Speech therapy questions

[Urowife]

We are looking into speech therapy for my 3.5 year old (actually almost 4). I know we have the option of going through the school district, but I'm not sure if it's the best. And I'm willing to pay or ideally get health insurance to partly cover private services. There are a few centers in our area, but I don't know how to pick one. Are there questions I could ask? I just don't know what I'm supposed to be looking for aside from whether or not they take tricare.

And to give a bit of background, DD has always been slow on the speech side. We actually had her evaluated last year, but they determined that she was not delayed enough to warrant therapy. Well, at this point, she talks a lot and has a decent vocabulary, but she is still unintelligible much of the time. Even I have to work pretty hard to figure out what she's saying - probably 1/3 of the time. Also, she's developed a stutter that doesn't appear to be going away. So, we'd like to get her evaluated and see if there is anything we can do to help Thanks for any input!

[Meenah]

Has her hearing been evaluated?

[spotty_dog]

Can you start with your pediatrician? They can help you place her in terms of normal speech language development, check hearing as Meenah says, and give you a referral to a good speech language pathologist.

[diggitydot]

I would DEFINITELY begin with your pediatrician or FM doc. They will rec the center or specialist to see. I would avoid doing the school screening and just take in whatever dx you eventually get instead.

[Urowife]

Oh yes, we are starting with the pediatrician - and, we will likely get her hearing checked again. I already know where they usually refer to, and I'm sure it's a fine place. I was just wondering if I should shop around. Also, we can self refer and I will get a speech eval even if the ped says she's within normal range.

[HouseofWool]

My experience was that it was very hard to the services through the schools even though C had a ped neuro say he needed therapy.

Self referral will depend on your insurance. If you don't require the PCP to refer, then you should be able to do so and have it covered. Keep in mind that stuff like speech therapy can have very limited benefits.

I would really push your ped to get the referral. DD is just a couple of weeks shy of her 4th birthday and I would say 95% of what she says is easily comprehensible. The other 5% tends to be simple mispronunciation or her trying out a new phrase but getting it completely and adorably wrong. I think she tends to be on the high side of the scale.

Is your DD in any sort of preschool or daycare? Sometimes interacting with other kids and adults on a regular basis can push a kiddo to make cognitive leaps as well.

[Urowife]

Yes, she's in preschool. I can't believe I didn't say that in my first post since her teacher has pointed out that it's difficult to understand her. She loves preschool, but I don't think she interacts much with the other kids partly because she's shy and partly, I'm sure, because of her speech. It's hard because she is progressing, but she just has not "caught up" yet. We are seeing the ped on Wednesday, and will go from there.

[diggitydot]

Yes, she's in preschool. I can't believe I didn't say that in my first post since her teacher has pointed out that it's difficult to understand her. She loves preschool, but I don't think she interacts much with the other kids partly because she's shy and partly, I'm sure, because of her speech. It's hard because she is progressing, but she just has not "caught up" yet.

She'll get there. Being in school where she has to make herself understood to people who don't know her verbal "shorthand" will be exhausting, but will also lead to a significant jump in her abilities.



You are at the most difficult spot in the getting-kids-services continuum. It gets better. Loads better.

Our little dude is now 10 y/o and his language skills are heads and shoulders above where we thought they'd be at this age.

You can do it.

[moonlight]

I had experience with two young speech professionals and its wasn't a great experience. I'm all for giving the younger and smarter folks a shot but in this one case it didn't work. I'm now on my third speech therapist and i'm still not sure if we got it right.

Ask to meet the therapist that your DD will be working with. Ask about their experience level and how long they've been in peds. If you think your child wouldn't be distracted find out how often you can observe the sessions. Also ask how much 'homework' the parents will get each week. I went from too much homework to getting almost no information much less 'homework.' Only reason why I haven't gone to the school and had a fit about it is because she really is talking a lot more now. Last week I heard a 7 word sentence! WOOT WOOT! (fyi dd's articulation is totally normal. just lasting words and long sentences)

[houseelf]

You have received great advice already. The only thing I have to add is there are some great speech therapy exercises and speech diagnosis explanations written in lay person's terms on the web.

I will preach early intervention from the mountains. While the school district initially accepted DS2 because of his speech delay they have hinted that they are ready to release him even though he still has multiple issues because they provide services for kids when the speech delay interferes with their ability to learn. Apparently being understood a majority of the time and the lack of production of several major sounds is not enough to qualify. If DS2 gets released, I will grab a mask and 'occupy' my school district in order for him to receive continued services. he he.

Good luck and let us know what you find out. Getting services is a wild weird world without a map.

[v-girl]

We weren't impressed with the therapy our public schools offered. Umm...you get what you pay for. K is doing great with 30 min of speech and 30 min of OT at a private therapy place. It isn't cheap, but insurance covers a lot and we pay the rest. We do have an annual deductible for therapy of any kind, but after that, insurance pays 80%.

[diggitydot]

We've received great speech/language therapy in the three different states where we've lived.

Services vary drastically by state and district.

[v-girl]

Our problem was K needing one-on-one and our ISD won't do it. A group of 4 little boys with one adult just means chaos.

[GrayMatterWife]

Whatever you have to do to get the therapy, do it. That is my recommendation. My sister had terrible problems hearing when she was in preschool and needed extensive speech therapy. To this day, she vaguely sounds like she is drunk, because of her lack of clear enunciation.

My son needed speech therapy, but I listened to his school, which discouraged it before first grade. By first grade, he REALLY needed it. I should have listened to my gut.

[Chrisada]

We started speech with P at two through the school system. Once a week for half an hour. We then did private speech in addition, which was 100% covered by our insurance as residents. She was a younger speech therapist, but was great. He made amazing strides with her and she graduated him in the summer. P now goes to Pre school five days a week for free because of speech through our schools (only 5 kids in his class and his teacher is a speech therapist and has an assistant) and meets with a therapist there for 20 min in a group I think. Now he never stops talking. The sooner you start, the better.