7yo with delays

[Renee in FL]

I have a 7yo boy who had failure to thrive issues as a baby caused by malnutrition related to gluten. He has never been diagnosed with celiac disease (no biopsy), but the symptoms were there and going gluten free for 18 months alleviated his problems.

Now, at 7, he has severe learning delays. He has just learned to count to 10. On most skills he is at a preschool level. He does know most of his letters and their sounds (after watching the LeapFrog DVDs for a couple of years), but he isn't even *beginning* to read. He has severe speech issues and his language expression is very delayed.

I do have him scheduled for testing, but it is going to cost us $2,000. The school system will do it, but the special ed corrdinator at the school my oldest goes to said that private testing will get faster, better, more usable results. (The $2000 will come mostly from my stimulus rebate, though.)

The question is, what will test results do for me? Am I going to get results that will really help me or are they going to simply tell me that he is language delayed (which I already know)?

[Laurie4b]

I would go through the school and then get supplemental testing privately. That way, you get some expensive tests free (like the WISC-IV).

Do you have him in speech therapy yet? If he is language delayed, it's crucial that he be getting treatment.

[Renee in FL]

I would go through the school and then get supplemental testing privately. That way, you get some expensive tests free (like the WISC-IV).

Do you have him in speech therapy yet? If he is language delayed, it's crucial that he be getting treatment.

He is not in speech therapy - we would like him to be, but my funds are limited. I could spend the $2000 on speech therapy instead, I guess! We don't have insurance, so everything is out of pocket.

So, what you are saying is to wait the 3 months for the school testing, then take those results to a private psychologist and have them do further testing and the recommendations? How much would that actually save me do you think?

[Cadam]

You can call a local teaching hospital and see if they recommend a clinic or have a speech therapy clinic on site. You will want a full speech and hearing evaluation and a full Occupational Therapy evaluation most likely.

With my son we didn't even work on reading at all until we got his speech as far as we could get it.

You have to get this kid speech therapy! Many/ most private clinics have scholarships. Shiners and Easter Seals have scholarships and a sliding fee scale. You may be able to work with a local university that has a speech therapy program. They often have graduate students working with kids as part of their degree and the graduate student is overseen by a qualified SLP. Once the SLPs finish school they have to get their C's which is their "certificate of clinical competence". This is who you would see, someone working on getting their C's. Does tat make sense?

Is he globally delayed? Get the school testing done. It will give you a basis to work from. Please get this child into speech therapy. The older they get the less you can do for them. Major milestones are 3yo, 6-7 yo and they figure on very little progress after 12 yo.

[Claire]

He is not in speech therapy - we would like him to be, but my funds are limited. I could spend the $2000 on speech therapy instead, I guess! We don't have insurance, so everything is out of pocket.

So, what you are saying is to wait the 3 months for the school testing, then take those results to a private psychologist and have them do further testing and the recommendations? How much would that actually save me do you think?

I would not spend $2,000 on private testing if you cannot afford therapy. I agree with having the school do all the basic testing. That will save you some money. Meanwhile, get a private speech and language evaluation from a speech pathologist, and a private occupational therapy evaluation. These private evaluations are usually much more thorough than what a school can provide.

Do you have a college or university nearby that offers a major in speech pathology? They typically will either have a low-cost clinic that they run or internships to provide practice (which is well-supervised) for the senior students. That would be your best bet for getting good speech therapy for your money.

I agree with starting therapy for the speech/language issues as soon as you can. That is more important than reading instruction at this point, and a better use of $2,000 than a private neuro-psych out-of-pocket would be.

[Sandra in FL]

something you might do (that's free) is books on tape from the library. My ds had apraxia (didn't even babble at age 3) and I saturated/surrounded him with language all day long. I started with very simple stories and played the same story over and over and over and ... You get the picture. I gradually increased the complexity of the language to simple fairy tales, rhymes, etc.

I also stress the importance of starting speech therapy as soon as possible. The younger the child, the greater the success.

HTH,
Sandra

[Renee in FL]

Thanks for all the help. I am looking into the speech therapy - we are somewhat limited by location, time, and transportation, but I hope to find something soon.