Speech problems Need advice

My 4 yr old DS goes to a public school in Queens, I have noticed before the teacher confonted me that there is some letter, syllables that my son has a hard time saying.
Was evaluated by the Board of Ed and he was approved to get the speech help but I have a couple of questions if you can help me with

Exercises ? Is there any that I can do with my son to help this ?

Self Esteem issues ? They have told me that there might be some, But he doesnt have any I am aware that if someone doesnt understand he will repeat and he doesnt get frustrated, mad very easy going with this

Going through the Board of Ed for services since they will only do it until June and then re file for next year ?
Or go through my Health Insurance which it is covered for 32 appointments but have to pay @20 co pay .
If I go through the Board of Ed he is labeled Special Ed ? Is this going to effect him later they also said once he is Kindergarten he will be taken out of class My problem with this is the kids are so nasty in his school will they pick on him when he is taken from his class and then he will have self esteem issues .

Help what else should I look for or should I do I dont really know how to handle this .
I am trying to research and find the best cure for this speech problem without effecting him later.
He is a very gentle, loving boy keep thinking about him and this little problem

Re: Speech problems Need advice

hi!
i'm a speech teacher at a school in NJ... i'm not really sure about the whole board of ed thing, becasue its different here in NJ, but i can answer some of your other questions.
yes, there are exercises you can do at home with him to help... BUT a speech therapist will need to tell you which ones would be best for his problem. i usually send my students home with "homework"- exercises to do or words to practice. i have them do it with their parent, and the parent MUST sign the paper.
as far as hmi being pulled out of class, thats what we do at my school too. its for 30 minutes, and the kids usually LOVE coming! a lot of times we do fun, game-based things to help them practice their speech.... and the other kids in the class NEVER make fun of the kids who leave for speech... in fact, a lot of them want to come too because they hear about how much fun we have!! there are a lot of kids who get speech (in fact, i had it when i was little!) its really not a big deal, and it will only help your son... its also better for him to get started early, when hes young, and then he may not need to go for speech for too long...
let me know if you have any more questions!

Re: Speech problems Need advice

I am a special educataion teacher in 1st grade for the BOE. The BOE will test him now, and he should recieve servies NOW. However, he has to fall what they call 1 standard level below AVERAGE in order to qualify to get the IEP and to be labeled Specail EDUCATION. In my school, they do have"at risk"speech couseling where a child does not get a "label", but it might not be this way at his school. Once he begins kindergarten, if he does get an IEP, he will continue to get services at the school.

On a side note- do not wory about what the other kids will think. My children are 6-8 and think is soooo cooool that their friends go with "so and so" for 30 2x a day. The kids are proud they go and work hard.

You can look online for some mouth excersises so he practices moving his toungue and teeth to the right places, but DEFINATELY ask the speech therapist.


Hope I help!!!

Re: Speech problems Need advice

As far as him being taken out of class, my kids are so envious of the ones who get to leave for services...they think it is a special treat that they are missing out on. They always ask to go too. I always tell the parents who are concerned about that that it is actually opposite of what they think - the kids think it is "cool" when someone gets to leave for a while.

Re: Speech problems Need advice

Do not even think about what other kids will even think Speech services are invaluable and will help him in areas of school, from reading, writing and social areas.

Children write down words as they hear them. If they are saying the words wrong, they will not make the right letter sound connection, which will affect writing.

Long term consequences of problems that aren't fixed now are more detrimental than anything. So don't even hesitate to take services. If things haven't seen self corrected by now, then outside help is needed.

I teach gifted children and one boy does receive speech services. He has made sooooo much progress in his two years of services that the speech therapist actually thought about de-certifying him for services. I ixnayed that because while he has made soooo much progress in reading and writing, another year will benefit even more.

So, try the doe services now and if the worse you have to do is re-file, then don't hesitate. Good luck!

Re: Speech problems Need advice

I'm actually a speech teacher for the BOE. First, you son is still young and might grow out of this. You need to give him some more time. Second, Your sons provider should discuss with you some exercises you can work on with him at home. I'm not too sure, but if you call your sons region, you can ask if there is any way that he can have services provided to him during the summer. As far as being pulled out of class, most kids are embarrassed but these services are free and like you said if you take him to outside practice, you will be paying alot of $$. Give it a try and see how it goes. Also he would not be labeled sepcial ed. if that's what your worried about. I have a few students that are in general education classes with services only. Good Luck!