Speech Delay/Disorders

[knoxmomof2]

I don't have that experience right now with the dck's, but I do have experience with speech delays (DS11 had speech delays and speech therapy for about a year and was eventually dx'd with High Functioning Autism). DD(now 10) was lisping at 3-4 and, due to my experience with DS, we had her evaluated and were told that at her age the lisp was not a huge concern since there is development still happening. She outgrew it within the year.

I said that to say this: biggest lessons I learned from the professionals who helped him: 1) repeat what they said, but say it correctly in the form of a question/ statement 2) choose your battles because it can affect the child's sense of self at some point if you're constantly correcting everything.

I don't know what the specific issues are, so a vague example could be: if he says "I runned and I jump-ed and I swimmed fast!" You could say "Oh yeah? You RAN and JUMPED and SWAM fast? Wow!" (emphasizing the correct words). It seems subtle, but it's what you, as a caregiver, are able to do for him. He doesn't really realize you're correcting him, you're just modeling good speech. Again, try to kind of stagger when you correct and when you don't. I realize you're talking about WAY more than just a few words, but maybe that will point you in the right direction?

As far as your son, if you find him repeating bad grammar/ pronunciation, do the same thing as suggested above, except you can be a little more vigilant if you know that he knows the proper way to say it.

I do it with my own 2 even today. If their grammar is wrong, I correct them- just more directly since they're older.

As far as no therapy, I don't know what your dcp's reasons are, but for us it was a couple of things: #1, we were in denial that our son could have a problem (very common btw), #2, we didn't know where to start. My FIL told us about ChildFind and free monthly screenings they held in our county. They are generally nationwide, so a good place to start if you can ever get them to consider it. Good luck!

[Kabob]

I don't have that experience right now with the dck's, but I do have experience with speech delays (DS11 had speech delays and speech therapy for about a year and was eventually dx'd with High Functioning Autism). DD(now 10) was lisping at 3-4 and, due to my experience with DS, we had her evaluated and were told that at her age the lisp was not a huge concern since there is development still happening. She outgrew it within the year.

I said that to say this: biggest lessons I learned from the professionals who helped him: 1) repeat what they said, but say it correctly in the form of a question/ statement 2) choose your battles because it can affect the child's sense of self at some point if you're constantly correcting everything.

I don't know what the specific issues are, so a vague example could be: if he says "I runned and I jump-ed and I swimmed fast!" You could say "Oh yeah? You RAN and JUMPED and SWAM fast? Wow!" (emphasizing the correct words). It seems subtle, but it's what you, as a caregiver, are able to do for him. He doesn't really realize you're correcting him, you're just modeling good speech. Again, try to kind of stagger when you correct and when you don't. I realize you're talking about WAY more than just a few words, but maybe that will point you in the right direction?

As far as your son, if you find him repeating bad grammar/ pronunciation, do the same thing as suggested above, except you can be a little more vigilant if you know that he knows the proper way to say it.

I do it with my own 2 even today. If their grammar is wrong, I correct them- just more directly since they're older.

As far as no therapy, I don't know what your dcp's reasons are, but for us it was a couple of things: #1, we were in denial that our son could have a problem (very common btw), #2, we didn't know where to start. My FIL told us about ChildFind and free monthly screenings they held in our county. They are generally nationwide, so a good place to start if you can ever get them to consider it. Good luck!

Again, I wouldn't expect you to "fix" my son's speech and your families shouldn't either. You can work with them to support their efforts or simply let them go. It does take extra work in some cases to help speech delayed children through the day...my own son used to melt down a lot during transitions or when he couldn't get me to understand him. It was draining. I would not have expected any other daycare provider to deal with that stress. You do what ya gotta do.

Again, if it is bothering you, there is nothing wrong with speaking up and even going so far as to term if you feel that you can't provide the care they need and/or it is taking a toll on you. I can't term my son but there are some days where I make dh take him aside when he is getting overly frustrated. I am lucky to have that resource. If I didn't have that resource, I think I'd be bald at the end of some days.