Speech-delayed ds - is it wrong that I only send him to playgroup/preschool for three sessions a week?

[emkana]

Both the preschool and the SALT are telling me he should go for more sessions. At the moment the week goes like this:

Monday - toddler group am, preschool pm
Tuesday - playgroup am, football (with me) pm
Wednesday - with friends am, toddler group pm
Thursday - just him and me, playing at home, going to the park etc
Friday - playgroup am

IMO a full and varied week, what do you think? he is 3.8 and will start school in September.

not sure my ds 3.11 lang delay goes pre school 5 pm's per week but thinking of dropping one to spend more time with him, i dont think its gonna make a big difference to my ds. your ds seems to be spending a lot of quality time with other kids during the time not in pre school and thats mainly what pre schoo, is about imo socialising. cant really answer your question, it depends how delayed he is with his speech. hope someone else can give some good advice x

IME of language delay it's quality not quantity of time spent that counts - i.e. it's the one to one with an adult that helps a child progress - a child with a significant language problem IME does not just magically absorb language from his peers. I wonder if preschool and SALT are thinking more in terms of building his stamina up so that 5 school days isn't too much of a shock?

continue to do what you are happy with. Another 2 sessions at pre-school isn't going to make any difference to his speech.

sorry, i posted too early. He already has a packed week, so isn't going to gain extra speech practice by going to preschool for the extra session.

Make the most of him before he goes to school.

It looks as if he is having a really good balance. Dont be pushed into sending him to playgroup more if you are not happy to. He probably gets more of a positive input from when he is with you anyway. Also, confidence is a huge consideration. My DD3 was terribly delayed with her speech (verbal/oral dyspraxia - first spoke when she was 7yo) and she would go to playgroup, but stay on her own and not mix too well as she was not confident with others. She was far happier communicating in her own way with me at home.

Perhaps others will disagree with me, but I personally think that too many children are forced into a lifestyle that fits what is expected of everyone. They all are different and learn differently and at different rates and should be encouraged to be children and be happy with who they are.

I'm glad you all agree with me. While he's okay/happy-ish at playgroup he's always unhappy about going, first thing he says to me in the morning is "no playgroup Mummy no playgroup" so I enjoy those days when there's rushing, no jollying him along, no peeling him off me

hi my dd was 4 last week and profoundly deaf but implanted. very delayed language. she went to a private nursery 3 pms a week and saw salt once per week and 2 teachers of the deaf a week progress was slow but steady. she had a full time place at nursery starting sept. i was very worried how she would cope and how she would progress. she is like a different little girl she is now signing and speaking to the point where strangers can understand some of what she says. school has a hearing unit and all staff are very capable and it has really payed off she is catching up to other kids and has the added bonus that she has made some very strong frendship. this was a worry as old nursery almost all kids were full time and she was often left out. played alongside other children rather than with them. but now when she starts school in september she has a handfull of friends already (they already seem to have clicks??) when another girl attacked her her friends explained what had happened and stood up for her which was really important as haD been picked on at other nursery but would never say who did it.

you know your child and know whats best for them noone else. just cause something works for one child doesnt neccesarily work for another but keep your options open. hope it works out
xx

positiveattitude I totally agree with you. Many children are expected to conform to education models that just don't suit them.

DS1 is speech delayed, he went 5 afternoons a week from 3.5. It was mainly a disaster, and didn't help his speech because he did Silent Boy. Apart from on the way there, when he did Screaming AbDab Boy. Fun.

He had a massive leap forward at 4.2ish and now at 4.7 is actually socialising. His speech is now coming on well. Forcing the issue IMO doesn't help. Does he want to go 5 days a week? Surely he should be allowed some input into the decision.

It really does depend on the child doesn't it?

DS2 is 4.6 now - was very delayed including bad receptive language delay. With hindsight...

• at 2 I should have kept him at home. He learnt very little at private nursery.
• at 3 I did the right thing to drop private nursery and move to state school nursery where they thought about his needs.
• by 4 he was actually learning language and skills at the state school nursery but his one-to-one times with me and play dates were probably still the key input he needed.
• at 4.6 I could now imagine him being at school nursery full time and learning and thriving.

-tumbletots and things like that were a bit of a waste of time for us - staff couldn't figure out a child with receptive language delay who wanted to keep his coat on - much more highly skilled professionals at pre-school

But I can see what the teachers are saying as if he did 3 sessions a week they'd have more of a chance to build up their relationship with him. If you were going to swap something over I guess you'd lose a toddler group session but keep your one-to-one time?