speech and language therapy in reception

[theQuibbler]

My DS (4.8) has just started reception.
His teacher told the lady that picks him up that they had a SALT in class today and they thought that he could benefit from some therapy.

There's no letter or any more information, so I don't know what it means.

TBH, I'm quite taken aback that I've been informed of something of some importance - ie that my son could have speech difficulties - in such a casual way. I would have expected to have been sent a letter to discuss it or something, or is that not the way it works?

I don't think his speech is as advanced as other children his age, but I think that is because he is bi-lingual (French and English) so he is processing two sets of vocabulary and grammar.

Does anyone have any experience of this that they could share with me? I really need to talk to the teacher I suppose, but I'd love to know if this is normal or not.

Apologies in advance if I sound a bit panicky/strident, but am in early stages of pregnancy as well and so this might havwe upset me more than is actually reasonable.

you do need to speak to the teacher as it may not be his speech it could be his language skills. my ds ds sees SALT both for speech because he had a cleft palate when he was born but also for language skills such as understanding things like before/after first/last on top/under. it may be his speech but it may be just helping him with pronounciation such as the letters "f" "s" which are developmental issues, children develop at different speeds and they may just want to bring all children in line with each oher.

i am presuming because it was so casual that it isnt a great concern but they may think it may be in the future. there are some children in my ds's class who also gets help but there is no formal requirement/professional referral for them to do this. i think they sometimes do it to justify paying someone to come into the school (to make the numbers up) and choose the children they think may benefit from it most.

hope this helps

Oh, thank you countydurhamlass, that does help - very much indeed.

I wish they had sent some information in the way that you have set out; I really do.

Hope you don't mind me asking, but does yourson do this in school hours or is it an extra activity?

yes, it does seem a bit offhand the way they have dealt with, but it's done isn't it. yes, you need to speak to the teacher to get more detail about their concerns - as cdl said, whether it's problem say with pronunciation or with use and/or understanding of language.

when my DS was under speech therapy at school ge it was all in school hours - the speech therapist would come and see him school, and would either speak to me at school or give me a call to discuss. my DS got sent to a speech and language group at one point, that was during school hours, but at a children's centre a few miles away so I would go with him then take him into school an hour late.

Maybe they thought a formal letter would make you more worried than you need to be?

If there is a problem of any sort, then early intervention is probably the best approach. If there isn't a real problem, then they'll figure this out soon enough. If I were you, I'd accept the help gratefully and be glad that the school is being proactive about it - and yes, by all means, talk to the teacher to get further information about any specific concerns.

I informed school that dS (then in reception) would get SALT and I arranged it all. This came up just as his teacher mentioned that he couldn't say her name properly; I had already initiated the SALT process, though.

I think that's what school is telling you, that they expect you to chase it up with health visitor. There's a usually a long waiting list, so don't leave it.

DS got his SALT in school in Yr1, but I had to take him to sessions at cottage hospital whilst he was in reception.

hth -- it's got to be mild in your case just as it was with my DS, or you would have picked it up earlier.

My ds has SALT. I got a referral through the hv, and I had an assessment which put me on a waiting list for one to one sessions. This triggered school to put him on the list for their local SALT, although afaik she,s not done any work with him yet - she mainly seems to have advised his teachers on good strategies to help him develop.

It,s all to the good in the end, although a faff at the moment, because I,m having to take him to the sessions once a week. Me and dh both had SALT in our time, and my kids are also bilingual, so I,m not taking it toheart.

The school sound's great to have noticed your DS's needs so early and also to have the resources to help. As others have said, you need to speak to the teacher to clarify but whatever she says, early intervention is brilliant (take it from someone who really knows) and any additional support, however small and however minor the need, is worth it's weight in gold imo.

quibbler, my ds gets help in school which is combined with other help for other issues, we have just received our letter after we appealed to say the LEA are going to do a statement assessmet of him. we also get some block sessions from the community salt at the local hospital, these are every 6-9 months and usually are one 45 min (ish) session for four weeks

It's really fab that your DS is being offered this, as some parents have to fight for help and it's great that the school have identified that your soon needs the extra help.

My DD has SALT through the school, but we live on the Isle of Man, which is a different education system. We were given a copy of the teachers referral to sign.

I knew she had speech problems - she struggles with various letter sounds and the therapy has been a huge help. She has had trouble learning to read, as they teach using phonics now and she couldn't pronounce a lot of the sounds, if your DS is having the same problems then it is good that it is being sorted out now.

Our school has a therapist that comes in and assesses all reception children. My DD actually started having SALT whilst at the attached preschool as she had quite severe pronunciation problems. She was reassessed on joining Reception and passed with flying colours. I have nothing but praise for the wonderful help she got.
However, I only discovered that DS was having group sessions, for use of grammar, with the SALT (while in reception) when the SALT mentioned it during a session with DD. Apparently I should have had a letter from the school which had gone astray. It quickly became apparent to the therapist that DS didn't need any help at all and had just been far too interested in looking around the Heads office during his assessment! When I quizzed DS about it he just thought it was another part of the school day and not something he needed to tell me about.

I would go and ask the teacher about it. Hopefully they provide SALT at school and your DS will get any help he needs.

Fwiw I think its great that the school have a salt coming in to work with the children but having worked with many young bi-lingual children I think it would be worth reminding the teacher that he is learning 2 languages at the same time.
It is perfectly normal for bi-ligual children to take a little longer to develop their language skills. But look at the amazing benefits they have at the end of it. Try not to worry, the salt wil probably just play some games and do some conersation stuff with them.