Any SALTs around - DS1's nursery want to refer him for "lazy speech" any advice/help?

[ministryofsleep]

DH and I went to an open morning at DS1 pre school nursery today, we were asked if we had any concerns (which we didn't as he has settled in brilliantly), they then went on to say if we had noticed that his speech was quite lazy in that he doesnt articulate the beginnings and endings of his words very clearly and that they think he finds it diffcult to express himself and what he wants (ie saying "i'm thirsty" rather than "I would like a drink of x, y, z", and that they would like to refer him to a SALT but we probably wouldn't get an appointment until the New Year. DH and I are devastated by this because we are unsure about what it means. DS1 was a late talker compared to his younger brother but he talks non stop and is forever asking why. If anyone could offer any advice and guidance I would be really grateful. TIA

Am I thick or something?
At pre-school nursery he is 3ish, I guess. As your post mentions "settling in" I suppose he has not been there for very long. For a new starter to say "I'm thirsty" is quite an achievement, IMO. To expect him to say what they expected re the choice of drink is setting the bar quite high. My DS, now 8, didn't utter a single word, ever, in pre-school nursery. This meant nothing. He is now in Y3 and his teacher says he is the best achieving child in KS2.
If you think that your DS needs help, then get it. If you think that he is just fine, then trust your instincts - you know him better than anyone else.

Hi Plasticbandit - DS is 3.10, he started this preschool 6 weeks ago as they didn't have a January intake so he was at private nursery from January - July, the staff there had no concerns and he hit all milestones in the early years curriculum which they follow. He is a big talker at home but he will often say "I'm thirsty", "I'm hungry" without specifying what it is he wants, he will also often say "you tell me what to play with" rather than finding something to do of his own accord, which his brother is able to do age 22 months, but this was nothing that concerned me tbh.

To be honest, are they doing anything to help or given you suggestions? When he says I'm thirsty, you can say oh right then you can say "I would like a drink please" when you are thirsty, etc etc. I have worked with 5/6 year olds and older actually that do this, but need help with expressing themselves/putting it into a correct sentence.

There must be more to it - the example makes little sense - what else did they say? Do you have any concerns yourself? I know it can be hard to describe these things........

It would be a shame to waste 4 months of his childhood being devastated about him saying he's thirsty whilst waiting to see a speech therapist.........

Oh -my little one was told by private nursery at 2 that we should refer him re speech - turns out he only had 4 words at nursery but lots at home. We didn't - he's had a stutter and stammer since then - grew out of both.

Now at preschool - he stammers when excited - mispronounces pretty much everything but has a huge vocab - but he will also say I'm hungry and thirsty - i give him a drink of MY choice actually so that's why he says it - we don't have lots of kiddie drinks at home so he wouldb't specify.

Go with your GUT instinct.

Gosh these nurseries are being a bit ott and overreacting my goodness making problems when they are none imo. Your ds is still young and learning how to speak still and will continue to do so probably still into adulthood does not mean there is a problem. In my day there was none of this, i was a late talker and now cant stop talking and have been to uni. I still cannot prononce words and recently just discovered chimney is prononced chimney not chimley like i thought that it was, does not mean i had a speech problem. IMO nothing to be concerned with, all you can do is correct him and eventaully he will learn.

Two of my DDs had speech therapy. Not sure it helped them. But your son sounds ok to me. With DD2 at about 3.10 I actually asked nursery if I could tell the HV that the nursery said she had a speech problem, and they said in a relieved way: "we're glad you raised it because we wanted to tell you." She used no consonants, so effectively was talking in a series of grunts. At just turned 6 she is articulate, and noone can really tell she was delayed.

So if your son is talking loads even if he's not always that clear I think he'll be fine. Let them refer him - it'll keep them happy, and won't harm your son. I'm not sure it will help him, though. But as I say about my DDs, I don't know what their speech would be like if they hadn't gone to speech therapy.

Just to add, don't let your son go to group speech therapy. My second DD had this and it was a complete waste of time. My third DD will need speech therapy and I'm going to insist that it's one on one.

What length sentences does he normally use? Can you give examples?

Is his speech difficult to understand because he misses the start and end of words? What sort of things does he say wrong?

I wouldn't see any problem in being referred to slt for an assessment. It is hardly going to scar him for life and if he has no difficulties then they will discharge him. However, I can see that it might have been a shock if you feel he is fine.

Group therapy vs individual - some things can really only be worked on in a group. One approach is not necessarily inferior to the other.

I agree with checking what the nursery are doing to help him.