Books for a pre-K with speech delay

[blessedmom3]

My almost 4 year old ( In Oct) has some speech delay . He has 4-5 words sentence but many words are unclear . If I ask him to repeat a sentence , most of it is unclear . Also he does not ask many questions about the story in the book and is not able to answer my questions ( "Why is the boy sad ?" )
Could you recommend any good books for me that would teach me how to improve his speech and comprehension ?
Also any children books that can help ? I have tons of kids books and we read a lot but I am not sure which one would be recommended for this problem.
He is a smart boy and academically seems to be above average . He can count to 25 , count about 13 one to one objects , knows many letters , some letter sounds , all shapes . His fine motor skills are delayed too . He is not able to draw or write / copy anything yet, except a circle . I am not sure what he has . He was tested for many conditions , including autism and the dr said he does not have anything but speech delay . Our insurance does not cover speech so I have to do most I can for him.
He is eligible for a special needs pre-K but the speech therapist does not meet his needs . She does speech with 3-4 other kids at the same time .
Any suggestion of books &material that can help?

[jacqui in mo]

that will treat your ds on a sliding scale since you don't apparently have ins. coverage? I used to work for a United Way agency as a ST & we saw patients all the time without ins., some of whom only paid $5 per session based on their income level.

What exactly does the Dr. mean when he says "speech delay'? From your description that doesn't seem like an accurate diagnosis. It sounds like a wastebasket (too generic, almost meaningless) term that doesn't give your insurance what it needs to be able to cover therapy. What did the people who conducted the testing say? I assume a ST did some of the testing you mentioned. Did you talk with them about the results? Does your insurance cover any speech therapy type diagnosis's? I'm just thinking with your ds's age, a diagnosis of "speech delay" seems to the ins. company as something developmental that he'll grow out of. Is that how your Dr. views it? I'm not an insurance wizard here, but it really seems like something isn't right here and you need a more detailed diagnosis like "Specific Language Impairment" or something along that line (or Maybe I'm just prejudiced in believing ST should always be covered:)).

As for books for you to use, check out these books called "Straight Talk". There is a set for speech sounds and another one for language. I haven't seen them personally, but they looked good just poking around the website.

http://nathhan.org/ResourceRoom/straight_talk.htm

HTH, It's been a while since I was a ST working with kids. Most of my work has been with adults before I became a HS mom. Good Luck. You might also want to Xpost this on the General Board. A lot of ladies there have experience with their kids in ST.
Jacqui

[Kathy in MD]

My almost 4 year old ( In Oct) has some speech delay . He has 4-5 words sentence but many words are unclear . If I ask him to repeat a sentence , most of it is unclear . Also he does not ask many questions about the story in the book and is not able to answer my questions ( "Why is the boy sad ?" )
Could you recommend any good books for me that would teach me how to improve his speech and comprehension ?
Also any children books that can help ? I have tons of kids books and we read a lot but I am not sure which one would be recommended for this problem.
He is a smart boy and academically seems to be above average . He can count to 25 , count about 13 one to one objects , knows many letters , some letter sounds , all shapes . His fine motor skills are delayed too . He is not able to draw or write / copy anything yet, except a circle . I am not sure what he has . He was tested for many conditions , including autism and the dr said he does not have anything but speech delay . Our insurance does not cover speech so I have to do most I can for him.
He is eligible for a special needs pre-K but the speech therapist does not meet his needs . She does speech with 3-4 other kids at the same time .
Any suggestion of books &material that can help?

First, because he has both speech problems and fine motor delays, I recommend you read The Out-of-Sync Child. It will help you make a tenative diagnosis for SPD. This may not be your dc's problem, but worth checking into with these two problems. (an OT specializing in SPD would have been needed to diagnosis this)

I suggest you look at the following products in this order to supplement his ST:

1) The Listening Program - we had minimal results, but my ds did it after years of ST with an excellent therapist. Other parents have reported mised results for similar programs. You will need to listen with him to make sure the volume isn't too loud.

2)Earobics- This was not recommended for my ds because he was much older than your ds.

3)FastForWord - This works very well for some types of auditory problems. This may be designed for grade school children and older.

4)Learning Rx or PACE - a cognitive skills programs that includes work on auditory memory and listen skills. The Basic program is designed for people 8 and up. LearningRx has a modified program for younger children. This works very well, but it isn't a basic therapy program. Try to complete more ST and/or the other programs first.

I did't do ST with my ds because I also had auditory problems. But after years of ST, my ds's diction was good enough that he was able to help me with the sounds I needed to pronounce to administer a home based version of PACE. Your ds may still be getting a lot of help from his ST. Keep it up as you add extra programs.

[blessedmom3]

Thanks for all the resources you mentioned , I will research all of them.
Jacqui, here are more details about my son .
I suspected him of being in the autism spectrum since he also displays a few other symptoms like :monotone voice , has social difficulties , at school or church doesn't get involved with other children but likes watching them , lines up cars and his eye contact is poor sometimes .
He has food allergies which can cause "brain allergy" from what I've read but his Dr. doesn't agree .
He had many ear infections in the past and probably that's why his speech is delayed . This is my guess as our pediatrician doesn't discuss anything in details with us , instead he says we have to go to a specialist (I know , I have to change this pediatrician) .
In the last year he did not have any ear infection though .
Last year , we went to a developmental pediatrician and after some clinical tests like EEG,blood tests , psychological tests, speech tests , he said he is not in the autism spectrum but he only has speech delayed . His IQ was a little above normal but at 36 months he was like a 23 month in expressive speech and 28 month in receptive . Now I guess he is a little more since he is 46 months. I still feel he is in the autism spectrum , very mildly affected but I am not concerned about the label but how to help him.
The insurance does not cover any kind of speech delay , unless caused by a stroke or something like that. In my knowledge there are not any speech clinics that would charge us in a sliding scale and I cannot afford $90 / 3o min .

[blessedmom3]

I read The Out-of-Sync Child but it does not seem my son has sensory problems or most of symptoms mentioned in the book .

[jacqui in mo]

Is there a University near you with a ST program? They have very reduced rate therapy using supervised ST students. Also, I'd call the United Way or other large charitable organizations like it & see if there is a clinic near you. You might be surprised. I'd hate to see the coverage your ins. gives for strokes if it doesn't acknowledge other basic speech disabilities.

Was your diagnostic testing just done by the developmental ped.? It would seem to me that your ds needs a more thorough diagnostic team to get an accurate diagnosis & good recommendations. When I was at the UW agency I mentioned, we had some children sent for testing through the PS system. They used a team of ST, OT, child psychologist & I don't remember what else to get a detailed analysis. It's almost been a year since your son was tested. Are there any plans for doing anymore?

Are you attending the special needs Pre-K you mentioned? Is he still taking the ST you mentioned, even though it is in a group setting?
Jacqui

[blessedmom3]

The diagnostic testing was made by the developmental pediatrician , speech therapist and psychologist and also he was tested at school by a team of psychologist and speech therapist. All of them said they don't think it is autism , only speech delay .
I think for this year I will homeschool him and maybe do the speech therapy they offer at school . They should still provide ST even if I homeschool , but I am not sure , I will learn about that on Monday when the school starts.
He was attending pre-k special needs from Jan-May but he hasn't improved much . In addition, he picked up some habits from other severe mentally delayed children , like sticking the tongue out and covering ears at loud noise , but fortunately since the school holiday he doesn't do anymore . I feel that he will improve better at home where he has an older sibling and a younger one- which are actually his best therapists !
In school he is extremely introverted and I don't think he can concentrate in academics or even social skills there.
The problem with homeschooling is that I have three children under 5 and I am pregnant again. I don't know if I can do it! So I have to experiment it for a few months and if it will not work , I will send him to school .

[jacqui in mo]

Wow, you have a lot on your plate! It does sound like home might be better than the school from your description of his behavior. Most schools are required to provide therapy to students in need in their district even if they don't attend the school. Hope things work out for you! Jacqui

[Ottakee]

www.linquisystems.com has some good resources.

Did he ever had a full hearing evaluation? Not just a screening but a full evaluation by an audiologist. If not, I would suggest that. Some hearing losses are missed on the quick screenings and can lead to language delays. Did they also check to see if he has fluid on his ear drum? Even without an infection that can cause hearing issues.

[newlifemom]

I have a couple of ?'s. Would you mind telling me what state you are in. Sometimes I think that school districts in some states are less willing to diagnose and thus have to provide services for borderline children. KWIM? Also, have you thought of seeing if you have a mental health portion to your insurance. Crazy I know but if I decide to go forward w/my own ds's diagnoses I need to have approval through that portion of my insurance and then see a neurophyschiatrist/pyschologist. Apparently they are better at diag. autism spectrum disorders. Finally, have you had a real OT eval. You described my son to a T and speech alone did.nothing! He rcvd OT for about one year. Still qualifies but we moved and I am not sure what to. That year changed my son. His speech issues had an OT component that needed to be addressed. HTH.

[dtsmamtj]

We have used some of the linguisystem products with good results. Our son has CAPD w/language delays. We also are currently using Earobics.


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