Speech therapy

Platinum Member Joined: Sep 11 2004 Posts: 19241

does anybody have experience with speech therapy for 3 year olds?

I think my 3 year old is about a year behind where he is supposed to be in his speech.

what can I do to help him talk, put together sentences, etc.?

he also started hitting instead of talking. (his poor little brother!)

Diamond Member Joined: Dec 30 2004 Posts: 3194

call up omni or yeled vyalda and have him evaluated, chances are you will be approved, doesnt cost a thing!

Platinum Member Joined: Sep 11 2004 Posts: 19241

thanx shoy.
the school I send him to has free therapy built into the system.

I wanted to know if anyone has experience with speech therapy, specific examples of what they did and how that helped the child express himself and put together sentences.

I'm not worried about enunciation or vocabulary, I think he's up to level in those areas.

Gold Member Joined: May 04 2006 Posts: 1722

I used challenge in BP, they were great. but what you can try in the mean time, when he hits hold his arms to his sides and ask him are you upset, do you feel angry and make him repeat after you I am upset, and everytime he hits out of anger of frustration help him express his feelings in words and repeat after you. always make him repeat after you this way he will be exposed to the language and eventually he will learn.
_________________
"The Jew - is the symbol of eternity. ... He is the one who for so long had guarded the prophetic message and transmitted it to all mankind. A people such as this can never disappear."

- Leo Tolstoy

Platinum Member Joined: Sep 11 2004 Posts: 19241

Lilly, he's great at repeating. Smile

he's been doing that forever. but it's still not coming from himself.

he recently started answering yes-or-no questions.
information that he automatically knows well he has no problem answering, like if I ask him what color/number/letter something is.
I cant even get him to tell me what he ate for lunch in school. Confused

I thought that once he started school he would get a jumpstart and be up to level. it's only been two weeks, and I guess im getting impatient. I'm considering putting him into a speech therapy program if he's not up to level in the next 2-3 months.

Gold Member Joined: May 04 2006 Posts: 1722

therapy is good it helped my son a lot.

maybe when you read to him try to ask him what happened in the book, let him retell you what you just read, maybe have to excersise his memory. also do you give him lunch or the school does? either way you can say remember you ate pasta etc for lunch was it tasty? etc.

Platinum Member Joined: Sep 11 2004 Posts: 19241

I wish I could do those things but he is nowhere near there.
his typical sentences are 4-5 words and 7-8 words is a looong sentence for him.

he has a great memory, he just doesnt want to or know how to answer. especially if he knows I already know the answer, he'll just give me a smile that says "why are you asking such a silly question!"

he has school lunches, so I really have no idea what he ate unless I ask the teacher.

Gold Member Joined: May 04 2006 Posts: 1722

give me an example of his typical sentence.

also if you really feel he needs therapy then try its free you dont lose anything

Platinum Member Joined: Sep 11 2004 Posts: 19241

his typical sentence is really just when he asks for what he wants or needs. Confused

"I need to go to the bathroom."
"I want to go to Yeshiva."
"More macaroni please."
"Video?"

he's not a talkative kid to begin with so he doesnt blab much if he has nothing important to say.

I'm really wondering how worth it it is to begin with to start with therapy. if he can pick it all up on his own, or if he really needs help.

Posted: Wed, Sep 20 2006, 12:43 pm Post subject: re: Speech therapy

maybe just have an initial appointment with a speech therapist who can tell if these are things he will pick up on his own, or if he needs help.

Gold Member Joined: May 04 2006 Posts: 1722

agree with amother, go to therapist and get him evaluated or aks if his speech is normal, and see what they say. somehow I think he is fine, he just needs maybe more stimulation, more reading. speak to a therapist and his teacher.

Diamond Member Joined: Apr 03 2006 Posts: 2621

Try to get him evaluated. This way you can see how behind he is and if he should be receiving more formal, structured therapy. If he really is delayed for his age, then your informal attempts at getting him to increase his language abilities will likely not be sufficient (although definitely very helpful in conjunction with therapy!)

Silver Member Joined: Mar 23 2006 Posts: 642

Did you ever get his hearing checked? How comprehensive is his vocabulary? Aggresive behavior can be caused by a hearing loss, frustration over not being able to express himself or understand others. If insurance will cover it an audiologist might be a good place to start. Does he always understand what you tell him?

Some kids just choose not to talk (ie. there is nothing physically wrong, holding them back from talking) - and while speech therpy can help that - you might just want to wait and let him talk on his own pace.

It depends when the school will give him the therapy - is it after shcool-and not too late in the day when he get kvetchy- than it prob. doesnt hurt to start now. But if they're going to pull him out of class, you might want to wait, becuase he might miss a crucial part of a lesson.

You should also speak to the teachers and see how verbal he is in shcool and wether they feel he has a delay.

Posted: Wed, Sep 20 2006, 1:19 pm Post subject: re: Speech therapy

My son is 3. His speech issues are not dialouge, interactive conversation.
Example "Where are we going now"?
How old are you?
What did you eat today?

He loooks at me smiling, in a knowing way, as if to say, its obvious, why answer.

He also repeated alot.

Sadly these are often issues related to kids on the Autism Spectrum.
Its an interactive, social disorder.
We always thought he would just grow out, but its obvious now that hes 3.
One needs INTENSIVE therapies, not only Speech for my son.
To most people its not noticible. He loves people, good eye contact, smiles, mischevious but in other ways one can see elements of this Spectrum disorder.
The EARLY INTERVENTION IS CRUCIAL!!!!!!
You possibly have NOTHING serious but without alarming you, keep this in mind.
May you only have Nachas and good news with your son.

Posted: Wed, Sep 20 2006, 1:20 pm Post subject: re: Speech therapy

SAme poster as Above.
Just wanted to add, he does talk, in long sentences too, but not in dialouge mostly.

Platinum Member Joined: Sep 11 2004 Posts: 19241

an initial appointment would be a good idea but to add to everything, he is shy. he would probably need to 5 or 6 appointments until he feels ready to talk to the therapist. Confused

I'm not sure how they could possibly evaluate him if he won't talk to them.

he hasnt had his hearing checked recently, but I havent noticed any problems. I do repeat myself when I give him an instruction and talk slowly, but only because I attributed it to him not understanding very well.
I'll keep my eyes open on that one.

I spoke for a few minutes to his teacher yesterday and asked her if he understands instructions and announcements, and if he carries them out. (such as: "everyone go sit in the circle.") she said she is sure he does, and not just because he's following the other kids, but that he hears an instruction and obeys.

the therapist would give him the therapy during school hours which works out well for us.

Platinum Member Joined: Sep 11 2004 Posts: 19241

Posted: Wed, Sep 20 2006, 2:13 pm Post subject: re: Speech therapy

Early intervention is crucial because one can facilitate and create the most life altering and long lasting changes during the EArly years, obviously 1 and 2 years is better than 3. Although 3 is better than 4 etc.
I honestly believed my son was shyish too, obviously I could see he was bright, but because he was not in a program I believed once he started one he would progress. However I noticed extreme differences in him and other 3 year olds. This clued me in. They could engage in dialouge, tell short stories. He would not even answer a basic question.
Other areas were his play. It was not as interactive as other kids.
He also played with same toys over and over, like blocks. He was not experimental and adventorous as others' his age.
There was some repetitive play.
He also would repeat sentences that he had heard from a day ago or more, or from moment.
These were all classic.
He also had some sensory issues. (Not all kids on Spectrum have thse)
Loud noises- often sensitive although this has gone, B"H.
Very picky with foods, would not try new foods. (This has improved drastically)
He was generaly more hyper and had more melt down than other kids I realise now in hindsight.
As he got older it got worse ecause he was more frustrated in his speech.

So he is in a full day INTENSIVE program, around the clock while he is still young(dont want to miss the boat ).
This includes Speech, Occupational, Behavioural, Floortime, Theraplay within a preschool setting. He is in a jewish special needs setting. Although in theory integration is best, its more crucial in these early years to have INTENSE therapeutic intervention and then IY"H move to integration half day with supports and then full day no supports other than outside therapies. This is debatable.

We paid privately to have a full assess. of his DEvelopment, so we had a base from where to work.
Honestly if I was not had a special needs background I never would have suspected this, but Thank G-d I acted fast because he cannot simply grow out as he gets older, he needs intervention
now.
Possibly your son has NOTHING like this so dont stress but at the same time be proactive and open minded.
All my love, warmth and BRACHAS.
We can chat if you like.
xxx

Posted: Wed, Sep 20 2006, 2:35 pm Post subject: re: Speech therapy

gr u didnt miss the boat, there r still ways to get ur child to talk more.
what worked with my kids ( who now r big yappers)
a)stick to 1 language
b)read a book every nt (ask a ques or 2 if u can)
c)teach ur son how to socialize ex: pretend im chaim and ur mendel, what will u say if u want to play w/ me... act out
d)talk slowly and clearly

ps it does not sound like u r describing autism... but whatever therapies, ideas they use to get children to talk can be used for all children

Posted: Wed, Sep 20 2006, 2:54 pm Post subject: re: Speech therapy

GR I definitly dont want to add to your stress or create paranoid worries. It does not sound like my sons situation, B"H.
Yours im sure is nothing serious:)
So please forgive me and dont allow me to alarm you.
We just went through alot recently which is why I make generalisations.