So DD starts her firt day of speech therapy and a type of physical therapy(not in the physical that you may think)...you know the one where they have them pick an object and following instructions with it and then help with her speech....Thursday. She is behind on her speech and usually has a hard time following most directions. Though, she does follow some. So I wouldn't say she doesn't follow ANY directions given to her. So has anyone else had their children go through this type of therapy...did you see any difference? I have talked to one mother at church so far....which was really really encouraging. So I am thinking some children are different on their learning times than others. But, you never can tell she may need a little help. We have known for a little while that she may or may not have a learning disability...so we are just going to see if this is where the Lord wants her to be. Though, her peds doctor seemed to think she was right on track with everything...but, the speech and instructions part. I was just interested in anyones experiences in this. :)
-Crystal

Yes, we are in the process. All my boys went to speech therapy. We did some private, but it was way too expensive for us, then we found out that the school system provides it for FREE!

The oldest went from ages 2-4, and then he went to regular Kindergarten.

Our middle child went starting at age 2 and is now in 100% special education.

Our baby goes to speech only, and has since 18 months. We expect that he will transition out in a couple of years.

We are extremely happy with all the services from the school district. They also have a lot of extra events that are super fun and that we would not be able to go to a regular one. Such as soccer tots, family dance, a farm brought petting animals to the school gym, etc etc etc.

Early intervention is very, very successful. The research has proven that. Our therapists always give us lots of support and resources to use at home, too, so even though Bobert only goes to speech once a week during the regular school year, we try to work with him every day. I do a lot of 'teachable moments' and just use the techniques as needed. Like, if he wants juice I make him say juice. It's hard for him and he still can't quite get it right but I make him try a few times to practice. Then he gets juice. Or when playing, the sound exercises like cars vrooming, honking, beeping, getting washed - wash wash wash, getting gas, etc etc. Things I never thought of before I saw the therapist do it. Then I was like OH, I can do that :)

Bri starts the same therapy on July 17th. I'm looking forward to learning more things that *we* can do with him at home to help too.

he will be in "medical-based" therapy until he's 36 months old, and then beginning October 2nd, 2008, he will be in with the school district, and will be a "shoe-in" for 4 year old kindergarten.

We had our son evaluated for speech difficulties before he started school. We were told he would outgrow his speech problems. They were right, but he still had difficulty with his "r's". Later in elementary school he went to speech therapy for most of one school year. It's offered free of charge at the public schools here also. By the end of the school year, he was doing well. He's a young man now and speaks just fine. :)

We have a friend who's son had speech therapy and it helped an amazing amount. I was wondering if you have had her hearing tested? If she is having trouble it will manifest in speech and also in her ability to follow directions, since she can't hear clearly. Just a thought.

Thank you all for the posts!!! I have found them all encouraging. I am glad that there seems to be progress with the therapy. On the other post....our doctor does not think it is her hearing. She had one test done when she was younger and it was normal. And I asked that at the last doc appt. he said he did not feel it was her hearing. Right now we just really don't know why. It just may be her own timing. Or she could have a learning disability....though, besides speech and following directions she is right on target. So I am thinking it's her own timing....I hope. He told us that speech was the most common thing to be behind on in children. We are very blessed that our insur. will cover all the costs of the therapy...though we had to fight them on a surgery...go figure :roll: We go to the same hospital my husband works at for it. So she is familiar with some of the people there. I think that will help a bunch. As for future schooling...we plan to homeschool..unless otherwise rec. by our doctor. Right now I have her going to a playgroup, children's church(with in our church), and then I met someone that we set up a playdate as well with her son....so I thought I heard her say "thank you" the other day. Maybe some social interaction with children will help with her speech and communication in general as well. Thank you for all your posts!

you should still be able to use school district services even if you homeschool, I would check into it.

also, on the "hearing" side of things, Bri couldn't hear b/c his tonsils and adenoids were too large and not allowing his ears to drain, so sounds were bouncing back out of his hear instead of being absorbed. that may be a thought to have looked at.
He was hearing "stuff" but kinda like underwater.

If that's the case, your daughter will pass a hearing test, but still won't be able to hear clear words.

My ds is 4 but is very delayed in his speech, he is about the level of my 18 month old! He says some words and recently has been putting 2 together :) He is also able now to do most animal sounds and is attempting more to try and say the word!
We had him in ST too since last Aug. during Summer it was a private Speech therapist, and then he was in Head Start and he got speech therapy there. After our move we got in contact with Early intervention and he is now in a special needs preschool, all but one child has speech problems, so their whole day is centred around trying to get the children to communicate, plus he gets one on one speech therapy too!
I was wondering if your dd may be going to an Occupational therapist!
I agrree with Rachel, I think Early intercention is so important, it has been a blessing to our family!
I wish you all the best and feel free to pm anytime :)

Hi Guys,
Sorry so late. Well, she went on Thursday as planned. The therapist actually wants to hold off on classes for right now. She suggested we work with her for three more months and see how things go. She told us that sign language would be great with DD. That we could use the baby sign language...instead of the adult. That if DD wanted to make up her own signs for things...that was okay as well. Just as long as we reinforce the sounds of the word. We also need to make sure she is making an attempt to pronounce words. Where as she may come and get us and place our hand on the door...we need to make her at least attempt to say out...ow...o...anything. They seem to think her hearing is just fine and the thing that is under her tongue(I know the word...but, I would butcher it so bad on here)does not need to be clipped. My dad's side of the family has this problem and his has been done twice already. She basically feels that my husband and I have the patience and one on one interaction that DD needs to try three more months at home on our own. She said we could contact her for any questions or help we may need during this time. She told us she could go ahead and put DD in a class...but, she felt confident that we would do just fine at home with DD. I trust her judgement. So we are going to wait three months and work with her on sign language as well. She says DD is behind in the speech. But, she has seen other children like her. That's why she wanted to wait the three months. She also advised that we not let her have her binky anymore during the day. Which for the most part...she gets it for naps and bedtime...she does come up with one every once in a while from a hiding place. So we went to Operation Binky Bye-Bye...last night was her first night binky free for the entire night!!!! Big feat for Doots..she is a highly known binky-a-holic in these parts...even known to do two at a time :lol: (I have pics). She has come a long ways these past few months. We have been trying to ween her off for a while now. So we have been down to naps, car rides, and bed time for a while now. So now we are trying to go the whole nine yards. So I guess now we will just pray for her and work with her on her speech...we'll see how it goes. Today I made her some flash cards and laminated them. I did A, B, C, and D. Then 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. I made copies as well. So she could play a matching game with them. I made little pics out beside the letters and the number of shapes out the side of the numbers. I figured we could go over them and pronounce the words and do some signs for them. She usually likes matching things in puzzles...so far she hasn't got the hang of it...but, I know she will get it. I can see those little wheels a turning when I play them with her. Do you think we are doing the right thing to wait three months? The therapist seems so confident in us...I really trust her judgement...since she is a coworker of DHs and has a two year old of her own. But, I still worry if we are doing the right thing. I just don't want her to get to far behind.

Hmmmm. I am not a "wait and see" type person. I am a "let's dig in and work on this before it get's worse" person, so I'm not sure about the waiting for three months. Did you get an evalution? Did the speech pathologist use a standardized test to see exactly how your daughter scores? (They often use a test call the "Rosetti, Baily, HELP, etc.) I'm not sure where you went, but you may want to check into your states early intervention program. Every state has one, and you can find out about them through the Health Dept. They are usually much more educationally based, and family friendly than a medical based speech pathologist. If your daughter is interested in flashcards, then you can play games with her. But in my 8 years of working with speech therapists, I have never seen one use them. (I am a service coordinator for children with special needs, and my daughter has received SLP for 8 years)
Most therapists I know, first completly rule out any type of hearing challenges with a thorough hearing evaluation by a pediatric audiologist. When children are small, or extrememly uncooperative, this can be done under anestetia.
When there is a speech delay, most therapists first reccomend oral motor activities to strengthen the childs word making muscles. These usually include blowing bubbles, sucking thick liquids through as thin as straw as the child will tolerate (yogurt drinks are good for this). They also encourage using whistles, and sometimes even different types of "chew sticks" . These activities all work the mouth. Also, flood your child's environment with words. Narrate your day and all your activities. You will feel silly, but it does work. Songs and fingerplays that are repeated over and over are a great way to get kids talking, especially if you sing them over and over, then begin to leave out words for your child to fill in. (The wheels on the ____ go round and round)
Sorry to be so long, I just feel like something is missing here. I'm not a speech therapists, but have lots of experience with my daughter and with most of the kiddos on my case load. Hope this helps, and i hope you daughter is talking up a storm soon!