Book Recommendations for Speech Disorders

[Tigerlion]

The SALT suggests that my DS (aged 3.3 years) has a speech disorder and that his delay of comprehension is 18 months and delay of speech is 12 months. We are hoping that he can go to a special language unit within a mainstream school.
Can anyone recommend any good books about speech disorders so that I can gain a better understanding and hopefully get additional exercises to what the SALT is recommending.

Thanks

[TotalChaos]

For general advice and support, the Parent's Guide to Speech and Language problems by Debbie Feit, for practical advice and tips, It Takes Two To Talk by Pfeffer/Weitzman (about £30 on ebay or from winslow publications). Also ask if your NHS SALT department does a Hanen course - the It Takes Two to Talk book goes with a course for parents about encouraging speech/communication. but is very useful on its own.

Also Playing, Laughing and Learning with Children on the Autism Spectrum by Julia Moor is very useful for language delay, even if your kid isn't on the Spectrum, as it is full of practical ideas to encourage play, and is a very compassionate, down to earth book, as I think she is the parent to a child with special needs.

[TotalChaos]

In general - because of the delay in understanding - use photos/gestures/simplified language to back up what you say. I found photos were the best way to teach my DS people's names. (DS had a very similar delay at your DS's age). I found that instead of speaking in normal voice/lengthy sentences, I had to use the "mommy" voice and very short statement.

[TotalChaos]

btw does your DS have problems with speech sounds (pronunciation) at all?

[hupa]

You could also look on the afasic website. You can download some of the resources free of charge.

[hupa]

ICAN can also provide you with some more background information.

[castlesintheair]

Visual aids are best. Your SALT should be able to provide you with some photocopies of 'worksheets'. One great thing my SALT used to do with DS is ask him to colour in specific things on a b&w picture. Increase the part instructions as your DS gains confidence/clearly understands 1 part instruction etc.

[Tigerlion]

Thanks. This is all so helpful. Yes, he does have problems with speech sounds as well. The SALT is great and sees him once a week 1:1 and he is being seen by the multi-disciplinary team at his nursery in a few weeks as he also sees a few other therapists.
I hope to look through the websites properly this evening once the DC are in bed.
BTW TotalChaos was your DS potty trained at 3.3years as I tried it with DS over the summer but he was getting traumatised by the whole thing and I think it may be due to his comprehension delay. How old is your DS now? How long did it take until he was able to speak fluently? I so long for the day that I can have a proper chat with my DS as at the moment most conversations involve two words at a max and I can't help but get frustrated when he screams endlessly when he is frustrated when we can't understand him.

[TotalChaos]

DS started to get the hang of toilet training at 3.5. It clicked all of a sudden - he never really was interested in the potty, but he started to copy on the loo for a few weeks (sit, flush, wash hands) without producing, then started weeing on it.

As for fluency - he still finds it difficult to answer questions that don't have a simple answer, but can put together very fluent sentences if it's in his own time iyswim. On some of the SALT tests he is now coming out within normal range . His delay was very similar to your DS's at that age (DS speech sounds were OK though). Has your DS has a hearing test all.

[bubblagirl]

my ds has ASD and delayed speech all seemed to click when he was 3.5 he potty trained at home with no pants on still wet when we went out as didnt ask for the toilet

sent him to pre school in pants from day 1 there he has been dry just clicked now he says i want wee wee

his speech sounds are still off and will be finally having SALT week after next to try and help with this

i did find pec cards useful for telling me things then i verbalised what it was he was pointing at when he was 3 he was over a yr behind now speech is maybe 4-6 mths behind but thats because of the speech sounds

my ds can answer simple questions now few weeks back couldnt answer any so huge change

even his speech is advancing at quick rate yet 6 mths ago litterally he was only at just 2 words now 5-6 and huge understanding of words 6 mths ago no understanding of words

i do give him eye q chews dont know whether this makes huge difference but his leaps are within times of taking them

[bubblagirl]

but alos i was told to vernbalise evrything i was doing and simplify it to around 3 words to help him understand the actions to the words

must say alot of my advise came from all the nice ladies on here and all my support and all of the help worked and advise has been great

[bubblagirl]

sorry typos must type slow i dont learn lol

[bubblagirl]

are ther eany special needs groups near you? my ds goes to a group called SNAP and they have courses and people tohelp with all sorts of questions and get to meet others in similar or same situation the support from being around them is great

and they help with my ds arrange music therapy and stay and plays to help him and since we have been ther eit has been 6 mths he went from non verbal to really chatty

[TotalChaos]

btw - DS trained before he could actually say "I need the toilet" - way round that was to watch for trouser clutching, and to keep asking him when out on a yes/no basis about needing the toilet. At home/nursery he would just take himself off when he needed it, so no problems.

[bubblagirl]

i have to second what total said he was toilet trained too as would just take himslef or again look for the signs only recently been saying i need a wee wee

i just left at home iwht no pants and then when he was taking himself added pants then loose shorts when ok with the pants but going oput i would take fold up potty and ask continuously

it wasnt until 3-4 weeks ago sent him to pre school in pants he came home dry and has been ever since

[kettlechip]

I'm always going on about this but the range of Baby Bumblebee language dvd's really have worked wonders for ds1, also coming up to 3.3, lang delay of around 10-12 months at the moment. Also, anything visual, he's picked up lots of vocab through jigsaws, books like Each Peach Pear Plum etc.

Started potty training aged 3.0 - had no expectations that it would be successful - started with a couple of nappy free hours a day where i watched him like a hawk and rushed him to the loo when he looked "imminent"! One day he just took himself off to the potty, and hasn't looked back. He's been accident free by day for around 6 weeks, and now tells me "want the potty", even when out and about, which is amazing progress for him. He's also virtually dry at night now, this is from a child who three months ago was totally disinterested in toilet training, so take heart from that, I couldn't imagine us ever getting rid of the nappies but it's lovely being without them and getting that milestone out of the way.

[Tigerlion]

Yes, DS had a hearing test and he is absolutely fine with his hearing. He does a lot of repetition of sounds without really understanding the words. For eg, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star sung by him is "Pinkle Pinkle pittle tar" etc though he is able to identify a picture of a star and say "Star". I verbalise the whole time with him in as simple a way as I can but he still talks in his own little way.
I am encouraged by what you say re potty training.
How would I go about finding if there was a special needs group near me as that sounds as though it could be a good thing to take him to.
Does anyone else experience the huge frustrations, usually resulting in lots of crying and screaming from not making himself understood?

[bubblagirl]

oh yes my ds had this alot and i would end up in the same state lol

thats where it came in handy to have pictures he could point to and then i could say oh you wnat xxx

my ds uses g and k alot bob is gog although last few days is now gob

mum he can say on its own but with more sounds it becomes nunny

he can say all sounds on ther own apart from f

as soon as they turn into a word its replaced by the g or k

gar=star
glue=blue
give=five
gore=four

only b word he can say is bubba

what area do you live in you can google it and see what comes up

[bubblagirl]

my ds at your ds age was exactly the same then summer holidays came round he was just 3.5 and i heard i cant reach it

im thinking its tv he comes in nunny i cant reach it i nearly passed out from shock

when his unwell or run down he will go back to not verbalising or speech becomes very unclear and frustration starts again

it will get better i so longed for the day we could chat and over night it all fell into place for him were still behind but in terms of where we were 6 mths ago huge change he wasnt verbal hardly and 6 mths later its falling into place gradually

[pushkar]

hi i made photo pecs pictures and stuck them to toys and the chair and toilet, my son still has problems with speech delay but we are removing toxins from his body through the DAN! protocol, and since beginning this my son is learning lots of words and saying some lost words, we still do speech and language,you need to reinforce this every day for it to sink in, i laminate all my mini photos which i make in boots photo labs..
the dan is a biomedical intervention please look up www.autism.com or www.treatingautism.com. there are some good verbal behaviour books out there by jessica kingsley publishers, you don't have to have autism to be delayed in speech, applied behaviour analysis can help also, lots of schools use this approach. e.g treehouse.com

[pushkar]

i also you actions songs and nursery rhymes and get props for all story books e.g goldilocks and the 3 bears, and sing the song show the props i.e. dolly and three different sized bears this gets their whole attention
and i use a gathering drum to use music to the story especially for anticipation.
you could also try bapt the association of play therapists to do an hours work with your child
its less expensive than salt therapist.
a book called the out of sync child is good as well for game and motivation ideas, available on amazon

[Tigerlion]

Just won It takes Two to Talk on Ebay for £12.50 and ordered up some of the other book recommendations from the library.
Where do I get pictorial cards or do you just make your own?

[Shells]

Hi Tigerlion. Some great suggestions on here. My DS is 4.6 and sounds very similar to yours at that age.

We have had a very slow toilet training process and I have just tried not to stress about it. He's been out of nappies since New Year but we still have a lot of accidents. Luckily he's very good at holding on so when I see the signs I whisk him off to the loo pronto!

I am longing for the days of proper conversations too - we are slowly getting there. And ditto with frustration and screaming. It manifests itself in other ways with DS - he gets extremely rigid about something unrelated as a kind of control I guess. The techniques above sound good.

[stickyj]

I wanted info about a child that doesn't speak at all. He understand everything you say to him, is gorgeous and stubborn and just doesn't speak. I've heard him laughing so has a "voice" but just wondered if there's any ideas to help him. His mum has been told to back off a bit, he's a younger sibling btw. Very laid back child but mum is worrying as he's so quiet. He's nearly three btw. Any ideas would be great, thanks. Would the Hanen system help or is it just for SN kids?