Both of my boys, ages 5 and 3 leave the beginning sounds off of most words. They are both in speech therapy right now, and we feel like are making great progress. We had kindergarten screening for my 5 year old this morning, and it was painful! He was the last child finished, and asked me where all of the other kids had gone as soon as we left the screening area. I was the only parent that they had to come out to speak with. They want him inrolled under an IEP next year. They could barely understand him, and totally made me feel like he hasn't made much progress. I'm starting to think about homeschooling, at least for the first few years since kids can be so mean, but my hubby thinks I'm just trying to keep him sheltered, and he's partly right! Kids can be so mean! One little boys has continually told him to speak English because he can't understand his language. His confidence is getting so much better as he progresses in his therapy. I hate to send him to kindergartenand have some bratty mean kids make fun of him and we regress back to swuare one.
I sympathize!!!
My daughter, Caitlin, was born with hydrocephalus (water on the brain) because of this she had many developmental problems. She didn't stand till she was 18 months and didn't walk until she was 2. Talking - man, that was tough. She didn't start talking until she was 3 and a half. She was in special schooling when she turned 8 months old until she went into kindergarten - and even then she had speech therapy through the school. They started out teaching her sign language which we agreed with. Until we realized that she was depending on that to talk and we knew that was making her lazy. When she went to full time school at 3 was when we saw some real progress. Your son may improve greatly once he is around other kids his age. Homeschooling is a last resort as far as I'm concerned but it is your decision. You aren't able to give him the benefits that a public school system could. By the way, my daughter is now 14 and we can't get her to shut up!!!
Good luck and know that my thoughts and prayers are with you as you make this decision. It isn't easy.
My son just turned 6 today! 
He's been seeing a speech teacher through the school systems since he was three.
I strongly recommend that you keep your son in school. My son made the biggest improvements when he was in school. He was in pre-school last year and even though the children did not always understand him, he never mentioned that he got picked on about his speech issues. He's been under an IEP since he was three and he will probably still be under it next year. He's still seeing a speech teacher 3 times a week in kindergarten and she has noticed great improvements in his speech this year. Even the teachers in his school that are around him on a daily basis have seen his improvement.
Now here's something on my side as a parent that I had to change personally- this is no way meant as an attack on you (nor is meant to offend anyone it is simply an observation on my part). About a year into my son's speech help, I was told and I realized that I was acting as an "interpreter" for my son. If someone couldn't understand him I would translate what he said...and I realized (with some help) that he didn't need to speak right since I was translating for him anyways.
So now, I don't translate (unless ABSOLUTELY necessary) and I always correct my son's wrong speech patterns, especially the ones that I know he is saying wrong and just does not want to correct any time soon.
So please, I am begging you...keep your son in school, and just be patient...the speech will get better, it is with mine.
Thanks guys! My son has been in a preschool program since he was 3, and is in Pre-K this year. He didn't qualify under IEP for perschool. At the eval for kindergarten, they acted like they couldn't believe that he didn't qualify. I try really hard not to translate for him. I'm just worried about kids being mean as he gets older. It's hard to see your child struggle. Thanks again. I'm sure I probably won't homeschool. I may wait and see how he does next year.
I think it must depend on the school system. When we lived in Waukesha my son qualified for Kindergarden Readiness (pre-K class) but we moved out to Hartland before the school year began. But when I got out to Hartland, they did NOT have a program like that at all. Only severely handicapped children were allowed early schooling at the public school. Which has been the only disappointing thing about this school system...but other than that it's been great.
My son has been picked on by some kids...but I don't think it's been for his speech stuff...mainly for other things I think. As hard as it is to get picked on as a child (been there done that) it can help them develop some social skills.
Hi! I have a five year old who will start kindergarten this year too! My niece is the same age and also has a speech delay, and some social interaction delays. My sister and I are BOTH homeschooling our daughters. You are right when you say kids can be so mean. My niece is also terribbly shy, when other kids pick on her it causes her to draw farther up into her own little shell. So sad. There are lots of programs avaliable for homeschoolers. Check with your local organization. Ours goes on field trips, weekly get togethers, school parties, science fairs, and even a kindergarten graduation.We are also very involved in church, ballet lessons, and art lessons. Yes, your son does need interaction, but he CAN get that while being homeschooled. It has been my experience that the children who are homeschooled are much nicer about teasing. Check with your sons school they should make speech therapy avaliable to those that homeschool you would just have to take him at a certain time. I am by no means saying that you should homeschool, I just wanted to write about our experience with it. Feel free to pm me if you have any homeschool questions.
Please keep in mind that in general, kids can understand each other. I'm always asking my daughters "What's your brother saying?" because I don't understand a word. The kindergardeners may not have much difficulty and not even think twice--they may be interpreters for their siblings as well! I had a daughter in speech at one point in public school and it made a world of difference--I know she would never have made the progress she did if I had homeschooled. I'd give him a chance. If school isn't working for him, he'll let you know. You can always pull him out if it doesn't go well, but it would harder to put him in halfway through the year.
I can relate to what everyone is going thru! My daughter will turn 5 this may and has had speech and fine motor delays. She was born with her saggital suture on her head fused and they had to do neurosurgery on her when she was just 5 months old to correct this. She walked late and by 3 she could only say 2 words!! After fighting for 9 months 
we finally got her into therapy when she was about 3 1/2 years old and she went from a 14 month speech level to a 3 year 9 month speech level in about 9 months!! Her progress was amazing but she still has issues and will be going into Kindergarten next fall. She has gon to developmental preschool for the last 2 years (though this year she only went 3 days a week so I put her in regular preschool the other 2 days so she could experience a "normal" preschool) SHE LOVED IT!!!! Her teacher has never had problems communicating with her and her little report cards show she is normal!! The kids have never been mean to her and I have loved watching her make her little friends. I will not hesitate to send her to kindergarten next year. But you have to do what you feel comfortable with. Kids are mean in all grades - my older 2 come home with stories all the time!!! You need to discuss this with the teachers if you are concerned. I know my kids teachers have always niped the meaness in the bud very quickly!!!
My daughter gets private speech therapy once a week still and then in developemental preschool 2 X a week as well. She was also in occupational therapy but now she has advanced so she doesnt need it. 
She will be under an IEP for kindergarten and as long as she need it. It will give her the therapy she needs - after waiting 4 months to get an evalution I will hold on to that until I am sure she no longer needs therapy!!
IMHO I think they push our children too hard in school so the ones that may have some issues just get labled!! My kindergarten son is doing WAY WAY more than I ever dreamed he would be doing!!!!!
I had expressed concern to my daughters OT that she was not getting it because she could not write her name now and she was almost 5 to have the OT tell me that kids her age cannot write there names they are only drawing a picture that is there "name" they really dont understand what the letters mean....I know everyone will jump on me a say that there kids can do it and know what they are doing and there 4 year olds can read novels!! (I know I had a neighbor that had a "genius 4 year old 
) but if your child cannot - it is OK they dont need to do it yet!!! It has been hard for me too especially with 2 older kids who have always been ahead of the power curve!
WOW ok I will get off my soapbox now and return to life 
But I wish you luck Jen I know what you are going thru!!!! Sarah
It is nice to hear others experiences, both thru the public school system, and thru homeschooling. I was NOT impressed at all with the 4 people who did his eval this morning. After about 20 minutes, the speech therapist came out and asked me if he ever talks. I told her we can't get him to stop talking when he's in a situation that is familiar or he's comfortable in. Kindergarten screening is a shy childs worst nightmare! They go down the ahll without their parents, and walk into a room with four adults that they have never met, and are expected to perform for them! I told the ST that is was surprised that she didn't understand how to get a shy child out of their shell! I think that she thought I would have no idea what I was talking about, and believe me, I have read enough and researched speech pathology so much that I could probably be a speech therapist! About 15 minutes later, she came back out and told me that she couldn't write fast enough to keep up with the sounds he misses! He has made great progress the last several months, and she acted like she couldn't understand a word he said! He is hard to understand, but most people have no problem after they figure out his speech patterns. I let her know (as polite as I could) that I am 29 (people often think I am about 19), I have a psychology degree, I know about my sons delay, do speech therapy with both my boys for about 45 minutes a day, and she isn't talking to a dumb mom who knows nothing about her child! I'm sure that other schools are great...I was just not the least bit impressed with the school at all!
My son just turned 7 and is the first grade. He's also in IEP. He was hard to understand even at four. We saw tremendous improvement when he was in pre-K and when they did an eye and ear screening test, we were sent to a specialist since they couldn't get any readings for his ears. He had been to the pediatrician twice in the last three weeks (my son complained his ear hurt) and he said it was just wax build-up. The ENT looked at him and said he had fluid in his ears and it had been like that for awhile. Needless to say I dropped that pediatrician! Within a month's time he had a TNA and tubes put in both ears. The ENT said he had the largest adenoid pads he had ever seen. So, we figured his speech delay was due to the fact he just couldn't hear us and we adapted to his language. At his presnt school, he was assessed to have a mild form of autism. In no way does he fit the characteristics of an autistic child, (I did a lot of research ont it, ALOT). But we are looking for a way to have him tested, just in case. Our insurance won't cover it, so we're still looking...
I was so scared when he started kindergarten. But, he seems to be doing OK. His teachers seem to adore him. I considered home-schooling for about, hmmm , maybe 10 seconds! I don't have the patience to teach. I truly respect teachers and child care workers! It's a job I could not do!! But, I still worry about him everyday! He's got some quirks that other kids might find weird. And kids can be downright rotten! I just pray he finds a happy niche.
To make a long story short, his school has helped and he has some wonderful teachers that have taken their time with him. Good luck with however you choose to handle this situation.
I think what really helps the teachers are the parents that are willing to work with their children and the schools. I know some teachers think parents can be way pushy sometimes, and I think that if you approach them right and know the right thing to say, they really appreciate you working with them. I know my husband and I had to sit down with my son's speech teacher, the school principal and his kindergarten teacher and we talked about a couple of things. I know some of the things that we brought up made my son's kindergarten bristle slightly but she was willing to work with us to get my son's behavior to improve. Now after some adjustments at school and also at home he is doing much better now.
But then there are some public school systems that are very bad and you are better off putting them in a good private school, or homeschooling them if you have the patience to do that.
Hello! My son is 11 years old and has cerebral palsy.. He doesn't walk. He has many delays.. One of which is speech..
I kept him at home and homeschooled him until just a couple of years ago.. I began to see how depressed he was compared to all the other kids when we were out.. He had no friends.. So I finally after a near nervous breakdown put him in the public school system.. He started school when he was in 4th grade... He's now graduating 5th grade and moving on to Middle school next year.. He has lots of friends and he's very happy these days despite all the problems he has.. He has a personal assistant that stays in the room with him at all times.. She is a CNA, just in case he needs a breathing treatment she can give him one (he has asthma as well). She's there to push him to his classes and to get his books out for him because he has no control of his left hand.. He has PT, OT, and Speech twice a week and has had them for the past 8 and a half years of his life..
It's an everyday battle with our school system.. The fact of the matter is if you want your child in school you gotta be willing to stand up to the people that are at the meeting and tell them what's going to happen NOT the other way around.. When it comes to my son or just my children in general I'll stand up and fight for what I know is right.. and what they deserve..
I too was worried about the kids being mean to my son.. And really we've had just a couple of problems with that.. Because I called the schools principal and had him call the parents of the little boy and we all had a nice little meeting.. I don't know what Middle school has to hold for us next year, but I'll be right there every time he needs me to be.. And willing to argue with the best of them... I want my son to get the education he deserves and that the state is entitled to give him...
Sorry this is so long.. I just get so carried away when I start talking about this... I Love my children better than life.. and I want what's best for them...
Dawn
Thanks Dawn. I'm the same way when it comes to letting them know what will or won't happen. My hubby tells me that the teachers won't want Jordan in their calss because he has "that Mom" if I keep it up. It's just hard when you know something that should be happening isn't. He's in Pre-K thru public school now, and with 12 kids in the class, 1 teacher, and 2 aides, his teacher said they have to make sure he doesn't get overlooked because he's so quiet! It scares me to death when he goes to kindergarten with almost twice as many kids in the class and only 1 teacher! We looked into private schools, and the teacher child ratio is about the same as public, and in some schools even higher! Jordan's teacher told me yesterday that he hasn't asked one time the entire year to go to the bathroom! He runs to go as soon as we get home. If they miss giving him something they are handing out, he won't tell them. We just don't want him to have a bad start in school and make him hate it forever. It only takes a couple of bad years and a lot of kids give up! It's sad, and we don't want Jordan to decide at an early age that he hates school.
What I'm about to say may offend you, if so, I'm sorry.
Maybe you need to let him go a little. Seems that there is so much focus on his speech "problem" that he is scared to talk and that is why he doesn't let the teachers know anything. I speak from the heart on this matter. I have a 14 year old daughter that God gave me after 3 miscarriages. When Caitlin was 1 day old she was diagnosed with hyrdrocephalus (water on the brain) and when she was 14 days old had her first (of many) brain surgerys. I became the most terrified, overbearing mother there is. I have two older sons (18 & 16 now) and I regret every day the way I treated her and left them out. It wasn't intentional on my part. She was my gift and became my world for a long time. As I mentioned in my earlier post - Caitlin had a speech problem for almost 4 years. She went through Keep Pace which is a infant to 3 yr. old program and then went into Early Childhood and continued on through the regular school system. She had speech therapy until she was in 1st grade. I think the turning point for Caitlin and me was when I returned to work when she was in Kindergarten. I was an overbearing parent who had too much time on her hands. To look at her now you wouldn't know that she has/had a disability. She is a beautiful, independant and wonderful young woman (spoken from a very proud mama!).
Please don't take this the wrong way. Just relax and let your son relax. There are going to be kids that treat others badly because they are different. Explain to your child that he is the way he is because God made him that way. If he didn't have any problems there would still be kids that would make fun of him for something else. That's the way life (though it may be wrong) is. You mentioned that you spend 45 minutes a day working on his speech problem, is this therapist recommended or something that you have committed yourself to doing? I know that I have probably offended quite a few people with this post. I'm sorry. Please understand that I've been there and have learned from the mistakes that I have made. 14 years from now you will look back on these days and will be amazed at the progress your sons have made. You (and others) will never believe that there ever were any problems. Most of all, you won't be able to get him to shut up - especially when he starts noticing girls!!!
Hi, Please keep him in school. There is an organization in every county in Ohio that works with parents that have children birth to 3. Now i know your child is 5, but there is supposed to be a parent on that board from an organazation called Family Information Network. She can give you a lot of information about other things in your area to help. She is probably running a support group for parents also, please get involved in that. You should be albe to get the name and phone number of this organization from your local school. Also get ahold of a book called the Blue Book, it is all the rules and regulations for parents. It is FREE. Your school will have a copy, but you have to ask for it. This is for any of you parents that have a child on an IEP or in the future. I can give you more information, I may even be able to find out the name and phone number of the FIN consultant. Please pm me if you would like this information, or heck call me. PM me and i'll give you my phone number.
I have been through the system and have even helped write some of the laws dealing with this stuff. My daughter is out of the school system now, she's 23, but I have kept contacts. Please don't stand there alone, you are not alone.
My daughters condition is only 3 known in the United States to have it. One of them has died and the other one is my niece. We were alone, but when we found other parents, the diagonsis weren't the same, but our concerns as parents were.
Jeanne
Jen, Here is a name and number to contact for information in your area. Its a long distance number, I couldn't find a toll free one.
Kathy Wilson - Family Child Learning Center - 1-330-633-2055
This is for any other parents to in Ohio
I hope this helps.
I have a 3 year old that has been in speech for a year now. He is very small for his age and is hard to understand so people automatically say "oh what a cute little baby" He has learned to say I AM NOT A BABY!! I think people under estimate him! He is in the school districts preschool now and only had 4 in his class. He gets 60 minutes of speech every week. He had a therapist that came to our home every week until he was three and he is making great strides. I agree that leaving them in the IEP is a good choice.
It is nice to hear others experiences, both thru the public school system, and thru homeschooling. I was NOT impressed at all with the 4 people who did his eval this morning. After about 20 minutes, the speech therapist came out and asked me if he ever talks. I told her we can't get him to stop talking when he's in a situation that is familiar or he's comfortable in. Kindergarten screening is a shy childs worst nightmare! They go down the ahll without their parents, and walk into a room with four adults that they have never met, and are expected to perform for them! I told the ST that is was surprised that she didn't understand how to get a shy child out of their shell!
I think that she thought I would have no idea what I was talking about, and believe me, I have read enough and researched speech pathology so much that I could probably be a speech therapist! About 15 minutes later, she came back out and told me that she couldn't write fast enough to keep up with the sounds he misses! He has made great progress the last several months, and she acted like she couldn't understand a word he said! He is hard to understand, but most people have no problem after they figure out his speech patterns. I let her know (as polite as I could) that I am 29 (people often think I am about 19), I have a psychology degree, I know about my sons delay, do speech therapy with both my boys for about 45 minutes a day, and she isn't talking to a dumb mom who knows nothing about her child! I'm sure that other schools are great...I was just not the least bit impressed with the school at all!
This is something I would be more worried about than even the kids. School is scary for kids today. My daughter is in preschool, a christian school, and I know that is what I want for her. Either homeschool or a christian school. Different area have different types of schools too. Here I would NOT put my kid in the public school if I coule help it. We are planning to move and I don't know how theirs are there but we'll see. Your his mom and you know what is best. Dad's don't have that instinct either so go with your feelings on this... You'll figure it out.
My son has been in the early intervetnion program since he was three and now he is five. It is a great program. He has made vast improvement. I too am worried about kindergarten and a bully making fun of him or him being labeled as special education. I have no choice but to send him to public school.
It is hard for the parent to know if the child is making progress because we are eith him everyday. I try to notice if other people understand him. Such as at resturants or the grocery store. I always encourge him to speak ofr himself, if the person looks confused, I translate. I have also found it helps if the whoel family is involved. I let all his anut and uncles, and grandparents know what we are working on and what to say if they can't understand him. They all tend to help, too. It does wonders for his confidence.
My brother studdered and still does, poeple always made fun of him and I don't want that to happen to my son. But, my family always made sure that he knew they were proud of him and hleped him through his problem and that was a big help. After a while he didn't care what other poeple thought. He is one of the most successful people I know.
There is light at the end of the tunnel.
What I'm about to say may offend you, if so, I'm sorry.
Maybe you need to let him go a little. Seems that there is so much focus on his speech "problem" that he is scared to talk and that is why he doesn't let the teachers know anything. I speak from the heart on this matter. I have a 14 year old daughter that God gave me after 3 miscarriages. When Caitlin was 1 day old she was diagnosed with hyrdrocephalus (water on the brain) and when she was 14 days old had her first (of many) brain surgerys. I became the most terrified, overbearing mother there is. I have two older sons (18 & 16 now) and I regret every day the way I treated her and left them out. It wasn't intentional on my part. She was my gift and became my world for a long time. As I mentioned in my earlier post - Caitlin had a speech problem for almost 4 years. She went through Keep Pace which is a infant to 3 yr. old program and then went into Early Childhood and continued on through the regular school system. She had speech therapy until she was in 1st grade. I think the turning point for Caitlin and me was when I returned to work when she was in Kindergarten. I was an overbearing parent who had too much time on her hands. To look at her now you wouldn't know that she has/had a disability. She is a beautiful, independant and wonderful young woman (spoken from a very proud mama!).
Please don't take this the wrong way. Just relax and let your son relax. There are going to be kids that treat others badly because they are different. Explain to your child that he is the way he is because God made him that way. If he didn't have any problems there would still be kids that would make fun of him for something else. That's the way life (though it may be wrong) is. You mentioned that you spend 45 minutes a day working on his speech problem, is this therapist recommended or something that you have committed yourself to doing? I know that I have probably offended quite a few people with this post. I'm sorry. Please understand that I've been there and have learned from the mistakes that I have made. 14 years from now you will look back on these days and will be amazed at the progress your sons have made. You (and others) will never believe that there ever were any problems. Most of all, you won't be able to get him to shut up - especially when he starts noticing girls!!!
I'm not offended, I just don't think that he even knows that he has a speech problem. We don't talk about it around the boys, and don't ask them to repeat over and over. We do work on their speech during the week (which they love going to!), but we do it more in conversation than sitting down and working on it. My 5 year old is very shy, and his little brother is the exact opposite, and they are treated no differently. My older son has always been a very shy child. Thanks for the advice though!
Jen, Here is a name and number to contact for information in your area. Its a long distance number, I couldn't find a toll free one.
Kathy Wilson - Family Child Learning Center - 1-330-633-2055
This is for any other parents to in Ohio
I hope this helps.
Thanks for the info and the number! I may give her a call!
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%