does your four year old drool?

[colditz]

I am pretty sure what the answers will be but I need to know anyway

Thank!

speech and language therapy

Thank you.

LOL

Thanks, Colditz. I'm only asking because kids have a variety of subtle difficutlies for a variety of reasons. Just from what the ed psych has said it sounds like a specific problem with motor planning, which is affecting his mouth control, and action planning, which is making him impulsive. Articulation difficulties are often the problem most responsive to speech and language therapy so it is important that they keep providing sessions, whether individual or group. Whatever is causing the dyspraxia is also likely to be related to the immature impulse control so I would just keep an eye on that. It's good the ed psych has become involved early, if only for monitoring purposes, but if your ds does find it hard to adjust to school don't let them fob you off with a behaviour management plan. It's likely from what you and the ed psych say that he does have mild problems but it is important that they intervene early and support him appropriately, especially as it sounds like he has the kind of difficulties that are responsive to treatment.

Thanks Eclipse, Jeez that's a lot for me to take in.

he was very late to pottytrain and had so many poo accidents until he was 3.5, was a cheerful, malleable, but silent baby, silent toddler, and I always had a niggle in the back of my mind, and the older he gets, the more real it all gets.

Sorry, I didn't want to make you worry because I actually don't think you should. It's just that when a child doesn't show a typical pattern of development there's a load of people who will say, oh it's just a delay, he'll catch up. That's often not the case. But with good therapy at the right time, he'll probably do well. I don't know your ds so my advice is only vague, but at this stage your best bet is to hassle them to provide input and if you don't think it's the right sort or enough, just get back here and ask.
A useful question to ask when working with any professionals is 'Oh, that's interesting. I'd like to read more about that. Could you give me the references for the evidence for what you've just said?'. Lots of clinical decisions are made on judgement because there is not always the research evidence available but, as a parent, it's helpful to know what is evidence-based and what's personal opinion. Sorry, going off at a tangent now but if your SALT is fobbing you off, that should sort things out for you.

Thank you eclipse, knowing that has given me the confidence to stand up for us a bit.

There were raised eyebrows when I told the ed psych what the Salt had said, so I think she will back me up in that he does need help.

Colditz, I really empatise with you on this. My DS was still drooling at 4 years old and he did have speech and language problems. He's 5 now and his speech is still immature but the drooling has stopped.

If you need any support, a very helpful organisation is Afasic (www.afasic.org.uk) who will be able to advise you as necessary. It was set up by parents but is very well supported by leading professionals in the field.

SYmpathies your way. My DS (2.6) is a slobberface but speaks well - I asked both HV and dentist about it (mainly because thought he was getting too big for bibs) and was told that some kids "just dribble a lot). So I bought some bandannas for him. I have afriend who is a SALT teacher and she generally says of speech problems that early intervention helps a lot and most difficulties can be improved with the right treatment. All the best.

My ds still drools (resulting in sores on his chin for most of the winter) and he is 6.5. I was telling my friend a few years ago about how I couldn't wait until he outgrew it and she said that I might have to wait a bit as her son hadn't stopped drooling until he was 12!!! Ironically it was her non-drooling daughter who had/still has speech difficulties...but it hasn't stopped her from being a straight A student who plays varsity (usa) soccer and track!

Trust your instincts....when my ds was at nursery (3.5) his teacher started saying that she was concerned about his fine motor skills because he couldn't (wouldn't) write his name and kept asking to write his sister's name instead (only 4 letters while his is 7). I did try to point out to her that it was probably an issue of interest rather than fine motor skill since he could already eat with chopsticks at that age (we like japanese food!) but she was having none of it!!

any more answers for my poll?

Does your NT 4 year old still drool and does he / she have a speech delay/difficulty

My NT ds with speech difficulties due to hearing impairment (not mouth motor development) drooled v v much until he had his tonsils/adenoids out at age 3 - then continued to drool v much until recently...he is now 5.5 and drools slightly if he is tired.
SALT have seen him twice - told us rubbish like - keep wiping his chin and tell him to stop it, - just gave him a sore chin and made him more miserable.

Your ds has had his hearing tested hasn't he? Sounds a lot like my ds in other ways too..but I always put it down to his hearing problems (eg lack of speech when younger - social behaviour problems)

His hearing is fine, he hears, understands, does things - can't tell me what he has just that second done.

sometimes he can tell me the next day though, which is odd.