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Original poster

3 and half yr old severe speech delay

37 replies

emmie5 · 09/05/2015 13:13

hi all my son is 3 and half and has got a severe speech delay , have been told he has got a global development delay , i just seem to be banging my head against a brick wall nobody seems to want to help him and he is so struggling , i think there is something more to him as he really struggles , just dont know what to do for the best he is the youngest of 5

OP posts:
Littlefish · 09/05/2015 13:16

Is he in nursery/pre-school? Is he due to start school this year or next year?

Original poster
emmie5 · 09/05/2015 13:46

he goes to a childminder 3 days a week, and is due to start nursery in september and school next september

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Littlefish · 09/05/2015 14:19

Sorry to ask more questions...

What support is he receiving through Speech and Language? Is the Local Authority Inclusion or Portage team aware of him? is your childminder working under advice from Speech and Language? Has he seen a paediatrician?

I'm just trying to work out what level of support he's already receiving before I make any suggestions.

Original poster
emmie5 · 09/05/2015 14:39

he is seeing portage , he sees a speech and language every 6-8 months and they give us activites to do with him, he sees a paediatricianevery 6 months , yeah she is really good but has stopped making progress and some words he used to say , he dosent say any more ,dont know what a local authority inclusion is

he seems to be very young for his age

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Littlefish · 09/05/2015 16:36

Just one more question! Have you talked to the nursery he is going to about his additional needs and how they are going to be addressed?

I work in a school nursery (I'm the nursery teacher). In my local authority, if a child was coming to us, already known to portage, paediatrician and speech and language, our local authority inclusions service would also be involved and would be organising a meeting for us all to get together with the childminder as well to write a support plan, discuss any additional funding available etc.

After this initial meeting, we would probably then meet every 2-3 months to discuss them chil's progress and talk about any other services we wanted to involve. All the evidence we collect also feeds into the application for an Education and Healthcare Plan if we think that that is the appropriate way forward.

Do you think your ds will need 1:1 support at nursery? How much language does he use? How independent is he with toiletting? How are his social skills?

Original poster
emmie5 · 09/05/2015 17:56

he has got some language , just its at a 16/18 months level , we just got him toilet trainned , he struggles with his social skills , i think he will need a 1:1 to help him as a lot of people struggle to understand , the last speech therapy appointment she scored him a 67 for his Receptive language and a 62 for his spoken language which both indicate a severe delay not sure what they score it out of but that was on her report for him

OP posts:
Littlefish · 09/05/2015 18:01

Habd you talked to the nursery he's going to in September? If you think he will need 1:1 support then they will need to start thinking about it now in order to try and access funding etc.

Littlefish · 09/05/2015 18:04

The lack of speech in itself may not need that he needs 1:1 support. I teach a child who only uses 2 words, but he's good at making his needs known, and is beginning to play with the other children.

Original poster
emmie5 · 09/05/2015 18:13

thats good to know , definitely will make an appointment with the nursery , ds has problems understanding and also he has problems with adult led activites he has a short attention span as well

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Butterby · 09/05/2015 22:51

The numbers usually refer to standard scores with an average range of 85 to 115. As you LO is in the 60's he really needs more frequent speech therapy. If you can afford it it would be really worth while getting him a private speech therapist. The more input when they are little the better.

Firstly though see if you can get your NHS speech therapist to up their input. Once every 6-8 months is terrible.

chocnomorechoc · 10/05/2015 08:36

Dd was similar.severe s&l delay at 3.5. Similar test scores.we have now a dx of autism and she has full time 1:1 (since starting nursery).

I would do the following:

  • pursue a proper dx (do you have any assessments lined up eg to look at ASD?)
  • apply for DLA (Google cerebra guide to complete.this form is a bitch) and use the money to fund private therapy (we tried Salt but in the end ABA worked much better for us).
  • go to IPSEA and download the application form for an EHCP and send it off. With such a severe delay he will need much more support at school/nuersey and this is only guaranteed with an EHCP.
Littlefish · 10/05/2015 11:41

I agree with chocnomorechoc re. the actions she has suggested.

Bilberry · 10/05/2015 11:45

Are you in England or Scotland (or elsewhere)? I ask because ages seem to tie more into Scotland and there are different systems here.

Original poster
emmie5 · 10/05/2015 22:41

Hi i am in england , im sorry to ask but what does all these abbreviations mean , i new to all of this , i havent had to do any of this for my other 4 children

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Littlefish · 10/05/2015 23:06

dx = Diagnosis
DLA = Disability Living Allowance
IPSEA = Independent Parental Special Education Advice
ABA = Applied Behaviour Analysis
EHCP = Education and Healthcare Plan (this has replaced the old system of "statements" in schools.

Salt = Speech and Language Therapist

Original poster
emmie5 · 11/05/2015 19:53

thank you all for your help , i just feeling so down about it all and dont know who to turn to or what to do so you all have been a great help

OP posts:
chocnomorechoc · 11/05/2015 20:06

Stick around, keep reading. It is a steep learning curve but you will get the handle of things quickly.

chocnomorechoc · 11/05/2015 20:08

on the practicle side, I would start the DLA application and apply for an EHCP.

chocnomorechoc · 11/05/2015 20:11

www.ipsea.org.uk

Should tell you all about EHCPs - what they are, how things work, how to apply, how to go about the being fobbed off....

chocnomorechoc · 11/05/2015 20:12

Ring DLA people and request a form. You have 6 weeks to complete and then it will be backdated to the day you requested the form (if you need longer to complete DLA would start on the day they receive your form).
Get either help with the form (councils benefit advisors etc). Or use cerebra guide

Original poster
emmie5 · 11/05/2015 20:50

have got a letter today from city council , they have decided to refer him to Educational psychology now what happens

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chocnomorechoc · 11/05/2015 21:06

This is good. The EP (educational psychologist) will do assessments (or if not possible observations) to see where your DS is learning wise and cognitivly. EP assessments are usually also needed for an EHCP so in that sense it is good that an EP will see him.

Littlefish · 11/05/2015 21:24

That's good news. It means that things are moving forward.

Original poster
emmie5 · 12/05/2015 18:06

im so worried about tomorrow, we got to go to southampton hospital for his heart appointment and he so struggles understanding what they are going to do on the plus side he is so excited to be going on a train

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