Any Speech pathologists out there?

sweetsunnyc

Just attended my 4 year olds parent/teacher conference.

The overall report was great- she is a super bright, kind, funny child, but she does have a few articulation problems. Her teacher seems to think that she will grow out of it and did not recommend therapy, but she did recommend doing some articulation activities with her this summer. Just wondering if any one has any suggestions or know where I can find some resources?

Thanks! 

pitterpatter129

Not a speech path, but my 2 yr old is in speech therapy.  I'm also a 1st grade teacher.  I'm wondering if your child was evaluated by the school's speech path.? As a teacher, I would not feel comfortable telling a parent their child would outgrow an articulation issue - I am not trained in that area.  Did she consult the speech path.?  I refer all speech issues to the speech teacher!  If you think it's bad enough to want to work with her at home over summer, you might consider having someone other than the teacher evaluate the issue (unless of course, you've already done that.) 

 

sweetsunnyc

Thanks for the reply-

I did have my child evaluated through the school district evaluator in January- something that her teacher did recommend. The evaluator did notice the articulation issues with a few letters, but did not recommend getting her in to therapy as he found it to be minor. He said that he would recommend having an evaluator come to the classroom to observe and see if they recommended anything- which they didn't. There is a school speech pathologist that will begin working with the kids in kindergarten, but not pre-k. My hope is that my kiddo will begin working with her in the fall, but just wondering if there is anything I can do over the summer-

It's just frustrating, because her teacher and the evaluator have pointed out the issue, but then said don't worry about it.

shellyco

Lurker butting in to ask which sounds your daughter has difficulty with.  Aside from this evaluator and teacher, had you noticed any speech errors at home?  Did you have any concerns before this was brought up?  Many young children have difficulty with sounds when those articulation errors are considered developmental in nature, so my advice may change depending on the particular articulation errors your child presents with. 

 Neither the teacher or the evaluator recommended getting screened by an SLP?  School SLPs can work with pre-k kids in their school district/ school zone after screening, evaluation, and determined need. 

sweetsunnyc

She has trouble with a few lettters- s's in particular, but I know that's a hard one for most kids. I honestly didn't know that it was an issue until her teacher brought it to my attention in January (when she started this new school) But again, I am so used to hearing her.

I did have her evaluated by the district SLP and he told me to just observe, work with her at home and, in his opinion, it was likely something that she would grow out of. He did not recommend therapy. The district SLP is different from the school SLP (I'm just learning all of this) which will be available to work with her when she begins kindergarten in the fall.

The only reason that I posted about this today is because it was mentioned today in her parent/teacher conference. Her teacher said her speech had not improved as much as she had hoped, but not to worry about it- It will be fixed in kindergarten. One the one hand, she tells me not to worry, but on the other hand, she tells me that it is an issue. I'm just a concerned parent and would like to do everything I can to help out.

shellyco

I'm sorry, I misunderstood and didn't realize the evaluator was an SLP.  Without observing your child myself I guess I would wait until the fall to have her re-screened for services.  You're right, lots of kids have difficulty with s, especially in clusters like "stop" or "scarf". 

My advice to you would be to not focus on shaping the sound yourself (meaning, don't try to tell her how to make an 's' sound- that's a job for the SLP).  However, you CAN continue to provide great adult models for her during typical conversation and play time.  Other ideas include playing matching or go fish with "s" words, you can print them out on the internet just by googling. 

One problem with a parent working with their children without input or shaping from an SLP is that if a child incorrectly practices a sound, she is only reinforcing the behavior of producing that "wrong" sound. 

If your SLP recommended you to work with her this summer, I would give it a try- but don't drill her with flashcards or anything.  Keep it simple.  One summer won't hurt her, and who knows, she could make great gains as she matures over the summer months! 

sweetsunnyc

This is very helpful information- thank you so much!

I can be a little overprotective and my biggest fear is that she would be teased-

I just want to be sure that I am doing everything that I can.

 

Thanks again.

SPIJaimie

Your girls are SO precious! I can't wait for DS to start doing more facial expressions. Sorry, not helpful but felt compelled to tell you!

saraboston

The developmental window for /s/ extends up through age 7, don't worry your kiddo has plenty of time! 

Here's a great blog with lots of activities in the resources section. Just playing games that get her to hear you use /s/ a lot will be helpful. https://adventuresinspeechpathology.wordpress.com

GL 

scraw99

shellyco:

I'm sorry, I misunderstood and didn't realize the evaluator was an SLP.  Without observing your child myself I guess I would wait until the fall to have her re-screened for services.  You're right, lots of kids have difficulty with s, especially in clusters like "stop" or "scarf". 

My advice to you would be to not focus on shaping the sound yourself (meaning, don't try to tell her how to make an 's' sound- that's a job for the SLP).  However, you CAN continue to provide great adult models for her during typical conversation and play time.  Other ideas include playing matching or go fish with "s" words, you can print them out on the internet just by googling. 

One problem with a parent working with their children without input or shaping from an SLP is that if a child incorrectly practices a sound, she is only reinforcing the behavior of producing that "wrong" sound. 

If your SLP recommended you to work with her this summer, I would give it a try- but don't drill her with flashcards or anything.  Keep it simple.  One summer won't hurt her, and who knows, she could make great gains as she matures over the summer months! 

 

This.  Great advice above

(I'm a pedi SLP too)