wait to have dd's speech evaluated?

Love My Lil Princess 509 · August 2013

Dd is only 2, and imo, seems to be normal when compared to other kids her age we see out, which is they aren't talking a lot lol. She is not clear when she speaks though and def has no where near 50 words. My Dr dorsnt go by a
50 word list though since she knows every kid develops differently. Her Dr. is not the least bit concerned though and doesn't even suggest therapy until 3 if they haven't self corrected. Our insurance does not pay for speech, so I have no clue
Where we would get the money to pay. She won't be 2 1/2 until November. We have a ton going on between now and November. A new baby, she starts up a class again and she just toilet trained in only 5 days, woohoo. I don't want to overwhelm her and really if I did the EI route, would have a therapist at the house, that's if she qualifies, a newborn and my unruly dog lol. So would you just wait until things settle down to have her evaluated, say December or after, or by then she may even be talking more.

lightgetsin · August 2013

I did EI at the house and I have other kids and a dog and it was no big deal. Believe me, those therapists have seen some pretty crazy things!
It won't hurt to have her evaluated and the sooner you start ST, the better. My son was 2 when we started. He had middle ear fluid that was fixed with tubes and before it was fixed he had 5 words. Now, just a year later he is talking up a storm, although clarity is still an issue.

WinsyWade · August 2013

Are you worried? Always, always trust your mom-instincts.
If you're not worried, then wait until 3 and have her evaluated through your school district, at the preschool screening.
If something is nagging at you, call early intervention and have them come to your home to evaluate her.
The services in your home government funded and what you pay is based off your salary.

kcisthebombdotcom · August 2013

I wouldn't wait until three. It is infinitely easier to navigate the IEP process with EI's assistance. If she has nowhere near 50 words she will definitely qualify. Also it will take time to schedule the evaluation, get a therapist, have that therapist get to know your child, etc. if she has the language explosion in that window you can cancel at any time. If she doesn't you've gotten the ball rolling. I hate to be an alarmist, but unclear speech plus little expressive language could be an indicator of a language disorder like apraxia. Intervening early has better long term outcomes than the wait and see approach.

chickaboo1974 · August 2013

N gets speech therapy thru EI. I have another child and 3 dogs- my therapist is quite understanding. We (J and I) always go into another room and my dogs go outside. At 3, N will be transitioned to the school district for speech therapy. We are in the process now of getting him evaluated and starting to transition- he turns 3 in November.

N qualified with 25 words- but he was not putting 2 words together. I had him(and his twin) evaluated at 18 months- he didn't qualify because they adjusted for prematurity- but at 2 they stop. Then he qualified- his twin had a HUGE language leap at 20 months and started being a chatterbox at 2.

Love My Lil Princess 509 · August 2013

WinsyWade said:
Are you worried? Always, always trust your mom-instincts.
If you're not worried, then wait until 3 and have her evaluated through your school district, at the preschool screening.
If something is nagging at you, call early intervention and have them come to your home to evaluate her.
The services in your home government funded and what you pay is based off your salary.

If I'm a sahm, I don't have a salary lol. I was told the whole process was free.

pitterpatter129 · August 2013

If you think there may be any sort of issue, go ahead and have her evaluated by EI. You go there to be a evaluated and they can tell you if they think it's an issue. That way it is covered for free too. Then, later, if she qualifies and actually needs help, they can transfer her to the public school system at age 3. If you wait and she needs services after age 3, but before she's actually in school, it will be private pay and out of your pocket. My DS1 did qualify, they come to our house and we are working on the public school information now (he'll be 3 in Dec.)

lightgetsin · August 2013

CnAmom said:

Also, it is SO much easier to transition from EI to IEP (if needed) than trying to get an IEP when they start school.

This is so true. They did all of the paperwork, we just showed up. I had a 1 month old at the time of his school evaluations. Our ST even came to these appointments to help me out even though she is not required to. ECI is a great resource.

kcisthebombdotcom · August 2013

wife07mom09 said:

Love My Lil Princess 509 said:

Are you worried? Always, always trust your mom-instincts. If you're not worried, then wait until 3 and have her evaluated through your school district, at the preschool screening. If something is nagging at you, call early intervention and have them come to your home to evaluate her. The services in your home government funded and what you pay is based off your salary.
If I'm a sahm, I don't have a salary lol. I was told the whole process was free.

the eval is free and the therapy is based on income. you may not work but I assume DH does. I think max OOP is $200 a month d/o max OOP for salary above I think 100k

It varies by state. In my area ei is free regardless of income. They bill your insurance company first and then the state picks up whatever insurance denies.

lightgetsin · August 2013

We are in TX and paid $55/month for EI ST that came to the house once a week.

ETA that thru our insurance, private ST was actually cheaper. After my son turned 3 and outgrew EI he had a summer before school began so he did private speech therapy and there was just a $10 copay.

ariel06 · August 2013

Love My Lil Princess 509 said:

Are you worried? Always, always trust your mom-instincts. If you're not worried, then wait until 3 and have her evaluated through your school district, at the preschool screening. If something is nagging at you, call early intervention and have them come to your home to evaluate her. The services in your home government funded and what you pay is based off your salary.
If I'm a sahm, I don't have a salary lol. I was told the whole process was free.

In my state, if they qualify, all services are free. I would do it now. If you wait to 2.5, then they have to evaluated you to qualify for under 3 and for 3-6. By the time you get done with the evaluations and get a plan written up, you'll only have a couple months before needing to write an IEP.

DS2 qualified and had way more than 50 words, so that's only a small part of the equation. Are the words she does have understood by people out of your family?

DS1 had some speech issues that I was aware of, passed the pre-school screening easily, but finally qualified for speech services at 4.5. So many more hoops to jump through.

WinsyWade · August 2013

Love My Lil Princess 509 said:

WinsyWade said:
Are you worried? Always, always trust your mom-instincts.
If you're not worried, then wait until 3 and have her evaluated through your school district, at the preschool screening.
If something is nagging at you, call early intervention and have them come to your home to evaluate her.
The services in your home government funded and what you pay is based off your salary.

If I'm a sahm, I don't have a salary lol. I was told the whole process was free.

They went off my husband's salary. The process is free. The therapies are paid by what you can afford, when the therapists come to your home.
Eta: I'm in IL and above pp said, it varies state to state.

ariel06 · August 2013

FWIW I didn't think DS2 even was having issues. He had way more than 50 words and I understood a lot of what he said. His ECFE teacher approached us about getting tested because she couldn't understand him. After getting his hearing checked, we discovered he constantly had fluid in his ears so everything was distorted.

lightgetsin · August 2013

ariel06 said:

FWIW I didn't think DS2 even was having issues. He had way more than 50 words and I understood a lot of what he said. His ECFE teacher approached us about getting tested because she couldn't understand him. After getting his hearing checked, we discovered he constantly had fluid in his ears so everything was distorted.

This is exactly what happened for us. He had never even had an ear infection but simply could not hear and we had no idea.

kcisthebombdotcom · August 2013

WinsyWade said:

Are you worried? Always, always trust your mom-instincts. If you're not worried, then wait until 3 and have her evaluated through your school district, at the preschool screening. If something is nagging at you, call early intervention and have them come to your home to evaluate her. The services in your home government funded and what you pay is based off your salary.
If I'm a sahm, I don't have a salary lol. I was told the whole process was free.
They went off my husband's salary. The process is free. The therapies are paid by what you can afford, when the therapists come to your home.

It definitely makes me sad to hear people have to pay in other places to obtain therapies. With all we know about brain development in the first three years and how much money is saved when kids get interventions earlier vs school age its awful that kids do without and silly that the state would rather pay more money down the road.

Love My Lil Princess 509 · August 2013

ariel06 said:

Love My Lil Princess 509 said:

WinsyWade said:
Are you worried? Always, always trust your mom-instincts.
If you're not worried, then wait until 3 and have her evaluated through your school district, at the preschool screening.
If something is nagging at you, call early intervention and have them come to your home to evaluate her.
The services in your home government funded and what you pay is based off your salary.

If I'm a sahm, I don't have a salary lol. I was told the whole process was free.

In my state, if they qualify, all services are free. I would do it now. If you wait to 2.5, then they have to evaluated you to qualify for under 3 and for 3-6. By the time you get done with the evaluations and get a plan written up, you'll only have a couple months before needing to write an IEP.

DS2 qualified and had way more than 50 words, so that's only a small part of the equation. Are the words she does have understood by people out of your family?

DS1 had some speech issues that I was aware of, passed the pre-school screening easily, but finally qualifiepeech services at 4.5. So many more hoops to jump through.

It's 50/50. Most of our relatives don't understand everything she says. Of course I do though. I'm going to get the evaluation done for the hetch of it then. I double checked, and its totally free, though they have to contact our insurance to see if they have money alloted to donate to the program.

lightgetsin · August 2013

letranger said:

I have a second kid and nosey cat. Our SLP does fine. M is over 2.5 and still hasn't had an explosion of language so I am extra glad I didn't wait and we have had him working with EI since Feb. she is also empowering to me as a parent giving me ways to work with him

letranger, FWIW, my son seemed to have a giant leap in comprehension and new words when he started private speech therapy. It is $10 a session with our insurance. If you could, I would try a couple of sessions and see. It could just be that it is a new and exciting environment but I really noticed a difference right away.

rockyrollgirl · August 2013

wife07mom09 said:

CnAmom said:

It really is sad the amount of money some states make you pay.

I know you are not the only one who said this but I don't understand this line of thinking. It is my child and my responsibility to pay for whatever health related needs he or she has. Nothing in life is free . If you cant manage the copay, ask for temporary assistance, get a job, get a second job, eat rice and beans whatever but its my responsibility not the govt.

thats my unsolicited 2 cents.

*sigh*

fancefpp · August 2013

We got DS1 evaluated at 19 months and he qualified. It took two months to get a SLP set up. He just turned two and has over 50 words, two word phrases but I'm still grateful for the ST. He's still behind his peers from what I can see. I didn't want to waste time because they do age out of EI at three and a few months are wasted on red tape. It can't hurt to get an evaluation.

spring_time · August 2013

wife07mom09 said:

CnAmom said:

It really is sad the amount of money some states make you pay.

I know you are not the only one who said this but I don't understand this line of thinking. It is my child and my responsibility to pay for whatever health related needs he or she has. Nothing in life is free . If you cant manage the copay, ask for temporary assistance, get a job, get a second job, eat rice and beans whatever but its my responsibility not the govt.
thats my unsolicited 2 cents.

The government can pay now, or pay later. The reality is, if a child does not get the therapy they need at an early age, it is more difficult to make corrections later. At that point, the child is part of the school system which is required, by law, to provide services for that child. Either way, the government or a government agency is paying. The same concept applies to Head Start programs for low income families. It benefits the entire community to make sure that ALL children get the services they need at an early age so they can succeed.

To the OP, I would go for the EI evaluation. It will give you peace of mind.

kcisthebombdotcom · August 2013

wife07mom09 said:

CnAmom said:

It really is sad the amount of money some states make you pay.

I know you are not the only one who said this but I don't understand this line of thinking. It is my child and my responsibility to pay for whatever health related needs he or she has. Nothing in life is free . If you cant manage the copay, ask for temporary assistance, get a job, get a second job, eat rice and beans whatever but its my responsibility not the govt.
thats my unsolicited 2 cents.

At moments like this I'm sad that the bump didn't implement a dislike button...

ToastieSimons · August 2013

Love My Lil Princess 509 said:

Are you worried? Always, always trust your mom-instincts. If you're not worried, then wait until 3 and have her evaluated through your school district, at the preschool screening. If something is nagging at you, call early intervention and have them come to your home to evaluate her. The services in your home government funded and what you pay is based off your salary.
If I'm a sahm, I don't have a salary lol. I was told the whole process was free.

depends on your state. In our old state it was included in your taxes. In this state, its based of your and your partner's tax returns

lightgetsin · August 2013

KC_13 said:

wife07mom09 said:

CnAmom said:

It really is sad the amount of money some states make you pay.

I know you are not the only one who said this but I don't understand this line of thinking. It is my child and my responsibility to pay for whatever health related needs he or she has. Nothing in life is free . If you cant manage the copay, ask for temporary assistance, get a job, get a second job, eat rice and beans whatever but its my responsibility not the govt.
thats my unsolicited 2 cents.

At moments like this I'm sad that the bump didn't implement a dislike button...

or a "stfu" button

pinksweetpea2 · August 2013

My Mom is a SLP and she says that many times the pediatrician is the worst person to listen to regarding speech. Many of them are not proactive when it comes to EI referrals and seem to have no idea how important it is to get the child as young as possible. She finds is very frustrating when she starts working with a kid who is 3 and older who could have had help long before then.

In MA- EI ends at age 3, so in many states you will loose the chance to get the services for free and/or in your home. This is why it is SO annoying when pedis say that you should wait until they are 3. A friend of mine was in total denial that her son had issues (he was barely saying anything at 2) and her pedi went along with her "he will figure it out- he can sign 50 words, I understand what he is saying," etc. and it was not until her son turned 3 that the director of her daycare said he NEEDED therapy. She lost her chance at free care to come to his daycare and only had the option to pay a private person or take time out of her work day to pick him up and take him to the local public school for services. He is better now, but still very hard to understand at times and is having some major behavior issues at school- which I think is mostly because people cannot understand him. He is very smart and had a large vocab, so it must be very frustrating for him.

Just some insight. GL with your decision.

pitterpatter129 · August 2013

wife07mom09 said:

CnAmom said:

It really is sad the amount of money some states make you pay.

I know you are not the only one who said this but I don't understand this line of thinking. It is my child and my responsibility to pay for whatever health related needs he or she has. Nothing in life is free . If you cant manage the copay, ask for temporary assistance, get a job, get a second job, eat rice and beans whatever but its my responsibility not the govt.
thats my unsolicited 2 cents.

Our very good insurance (and we were both working at the time full-time) had a $100 co-pay for every 30 min of speech therapy. If we had to pay out of pocket, my child would not have received any services until public school. We just don't have an extra $100 sitting around for 30 min of time. I'm extremely grateful that my state will cover the costs of an SLP twice a month. I agree it's my duty to care for my children, but if it's not an actual illness, most average families can't afford that.

fancefpp · August 2013

Most early intervention programs, including head start, save the government and school districts in the long run. I'd rather my taxes pay up front to correct a minor problem than spend years helping a child throughout their school career. Plus, it's better for the child, obviously.

lightgetsin · August 2013

My experience has been that it is pretty easy to find an SLP that takes insurance. I live in a city of about 80 000 and I know of at least 3 places. Also, our insurance covers it until age 6. All they required was a prescription from the pedi and there is no Autism or cleft palette.
The thing is though, if you go the EI route, you don't need to worry about that.

notkateanymore · August 2013

But you still chose to talk out of your ass before you knew all the details...huh.

Andrewsgal · August 2013

wife07mom09 said:
That's just rude. I was offering my opinion on several comments. And it is valid whether you agree or not.

OMG it is hysterical that you are crying about people being rude to you after your downright rude and on obnoxious opinion.

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