Just wondering if anyone has received assistance through their school district with a toddler who has a speech delay? My 2-year-old was assessed in January by Early Intervention (through the state) and was placed at a 30% speech and 40% developmental delay. We have been working with him and he has gotten better but we are the only people who understand him with the exception of a few words. My personal doctor told me the other day this program exists through the school district that we live in where they will also assess him and he may qualify for free or discounted preschool. I called them and left message and am waiting to hear back. I'm just wondering if anyone's used this program, have any suggestions about it, know about it, etc? Thanks!
You don't qualify for help with the school district until they are 3. You will have to get an evaluation from them. They are just getting back to work as they are on the same schedule as the schools.
They have to respond to your request in a certain amount of time (30 or 60 days, I don't remember). They will contact you, set up an evaluation, then meet with you to go over the results. Based on that, they will determine what services you qualify for.
They might offer the option of your child having speech sessions at your home school or having him placed in a preschool that offers services. Unless your child has other needs, the preschool will cost money. The sessions at the school will be free of charge.
I paid the money for the preschool and found it to be well worthwhile. The program was language-based and very helpful. He was pulled out 1 time a week for individual therapy there. I never did the sessions at the home school. My fear was that we wouldn't get much out of them. They wanted to schedule them on a Monday and the schools have lots of Mondays off. Also they were only 30 minutes long and by the time you got there and got settled, it was less than that.
They will explain all your options when you talk to them. Do you know anyone in your area that has gone through this? It's always good to know someone to give you some tips and information on their experience with your school district.
The previous post is correct in saying that if your child qualifies, the services would begin when the child turns 3. You are on the right track if you have already contacted the district regarding having an assessment completed.
It really depends on what district you live in what types of services they will be available. Some districts do have preschool services for children who only have speech and language deficits and I do not think that they would charge you for the preschool...not if your child qualifies for the service.
Like the previous post stated, they also typically offer to some students, just speech only services....then it would be your responsibility to transport your child to that service at the designated time. At far as if it is only 30 minutes a week of service, if you have a good therapist, even 30 minutes will help make improvements in your child's speech -- just like any other appointment, though, timeliness of both parties is an important factor.
If the school district offers only speech for you I have a great speech pathologist in Grayslake that will do a complete eval for free. I know you already did one so they may be able to use that and see what they can offer also. Then you can see if they will complement what the school offers. They do so much more than just speech. Let me know if you want the number.
Paula [email protected]
Yes -- your son may be eligible for additional services for his delays through your school district. Since you are already enrolled in EI Services, your son's transition from EI to the school district (or special education cooperative) will be handled by your EI Service Coordinator (so you don't need to be contacting the school on your own!) When your son is age 2yr 6 mo, your EI Service Coordinator should start the transition process by getting your consent to send a referral packet to your school district. At 2yrs 9 months, you will have a Transition Planning Conference with your Service Coordinator and a rep from the school district. And it goes on from there, with additional evaluations by the school district, etc.
Call your EI Service Coordinator on Monday and remind her that your son is about to turn 2 1/2 and ask her to send you information on the transition and to kick-off the transition process. She should send you a booklet called, "When I'm 3, Where Will I Be?" She should be able to answer all your questions.
Yes I have, and it's a good thing. You story sounds just like my story. My daughter just turned three (3) and she doesn't have a delay anymore, but since Jan. we been working with Early Intervention/school district and my daughter speech got better and now she doesn't need it anymore. I do plan on sending her to preschool in the fall to help more with her speech but not all day preschool, just a couple of days a week.
Check out ChildCare Resource and Referral. They will have information since your child is the age he is. That's such a tough age to be at, because they sort of fall through the cracks for the next 6 months. I would call your district, I am most familiar with Naperville 204, and they are great and have free preschool if you qualify. Find the resources, and you'll be very happy.
I don't have info regarding the school district but I do have some suggestions regarding the speech delay. I have a wonderful music and movement program in Northbrook called Jigglejam for parents with children ages 6 mos- 3 yrs. I have had a few families referred to my classes by Speech Pathalogists as it is believed that music is a great way to develop speech in young children. Please check out my web site at www.jigglejamproductions.com if you are near the Northbrook area. Good Luck
Was your son evaluated by the Easter Seals? If so, they provide in home treatment for delays until the child turns three. My son was diagnosed by the Easter Seals Foundation with a speech delay and Sensory Intergration Disorder, as well as a bit of a motor skill delay. Since he was a few weeks from turning three, I was told he needed to enter the school district. So, I called our school district. They did an eval of him as well. He was entered into the school in May of that year. He was put into Early Childhood. During the start of the next school year that fall, he was still three and put into Early Childhood again, where he stayed until this past year. He entered Special Ed Kindergarten. He was doing so well that it was decided to mainstream him into regular kindergarten. By April of this year, I had the IEP meeting at school with all the teachers and therapists. We agreed to put my now six year old in regular kindergarten. This fall, he starts first grade. His time will be split between Special ed and regular first grade. When they see how he's doing, his schedule will be adjusted.
Our son received speech therapy for a year and a half through early intervention and we loved it. The fees are based on your income so they were pretty reasonable since the state picked up the rest of the cost. Our school district takes over at age 3. My son was evaluated also through the school but I was not impressed with the people that would be working with him so we declined the program. He is attending Preschool in a few weeks so we are hoping that being around other kids is going to be all the extra help that he needs. If you have any other questions just let me know and good luck!
Utilize your school district they will catch your child up so that when he gets to the age that kids care about what is happening all of this should be history. We went through it and it was wonderful, the teachers were great and the speech therapists for that age really love what they do as they get the reward of seeing what a difference they make. You pay taxes for them to help you so let them do it. Any other questions let me know.
I would take advantage of any services offered to help. The younger the better. Also have his hearing tested he may have fluid in the ears that causes sounds to be distorted. My son had to have tubes in his ears and went for speech help since he was 3. It does help. Just be careful they don't start putting stupid lables on your son and don't let them test for autism.
Best of luck
Peggy
any questions feel free to contact me.
Early intervention will help you with the transition process out of EI and into your school district. It will be pretty painless for you -- at least this was my experience with EI and district 203. The EI services run out at age 3 and the school district picks up then, so usually the two programs coordinate to arrange for a relatively seamless transition from one to the other. THe only problem might be if you don't qualify for services any more. This would be if your son has improved enough so that he no longer needs services. He will have to go through a full eval with the school dist, but EI will help set it up. Good luck!
2 of my kids had delayed speech....not to worry!! this doesn't mean it will be forever, nor does it mean your child doesn't understand a great deal about his/her world. My son started speech at age 3 through the CPS. He stayed with the program until high school. He now has a beautiful "announcer man" speech pattern and voice. He makes fun of the time he spent in speech therapy and tells people they should do the time also! My daughter started at age 4. She also stayed with the program until 6th grade. She recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University this past spring with not one but 2 Bachelor Degrees in just 4 yrs. Both of my children learned to read earlier than most ( I believe this is in part due to their time in speech class as printed material was part of their learning) ....it takes time for the school to get back to you, but stick it out. Call them again once classes begin this fall ( some start in just a couple of weeks from now) and keep a log of when you call. The school is legally obligated to get back to you in a reasonable amount of time.
At age three services kick over to the school district. My daughter was in EI, after which she received (and is still getting) help through special education classes. The pre-Ks have a bunch of options...spec ed, blended classes, mainstream with the student being taken out for OT or speech. I've found that my daughter is getting where she needs to go in the system, provided I stay on top of the administrative process (meaning I take notes and am a pain in the butt about phone calls, LOL.) Your caseworker can apprise you of your options when the time comes.
Good luck - and hats off to you for getting your son evaluated!
Hi
My son did the same early intervention then the free preschool through the school district. He is now entering 2nd grade and in a language learning special ed program. I have found the preschool to be good they give him all the services he may need and the classes are small you really cant ask for a better preschool. They also have busing which is nice. Its Aug so you might have to be patient in hearing from them. I am suprised that early intervention hasnt set you up for the switch. Maybe you could ask them. When my son was little my caseworker for the early intervention program helped us with the switch and getting the eval and all that.
I have a friend that had some help with her daughter and speech for a time. She felt it was so good for them and in (what I feel is) a very short time her daughter was back on track and is at a higher level than her age and they no longer need the outside help. She refers to it as a gentle push into language. She is very pleased with the experience, but I have spoken to people who use these services and some have had to change staff because there was not a bond or the "fit" just wasn't right. Do not be afraid to speak up if you aren't happy with the way things are going. Again all this is second hand stuff, but I have several friends that have used these types of services and seen good results.
Early intervention (EI) usually covers children birth through 2 years and school districts from 3 years on. When he was assessed by EI, they should have made recommendations and referrals at that time.
My son has been in the program our's is called Smiles. It has helped him tremendously. He's 4 and still has a speech delay but the school has helped him 200% in the short time he's been involved. It is thru the school district and they do testing 2-3 times a year. But you can get him in at anytime, I had to get a note from my pediatrician. And you don't have to wait unitl he's 2.5. The age is 2 and the sooner you get him in the better it will be.
My #3 son was 4 when he was put into a school district preschool for speech delays and a processing disorder. It was one of the best things we could have done for him. The schools are able to work one on one in a way you can't at home, and as a result, though it was predicted he would be behind his peers until middle school, he caught up with them by the second grade. He will be 17 next month and is doing wonderfully in school. He's not at the top of his class, but he's successful and that's what's most important to me.
Good luck!