Anyone a speech and language therapist or have knowledge of the process?

[squarebugs]

Hi there

My ds started primary one in August. First parent's evening last night and his teacher wants to refer him to SALT because he sometimes seems to have a bit of difficulty following instructions. He will asks them to be repeated or repeat them back to himself. It is not something I have particularly notice at home. He will occasionally say 'pardon' but then I would have thought this is normal conversational interaction. I know I don't always get what people say first time.

As background (and none of this is stealth boasting, just a factual picture of my boy) he is up to speed with his reading and writing. He is socially fine with a wide circle of friends and enjoys school.

He can phonetically sound out new words and recognises all of the phonetic sounds. Numerically he is above average (teachers words). He has good coordination, enjoys sport and as far as I am aware developed normally through his baby and toddler years.

So I am at a complete lost as to what they are getting at? Of course we are happy for the referral and the teacher did say it may be a confidence issue i.e. he wants to get things right or is nervous in a group. My boy is a bit of a perfectionist and very keen (we don't push him, just encourage him to do his best) a personality trait maybe.

I am confused and worried about my boy

I would also like to add that several occasions people have commented on his vocabulary and how advanced it is (again not stealth boasting so anyone wanting to flame me try not to do so on this thread please) thus increasing my confusion at the need for SALT

Maybe they think he has hearing problems? My DS2 had speech therapy when he was 4 as he was misprounouncing some sounds, and the first step before a referral was a hearing test to rule out any deafness.

No they haven't suggested a hearing test. Straight to SALT. Just a bit confused! Thanks for replying

i agree, a referral for a hearing test was always the first step when i used to refer a child for Sp/Lang assessment, just to rule out potential hearing problems. If your child does see a therapist, try not to worry, they will hopefully give you lots of tips to help him if a problem is identified. It sounds like the problem is not his actual speech, but more understanding a longer set of instructions. I think there is a website for parents to help parents understand Sp and Lang therapy, called 'I can', perhaps you can have a look.

I would go with what school recommend. It is very difficult to be objective about your own, especially the eldest. One of my DS has SALT and it has been a fantastic service, best NHS service I have ever used though still under resourced of course. My DS has well above average vocab and sentence structure etc just needed help with some distorted sounds. Needing a SALT does not indicate low IQ. I would take any help you can get it can only help.

Moondog is a SALT

I am not a SALT but I work with children with SEN including those who see SALTs. Comprehension problems are pretty common, the SALT will probably give you exercises to practice following instructions with several words in (eg put the cat on the chair is a 3 word level instruction - cat, on, chair). Don't worry about it, they are just there to help.

Thanks everyone. Indeed we will have the assessment and see what they say