Language delay

[megmums]

My son is 6 and just finished year 1. He’s working at his age for word reading but way below for comprehension and speaking. Assessed by SALT last December who diagnosed mild delay in expressive and receptive language. He’s been having once weekly support from SLT trained TA since and has made progress but the end of year report has really thrown us, as it seems despite support from School and us he’s still way behind.
He’s a quiet child anyway and finds it hard to make friendships but is generally happy and easy going.
Does anyone have experience of a child with language issues who eventually caught up and what did you put in place to help them?

I’d seek an assessment by an independent speech and language therapist, if I were you! NHS speech therapists can describe a child as having a language delay (which suggests language development is normal, but slower and the child will catch up) when in fact it’s a disorder - ie language development is abnormal. An independent speech therapist is more likely to give you a true picture!

Obviously the NHS speech therapist could be right, it’s is just a delay - but they are the gatekeepers to resources and it’s their job to keep demand down.

(I was looking at a Y2 ed psy report on DD the other day. The language unit staff had told her DD had a mild receptive delay and moderate expressive delay. Eventually, she was diagnosed with a language disorder.)

I went private.

Thank you both. Definitely considering the private route.