Special Needs
<3 Matt
member
Speech issues - almost 3 year old boy
<3 Matt
member
My son will be 3 in January (he currently receives speech services). He talks all day, I can understand most of what he is saying but others do not. I'm curious if anyone has sent a little one with speech issues to preschool or if this would be a bad experience for him. I'm thinking of waiting until he is 4, he's social and tries to talk to other children, they don't understand what he is trying to say. (Any information on speech or your experience with speech issues would be appreciated!!)
I wanted to thank you ALL so much for your wonderful stories and advice, it is greatly appreciated! It's nice to know that I'm not alone and that others have had to make these same decisions. An additional concern is that, like another mother mentioned below, my son can become very upset, yell and become frustrated. I'm not sure how he would handle his frustrations in preschool. Also, to follow up on his speech services. We have a therapist coming into the home twice each month (this recently changed from 4x each month due to his recent re-evaluation). In addition he would attend a speech session each week (from March - September), but the therapist suggested that we wait a few months and start again. He was refusing to say anything and did not want to be there. She said that she wanted him to mature a bit and we could start again, he was still young and it's hard to work on articulation at his age. I'm hoping that he will grow out of his challenges, my brother had difficulty speaking until he was 4-5 (you would never know that speaking to him today). Each little one is unique and blossoms in their own time, my goal is to support him without pushing him. :-)
I wanted to thank you ALL so much for your wonderful stories and advice, it is greatly appreciated! It's nice to know that I'm not alone and that others have had to make these same decisions. An additional concern is that, like another mother mentioned below, my son can become very upset, yell and become frustrated. I'm not sure how he would handle his frustrations in preschool. Also, to follow up on his speech services. We have a therapist coming into the home twice each month (this recently changed from 4x each month due to his recent re-evaluation). In addition he would attend a speech session each week (from March - September), but the therapist suggested that we wait a few months and start again. He was refusing to say anything and did not want to be there. She said that she wanted him to mature a bit and we could start again, he was still young and it's hard to work on articulation at his age. I'm hoping that he will grow out of his challenges, my brother had difficulty speaking until he was 4-5 (you would never know that speaking to him today). Each little one is unique and blossoms in their own time, my goal is to support him without pushing him. :-)
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Re: Speech issues - almost 3 year old boy
There may not be until he is 4 if speech is his only issue.
That said I would speak to the preschools you are considering and visit them and see if they are comfortable working with him.
There is a local preschool that we had registered DD at, they have worked with several kids on The spectrum and were comfortable with it.
I know of one speech only kid who did a private preschool and really blossomed.
My daughter started a two's program last year at almost 3. She has/had a speech disorder (apraxia and phonological processing disorder) and only had a handful of words when she started school. Being around her peers really pushed her desire to communicate. She didn't say a single word to her teachers until this past January but that didn't stop her from learning or making friends. Now at almost 4 (in 3 days) she is a chatterbox and only has a few lingering articulation issues. She is 100% understandable to her teachers and peers however.
So, I say go for it. We did speech therapy 2 days a week in a private setting and one day a week through the school district. They both helped tremendously. However, I think school helped even more than that. She never got frustrated--she just wanted to be like her friends. At 2 and 3 peer pressure was a good thing!
For our family, DS could be understood by my DH and I but outside of the home thr breakdown occured, like your son.
When no one was able to understand DS, and it became hard to express his needs and wants to others whether socially or for care from a teacher, there was then physical communication (hitting, yelling, etc) out of frustration because he wasn't being understood. I'm not saying that will happen, because.sometimes kids who have speech delays, don't experience this.
Now, we found that once the speech improved, the physical was a non-issue.
Is he getting speech therapy yet? You say your taking a break because he isn't enjoying it. Keep going or iregardless.
From 2.5-5yo (stopped right before K) DS was in speech. The first year was the worst! Kicking, screaming and crying to not go! We stuck it out with the same therapist for all of those years, she delt with his tantrums - pushing him to keep going. We did therapy exercises at home to. Now? He doesn't qualify for services anymore!
My oldest had articulation issues related to his cleft. My middle son had articulation and phonological speech issues. I think from listening to his older brother ; )
They both phased out of speech in kindie and speak extremely clear now.
I'm praying that this is the right decision and that he enjoys "school", but I'm in for whatever will be best for him! Just thought I'd share because others may be in the same situation!
Thank you, bubba2b, it's nice to see that your little ones liked the program. That's a fear in the back of my head but i know my little one loves to play and he loves other kids. I'm hoping he has that kind of experience! :-)