Speech and Language therapy

[mumof2terrors]

Does anybody know of any good books that I could read to help my 2yr old who has speech delay? There is a very long waiting list for therapy in kingston and I really want him to get started.....he may have autism and i was told yesterday that the waiting list for dx is 3 years!

julia moor - playing, laughing and learning with children on the autism spectrum (useful for lang delay as well as autism)

hanen centre books - it takes two to talk, you make the difference, more than words (try winslow publications or ebay rather than amazon)

www.teachmetotalk.com
www.ican.org.uk
www.afasic.org.uk
www.superduperinc.com (useful free handouts)

oh and if you google for mariposa school california, they have a vb (verbal behaviour) manual online,

unfortunately my husband was made redundant last week so I may be able to afford a few sessions....its extortionate the initial consultation is £300 and then £75 thereafter. I have heard of Hanen i will order the books today...thanks for your ideas

Depends on what kind of speech delay. Ds has difficulties with pronunciation or certain sounds and blends and i found jolly phonics helped with picture and actions.

Also chasing up referrals and complaining to the PCT helped to get ds seen quicker, although didnt make me very popular!

Check the Cerebra website as they offer grants for speech therapy.

I agree with Claw, you have to keep at the NHS and make a right pain of yourself and you may finally get some help. I would also say though that your local childrens centre may be able to offer you some help sooner. Many have speech therapists attached to them and they are unlikely to have such long waiting lists to be seen.
Have you thought about getting a statement for him? If you are able to do this then speech and language therapy should be quantified and there would be a legal obligation on the local authority to provide this. I am not sure exactly at what age this starts to be applicable but there are plenty of people about here who can advise further.

I dont even know what a statement is and how I would go about getting help. The paediatrician said he has delayed speech and they cannot diagnose autism until he is a little older, TBH i just want to get the ball rolling as I have read that early intervention is the key. the GF/CF diet and supplements have worked wonders for his eye contact just have to work on his speech now!

Simply put a Statement is a legally binding document used in educational settings e.g schools/nurseries. This outlines the child's difficulties and how these needs will be met in terms of extra support paid for by the LEA. You would have to request such a document from the Chief Education Officer of your LEA (local education authority) and give them six weeks to reply.

IPSEA is a good website to look at with regards to the whole statementing process; their web address is www.ipsea.org.uk. Another helpful Surrey based organisation is SOS;SEN.

Autism can be diagnosed as young as two so I would question the paed on this. Is he a specialist in ASD? If not, I would ask to be referred to a specialist team.

You should be able to get help from your local portage service for pre-schoolers as well.

He might not be able to diagnose autism at 2 if he is crap, most paeds can though, if they are developmental and know anything about autism.

Get a second opinion or private.

hi, I have a 2yr old son who has significant speech delay, we have been told he may be autistic and like you have been told to wait until his at least 3yrs. We are also waiting for speech therapy in the merton borough, we live in new malden but come under merton. We also couldnt afford private therapy but we applied for a speech therapy grant from cerebra which we got, i was very shocked as didnt think we would. It is for £500 and we are seeing a lady right near us. I sent in an initial report from the paed we saw and we also saw a speech therapist in wandsworth before we moved only once but i sent that report as well, worth a try. Speech therapist told me to get more than words book. We tried for portage in merton but told waiting list is so long its not worth him even going on it. we were told by paed to send him to a nursery/pre school asap to help with mixing with other kids which i am v nervous about. Good luck with everything.

That's great shells77! Its so strange I'm also in new malden and I have been given the same advice as you I'm not keen on pre school but will try to mix him with kids at every opportunity. I will contact cerebra today and ask for an application as the HV told me that its not worth getting a statement just yet. I just don't understand this whole wait and see approach feel as though I am losing valuable time.

Good luck with your cerebra application. I agree about the valuable time all i keep hearing said is early intervention-great if you can get it. No I am not looking into any sort of statement yet, just looking at it like he will go to mainstream school at the moment and will see nearer the time if that changes. How is your sons speech my little one doesnt say any clear words, he was talking but his speech stopped at 16 months. Let me know how you get on and if you do not get the speech grant, i can tell you what advice i am being given as its mostly about you talking to him, offering choices etc.