son is now 4 yrs old and is about to complete his second year in a Preschool Articulation Class with the Mansfield ISD. The same class that when tested by the district he did not qualify for. My son has been in private speech therapy since before two (twice a week). I am not sure what district you are in, but most districts are required to accept outside evaluations. So after they tested my son and said he didn't qualify, I had our private speech pathologist do testing and make their recommendations that I then presented to the school. Once he was in the program, his "teacher" who is a speech pathologist couldn't believe that the district had denied him. It is a fantastic program and we have made great strides although we do continue with our private therapy as well. I am really proud that he has you for his voice. Just speak up for him....you know whats best. Feel free to email me if you need any help or support. Good Luck!!! J.
Hi A.,
As far as familiarity with speech programs for prschoolers -I have almost 20 years of experience in that department -- I am a speech-language pathologist.
I would be happy to speak with you - ###-###-####. If you would like to learn a little about me, I invite you to visit my web site, www.startherapyprograms.com. I will be out of town this weekend, with my daughter for a dance competition - but would be happy to speak with you next week. Should you be interested in references, it would be my pleasure to provide them for you.
A., I would like to congratulate you on your interest in early intervention. Every published research article discusses the benefits of early intervention. Your child will truly benefit from you avoiding the "wait and see" attitude. Over the years I have met with so many parents whom regret waiting, and not finding help sooner. Your child is fortunate to have you as his advocate.
I hope we have the opportunity to speak.
Best Regards,
S.
All three of my boys had speech therapy. But we also did the exercises at home. I think that he will be fine as long as you do the exercises that they gave you. Mine did fine.
Good luck,
L.
Our son had the same issue, and the speech therapists at the school know what they are talking about. Some of the issues are developmental and he will grow out of them as our son did. Some of the speech errors are learned. When he gets to a certain age, he will grow out of developmental problems and then speech therapists can work on other errors, provide excercises, etc. Our son had sever speech problems, grew out of most, and was given a speech threrapist in 5th grade and exited that program in one year. Today, you would never know.
We've had a foster child that has had a year of speech therapy and our son has had a few issues with speech. Are you using straws or straw sippy cups? If not, start using straws, it encourages the child to use different muscles and in a few months you'll notice a difference in his speech. It will help on the sounds like L, W, T, the ones that you use your tongue with.
If your child has weak facial muscles, you can have him pull on twizzlers and use his jaw muscles (one side of his jaw) to pull it off. You can practice different sounds while reading books or asking your child to repeat you.
We had private therapy for our foster child. Our biological child had ECI and is now in private therapy for Occupational Therapy. Private therapy is great, if your insurance will cover it. We use Sante Pediatrics. We use to have Therapy 2000 and the therapist injured herself, so they couldn't come anymore. Therapy 2000 comes to your house, however are more expensive that the traditional therapy of you going into the office. Our cost for Occupational Therapy with our insurance (United Healthcare)is $5.50 a session. Our foster child had Medicaid, so there was no out of pocket expense.
First try the straw, I saw a big difference in my child's speech and our Foster Child's speech. Be consistent with the straw and any thing else you try. It does take time and patience to see improvement. Good Luck!
Monkey Mouths in Hurst is FANTASTIC!! They have done wonders with my daughter... AND... it's totally FUN! Your child will love it...
Two programs I know of for preschoolers are: Kumon and UNT has a speech department that works on a sliding scale. It is students who work with the kids, so it is fairly affordable.
hi A.
first STOP ALL baby talk. Second require him to ask for what he want s NO GRUNTING ALLOWED. also can get book at library on baby or todller sign language. WHen you give commands like sit down or want drink do the sign as well. also try MOPS programs my 3 almost 4 yr old is in the same boat to far advanced to be behaind and the far behind to be normal wonderful isn't it. but she is starting to catch up. Also try nature hiks( walk around nighborhood or park and point things out) ONce you fine something that interst him stick with it introducing new words into that event . these are alll FREE but you may have to try a speech therypist. HTe only ones i know are in GRanbury and College Station.
