got about £300 to spent on DD with severe s&l disorder/delay (and maybe asd)

[chocjunkie]

had a little financial windfall of £300 and would like to spent it on DD (3.3).

she has severely disordered and delayed speech and language (both expressive and receptive are behind by about 12-18 month). asd less likely but not yet rules out either (I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with an asd dx).

if I would get the lottery jackpot, I don't think I would run out of things to spent my £££ on but as I only have £300 to spent right now, I would really like to spent it wisely.

would really appreciate some ideas as I am a bit at loss right now.

thanks!

PS: I got the hanen books already

unless you are happy with current NHS SALT provision, I'ld say private SALT. £300 would hopefully get you initial assessment/report/programme and a couple of follow up sessions.

Would a touch screen monitor be any good??. Speech is not just about forming the spoken work but ordering, comprehension, ideas etc and there are lots of programmes which are interactive.

Just a thought.

A 2nd hand i-pad?
Music therapy? (was great for dd2, deffently helped)

we are having salt trough nhs atm...

i-pad/touch screen comp sounds interesting. had not crossed my mind yet. I never had one of those so unsure what I could do with them...do i download applications? also, what is the difference (if there is any) between ipad and the cheaper other brands in terms of being useful for DD?

will also check out music therapy...DD loves music/dancing/singing... :)

you can get many apps for the i-pad to help with communication and speech therapy, i know a few children who have them (mostly children with asd or communication problems), we are looking into getting something similar for the dd's. Dd2 started using touch screen at nursery but just uses a normal pc at home with a large rollerball mouse, we also got her a DS today which she loves because of the touch screen (easy to use).

Music therapy was the best thing dd2 has had (in the way of therapy), withing a few weeks she went from non-verbal to saying 2-3 word sentances, it gave her the confedence to make noise and use her voice, she's now 5 and still behind with speech but catching up, she's starting drum lessons in september as she loves to drum and sing.

How about a singnsign dvd off ebay for a tenner?

Signing helps bring on spoken language skills and it's summat you can do at home if you have the dvd. Once a child can sign they are more motivated to try the spoken words iyswim. Sing n sign is nice to do together on those wet November afternoons.

I think they do weekly classes but if you have the dvd you can do it as often/when it suits you to encourage speach.

I'd spend the rest on salt/music therapy depending on what's in your area privately and what you feel would best suit.

Sorry to highjack but Marne - where did you find music therapy and did you get it added to your DD's statement. My DS is starting Music Thjerpay tomorrow and am really hopeful. Wonderful to hear your DD started talking. How old was she when she did? My DS has lots of labels and hello bye but no more than that really

Dd2 managed to get Music therapy for free when she was attending a sn nursery at a NHS base, we were very lucky as alot of people dont get the chance to get music therapy on the NHS. She was 3 when she started therapy, she was also using PEC's at the time but we saw a huge difference in her after 2 sessions of music therapy, she started using single words after a few weeks and then one day she came home and sang 'twinkle twinkle' to me , a few months before she left nursery the therapist change his days so she stoped recieving it , the nursery managed to find a music student to work with her until the end of term which worked just as well. She doesn't get any music therapy now (couldn't get it on her statement which is a shame), we do therapy at home using instruments, singing but i'm not very musical, we are trying to sort out drum lessons for her in september. She used to be silent and now she talks, sings and plays instruments, our house is now very noisy .