Speech therapy?

[InspiredHome]

My oldest son (born 9-4-02) was diagnosed with hydrocephalus last year and subsequently had surgery to drain out the excess fluid. Because of this he was developmentally delayed a bit. He didn't start walking until last April and now still isn't talking. He's receiving speech therapy. Is anyone else have a child going through ST as well?

 

[tonya]

I do not have a child that goes to speech therapy but I do teach school and I know that the younger they start a speech program the better!!!

 

[andiesmama]

My sister-in-law does speech therapy for children. I think it's awesome what they do!! You just have to give it time! Praying for you & your little one...

 

[CarrieAg93]

I'm a speech pathologist and my son began receiving speech therapy at about 2 1/2. At that time his therapist came to our house. He loved it. He would sit on the stairs by the door and wait for her to come. He's 4 now and has been attending preschool where the therapist comes to the classroom to work with him. I've been very pleased and he's made a lot of progress.

 

[InspiredHome]

My son loves his speech therapist too. I just feel like he's not making any progress. Sometimes it makes me want to pull my hair out! It's almost like my 6-month-old will start talking before him. You can talk to him or read to him until your blue in the face. He just looks at you. He doesn't even babble all that much. We know he can hear and once in awhile he'll say a few words. It's just such a slow process.

 

[CarrieAg93]

Hang in there. It can be frustrating. I've had kids in therapy who seemed to making little or no progress and then all the sudden something just clicked and they took off. Have you talked to his therapist about your concerns? Is she giving you ideas on thing you can do with him on a daily basis? Try not to compare your children. My second is way more verbal and seems to be more intelligent than my first so I know that can be hard. My oldest has epilepsy due to brain damage he sustained at birth. Sometimes I look at my younger one (he was talking in sentences at 18 mos.) and think maybe my oldest wouldn't have problems and be more advanced if things had been done differently. I know God has a plan for him and will watch over him. I'll keep you and your son in my prayers.

 

[suzybeezy]

My youngest child has developmental delays and does speech therapy. He didn't talk at all for a very long time. He's three years old and he's just responding to all of our efforts. It's like something finally clicked. He still has a long way to go, but we are finally seeing progress. I know at times it's frustrating, but hang in there, no one knows your childs potential except the Lord above.

Here's a few tips to try: Read to your child as much as you possibly can - the more words he hears the better they'll be. Try also finding word books with colorful pictures and really slow down your speech when you are saying the words and then repeat it several times. Possibly use the same book for a week solid. Also, this may be odd, but trying putting a bright red lipstick on your lips and exaggerate the pronunciation of each word directly face to face with your child. I have found that practicing speech therapy during the therapy sessions is not sufficient, the child needs to continue practicing at home. Ask your therapist for additional lessons you can do at home. Mine usually suggested only working on one particular letter group at a time because speech develops in patterns like words using lips together starting with m, b, and p. That's why babies usually start with words like mama, baby or pappap. If you really break down the science of speech and approach it logically it's much easy to deal with. But above all make it a fun experience because children will eager seek out this learning time if it's fun. Integrate singing and non-sense fun into the activity so they want to participate and won't look at it as therapy work. Plus you get the added benefit of it's great bonding time with you child.

When we first started working with our child we really didn't know if he would ever talk and if he did, what would his comprehension be. But the more input he got, the more potential for output. I got discouraged many, many times. But the efforts have been so worth it. I love seeing my childs speech develop and nothing can compare to the day I finally heard "mama, I love you" - Priceless!

 

[Entertaining_Angels]

My son is six and has been in speech therapy since he was three. He was only in the 2nd percentile for a long time but has moved up to about the 14th percentile which is really huge for him. He has had awesome speech therapists.

By the way, the tip about reading is excellent. I have read to my daily since I was pregnant with him and as a result, he loves books. In fact as soon as he started reading on his own, his speech really started to improve. Sounding out the words really forced him to concentrate on sounds and blends. And, most of all, ask the therapist what you can do at home and then do it.