We are taking DD to her assessment with a Speech Therapist next weekend because she is 3 & 1/2 yrs old and is still finding it difficult to say clear sentences. DD has improved over the last few weeks but still has a long way to go and we are hoping to nip it in the butt before she starts school in 2012!
So what can I expect at this first assessment and over the lessons that she will need?
We are going through this privately because there is a 12 mth wait in the public system. I was talking to a public development centre back in December and they recommended that I take DD in to get her hearing checked as she has had ear infections and bronciolitis (sp?) so could have some fluid in her ears. We have not done this yet as our family doctor has been on holidays and will be for another 2 weeks. But the private lady said nothing about this so hopefully it will be ok to start straight away.
Any information you have would be greatly appreciated
Oops - I hope I put this in the right section, if not please move mods!
Basically for us Ds2's speechie just asked me about my concerns, talked with Ds2 and had him do a few exercises to see the development of his speech etc and then told us how far delayed he was and how long it would take to bring him up to speed. We go one a week at this stage til Sept which will be 1 year of therapy. Because my Ds2 has other issues the last few months have been focused on behaviour modification; they play board games and read stories and the speechie asks him questions and explains the idea of rules i.e. taking turns, being polite. Even with just this being done Ds2's speech has improved immensely!
We had a hearing test done privately because the speechie wanted to rule out hearing issues (it came back 100% fine) as that can affect how they are treated.
Hi Veronica our DD2 saw a speechie for nearly 2 years. Basically it is just like a play session to them. The first appointment you will have will be an assessment - they will be asked to look at pictures in a flip book and tell the speechie what they are - things like 'car', 'book' etc and the speechie will note down how your child pronounces the word. After that assessment the speechie will tell you what type of problem they have and what you do to help them correct it. Each time we saw Margaret, DD2 would play memory matching games or puzzles with her all based around her problem areas. For example on area was saying the 'ch' sound, so things like Church, chocolate and all the memory cards and games were based on the sound we were focusing on at the time. There is also a lot of work that you will need to do with her at home to consolidate what she does with the speechie. We would be given 'homework' that we stuck in a scrapbook which were just stencils that she could colour in and we would practice saying the sounds and words. You also need to correct them on their speech as well, for my DD, if she said things incorrectly, I would stop her, say 'is that how you say that word?" in a happy voice and it makes them think about what they are saying so they can apply what they have learnt.
It can be really full on and intensive, but it is so worth it.
Freya & Trillian - thank you for your responses! It will be interesting to hear where DD's development is lacking. I hope that my daughter responds well to the 'speechie' as she is fairly shy with new people!! But I am sure that they deal with shy kids all the time.
I know its going to be really intensive with us encouraging better speech at home (we do do this now but could not be doing it the proper way) but I am looking forward to be able to have a proper conversation with DD and not guess some of her words!
Goodluck we are currently starting the process (well approx 4months of 2weekly therapy) our DD is 2years +3 months and has only very basic words/sounds eg: our 9 month old is passing her ..in saying that she is progressing..they will give you strategies and games that you may not even have thought about. A hearing test will be recommended..but best to strat her anyway becasue even if her hearing is affected, she will still need speech to catch up on the delay she has encountered.
Don't worry about her being shy - my DD was shy too and Margaret was able to draw her out of her shell so by the end of our time with her, DD was probably being too cheeky!
My DD1 saw a speechie for a while...she loved going because she was the centre of someone's attention for the whole appointment and she loved playing the games. The "work" that you'll need to do at home will be structured as games too, as well as some things to do on an incidental basis throughout the day. Good luck with it!
Speech Therapist for DD
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