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Speech therapy for 4 year old

13 replies

youcandance2 · 17/12/2009 20:01

I have posted this on a different board but they suggested maybe someone on here might be able to help.
This is my first time posting so hope I'm on the right thread. My 4 year old DS is waiting for a speech therapy assessment, we've been told that it will take about 9 months for the assessment. The senco at his school said it could take 18 months for him to be seen for actual speech therapy. We are thinking of paying to have him seen privately but have no idea how to choose a therapist and his school aren't able to offer any advice. Can anyone offer any advice? or has anyone got any experience of speech therapists in the Liverpool area?

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carocaro · 18/12/2009 12:28

We had to wait about 7 months for our appt in Cheshire, DS1 is 7, he was assessed over 3 sessions, 2 weeks apart and it turns out there is no issue, he scored well above average for various tests, he is dyslexic and it was part of a full screening he is having, with an OT, which is an even longer wait 11 months, appt in Feb 2010.

You could pay if you feel that you can't wait, what is the issue if you don't mind me asking? 4 is pretty young and a lot of language development is still to come.

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youcandance2 · 18/12/2009 20:19

the problem is with the clarity of his speech, all the words are there and in the right order but some are not very easy to understand. DS is also going to be seen by an OT as his teacher thinks he has issues with his balance and large and fine motor skills, however we don't agree with his teacher at all and are a bit bemused. DS is left handed and he is having some difficulties finding a comfortable writing grip and I think that might account for the fine motor skill issue. We have agreed to go along with the OT assessment just in case we have missed something.

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carocaro · 19/12/2009 10:47

My DS is also left handed and has some issues with gross motor skills, sometimes we think he's just a regular 7 year old and sometime we think there is an issue.

Saying this, over the past 18 months he has come on in leaps and bounds, both in reading and writing and in general. And as some say boys get into their stride a bit later than girls.

I am please I had and am having the assesments done, they have been really usefull and insightfull to date and it's best to check if you have concerns.

If will be interesting to see what the OT person says in Feb.

Good luck with it all.

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Dolfin · 28/12/2009 10:35

My DS has expressive speech delay. We have been going to speech therapy for years, but his speech is improving slowly. Initially we thought it was an isolated speech problem, then we noticed that he found PE difficult and having difficulties with his memory, reading, spelling and number work. He was actually severely dyslexic, dyspraxic and has signs of an auditory processing problem. If there is an underlying problem with processing speech sounds then this will impact on reading and spelling. It is worth looking up auditory processing disorder to see if your DS has any signs. The school can have things put in place to support him.

You could telephone the childrens speech therapy department directly via the local hospital and ask there advice about how long the waiting list is and how your child could be prioritised. They should also be able to give you a contact number for a list of private speech therapists in your area. Your GP and can refer your DS to speech therapy and audiology (all speech therapists will want to know if your DS can hear well to exclude this as a reason for speech delay, I was told if he cant hear the sounds, then no amount of speech therapy can help). Usually a paeds request carries more weight in accessing speech therapy, so it might be worth asking for a referral to paeds also. Your OT could also refer on to speech therapy, all these referrals could help prioritise the initial assessment. Has your DS got an IEP at school?
Good luck!

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bubble2bubble · 28/12/2009 10:52

You can find a private speech therapist here: www.helpwithtalking.com

Definately go to the OT assessment - motor issues very often go along with speech difficulties, but can also very often be quickly resoloved.

I didn't honestly realise that DD1 had severe motor difficulties until a good OT assessed her ( she has a severe speech & language disorder)

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maverick · 28/12/2009 19:40

You may find the following article helpful:

www.societyforqualityeducation.org/newsletter/archives/coping.pdf

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stokeytiger · 27/01/2010 11:22

My dd is six and has a problem with speech we now know as 'fronting'. This basically means she puts her tongue too far forward when pronouncing certain letters, the result is that her speech can sound a bit babyish for her age even though she has a good vocabulary.

I spoke to the school several times about this to no avail. In the end I got a referral from my GP who arranged for a speech therapist to go to her school and assess her. They came up with the same assessment as me, she now goes out of class for 10 minute sessions in practising sounds with a teachers assistant. She's happy with this (she thinks it's because she's extra clever) but she doesn't seem to be making any progress. I'm almost certain the teachers assistant has no experience in what she's doing.

She is also very small for her age so tends to get babied by people at school and I think they think her speech just adds to her cuteness! I obviously find this quite annoying.

She's left-handed too!

I'm wondering whether I should take her to a specialist but don't want to make an issue of it as she's very happy and confident.

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SpeechGroup · 18/02/2010 11:07

I am an independent speech & language therapist. Parents can refer their own children for NHS speech therapy by writing to their local speech therapy department as well as going through usual routes of school/gp referrals - however as mentioned above waiting lists are lengthy. Please make sure that if you see a speech therapist privately they are fully qualified and registered - in particular that they are a member of the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapist and the Health Professions Council.