https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:35:42 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1453546 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 10:15:16 +0000 irene 1453546@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: haha I know :) Hugs! You have always been there for me and give me so much information, and share your journey with me, I can not thank you enough!</p> <p>LO just switched classes since he turned 2 (3+ weeks ago), so in a way these are brand new acquaintances to him. You are right though, say if we were in a grocery store and he mutter stuff to the cashier they probably don't know what he's saying. I do know people understood him with simple things like hello, bye bye, thank you (but yes, that doesn't make 50%). But honestly he made quite some progress this past month I am in the least worry zone since he was 1 year old. I was the mom where my son didn't have 1 single word until 14-15 months! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1453103 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 08:26:18 +0000 looch 1453103@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That's great that the teachers understand, but don't forget, they're around your son a lot. My son's teachers understand more of what my son says than my husband does, for example.</p> <p>Sorry to be so negative, it isn't that I want your son to even have an issue, please don't misunderstand me, friend. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1453094 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 08:22:58 +0000 irene 1453094@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrbee: Hahahaha, I guess I need to go to speech therapy too (to "cure" my accent)! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1453090 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 08:21:15 +0000 irene 1453090@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Bee: @Veggiemama: @mrbee: @NorCalWayfarer: @MommySLP: Thank you all. I would love to do the EI evaluation too, but they won't call me back! I called the main line and they transfer me to some lady's voice mail. I also called the lady who came out to do the paperwork and her mailbox is full. Oh great.</p> <p>I talked to LO's new teachers yesterday and ask if they understand what LO is saying. And guess what they say. They say YES! They said they understand him 100%. He said thank you...etc. all the time. And one teacher even say, yes we understand him. you don't? It cracks me up. I understand a lot of what he says but he sometimes mutters a bunch of stuff and when I ask him what did he say? He repeats the exact bunch of stuff that I do not know what he is saying. So I always assumed it must be way worse for strangers. So I guess we are OK... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1452763 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 22:22:51 +0000 Veggiemama 1452763@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Bee: I agree completely! I would get the EI evaluation, if nothing else it's a professional person's assessment of your child and a chance for you to ask questions and possibly learn about things you could practice on your own. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1452615 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 21:31:36 +0000 Mrs. Bee 1452615@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i would get the evaluation even if you don't qualify. we learned so much just from the evaluations. we had some great people come in and we really picked their brain.</p> <p>from what you've described it doesn't sound like a delay, but perhaps he could benefit from therapy to improve his pronunciation. you have nothing to lose by having the ei evaluation done! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1452591 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 21:24:03 +0000 mrbee 1452591@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I went through speech therapy in fourth grade, due to having an accent. I had to retrain my tongue muscle to form shapes I wasn't used to... it was really hard! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1452533 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 21:06:18 +0000 SAHM0811 1452533@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I didn't read all the responses, but insurance didn't cover speech for us either when DD was 2 yo. We went through EI also and were denied since her delay wasn't severe enough. So I used FSA money to send her to private speech therapy and I don't regret it one bit. Is your LO also in school? Preschool helped my DD's speech a lot too. </p> <p>Anyway, when she was 3 yo, we tried with CPSE (like EI, but for 3 yo+) and she qualified! So you could just keep at it at home (there's lots of resources and/or apps you can find online) or with a private speech therapist, then try again next year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1451596 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 15:36:45 +0000 NorCalWayfarer 1451596@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wouldn't wait personally. He may be eligible for services through the state (in California we have Regional Centers that serve kids birth to age 3, before they are covered by public school districts from age 3-21). And like PP said, even if he doesn't qualify for services, having the evaluation is a great tool and they should be able to recommend some course of action. And just general peace of mind. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1451559 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 15:27:49 +0000 MommySLP 1451559@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@irene: from how you described him, I definitely don't think he would qualify for any services, unless you are going to private pay. The sounds you mentioned are later developing sounds and it is completely typical for a 2 year old to not have them. If the drooling is a concern, that is definitely something a speech therapist (likely in the private sector) can take a look at. However, there is a lot of research that shows oral motor therapy (doing non-speech movements) does not impact speech intelligibility. Obviously I can't say without seeing him, but it really seems like he is on track. Just like with all development, there is such a wide range of "normal." That said, if it would give you peace of mind, an eval is always an option. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1451517 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 15:18:59 +0000 irene 1451517@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Freckles: Thanks for the link ! It does give me a concern again... LO does drool a lot. He stopped drooling around age 2. And recently he drools again, which may be because of a cold. We have been using a bib since recently. So there may be some issues with his oral motor skills. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1451420 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 14:54:54 +0000 irene 1451420@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MusicaV: No she didn't, she just say that upon evaluation, they will figure out how we'll pay for it and get our insurance information and all. However, with our insurance not covering anything developmentally related, I really don't know what difference does it make. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450551 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:56:20 +0000 MusicaV 1450551@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@irene: Did the EI lady give you information on how much you would pay? For us, it's a flat fee per month based on your income (again, not sure if it works like this everywhere). It took two or three weeks from when our caseworker came out for the first interview until we had the evaluation. Again, like others have said, they can give you suggestions to help even if your LO doesn't have a significant enough delay to qualify for services. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450535 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:53:18 +0000 looch 1450535@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Freckles: it is my understanding there are a lot of measurements that can be applied, but the metrics my ped's office uses are:</p> <p>at 2 years, 1/2 understood by strangers<br /> at 3 years, 3/4 understood by strangers<br /> at 4 years, 100% understood by strangers</p> <p>I don't think it matters so much which specific metric is used, as long as it is consistent. In any event, we have an issue that requires therapy, so I am obviously pro-early intervention, especially since there is really no downside. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450515 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:50:22 +0000 Freckles 1450515@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: I could be wrong but i thought it was half of what you understood your LO was saying? I understand 90% of what LO says, and DH understands like 75%.</p> <p><a href="http://www.kidshealth.org.nz/speech-sound-development" rel="nofollow">http://www.kidshealth.org.nz/speech-sound-development</a></p> <p>The above has a chart that shows when you can expect your kid to be able to pronounce certain words. LO has problems with "c" - she says "dar" instead of "car" and "dothes" instead of "clothes". There are a lot of words LO had trouble with but over time corrected herself. For instance, "yellow" was "yll...a" and then after a week it turned into "yeh-yo". </p> <p>I would do the free eval if you're still concerned, but it sounds like he's doing well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450509 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:49:37 +0000 irene 1450509@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: BTW at age 2, strangely LO makes friends OK. He actually has a lot of friends (random girls from his class is obsessed with him I swear lol). I find his friends mimicking / babbling the "strange language" he babbles when they hang out. But I know for sure when they are older, it will be more important for them to understand each other... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450491 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:47:45 +0000 irene 1450491@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: Exactly what my pediatrician said. 200 words and a stranger needs to understand half of what he says. Maybe I should ask his teachers today to be sure (he just switched new classroom). I just assumed to be honest. </p> <p>Thanks everyone... OK if EI calls me back I'll do it. Just very bizzare they haven't called me back. I just left a message with them and see what happens... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450445 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:41:16 +0000 looch 1450445@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@irene: what sticks out to me is that you wrote a stranger wouldn't understand half of what he says. </p> <p>According to our ped, at age 2, a stranger should understand about half of what your LO is saying. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450437 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:40:26 +0000 MamaMoose 1450437@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd get the free eval from EI and then decide from there. It seems to me there is no reason not to. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450435 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:40:20 +0000 SeptMomma12 1450435@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would also at least get the EI evaluation. If only for the peace of mind of hearing them tell you he doesn't qualify and it should correct itself. And even if he doesn't qualify, they can usually give you some good tips. My LO was evaluated at 12 months for delayed crawling and they gave me some good tips for encouraging him to expand his vocabulary, use his words, etc. even though that wasn't the reason they were there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450431 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:39:56 +0000 Cole 1450431@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would definitely get an evaluation through EI. At least here, they are a wonderful resource even if you don't qualify. When I dealt with them the child in question didn't qualify but they were still able to give us lots of hand outs with helpful information, recommend activities, websites and books that would all be good resources. They helped clarify whether pursuing private help would be worthwhile and where we could go to find that help. So basically you have nothing to lose by trying it. Now that I have been through the process I encourage anyone with doubts to give them a call because why not? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450416 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:37:19 +0000 irene 1450416@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MusicaV: The EI lady came out and did paperwork and asked me questions about LO. When she asked me how many words he has I said 120-ish and her jaw dropped on the floor. Then she goes oh no, you are not going to get qualified, I was expecting you to say 4 or 5 words! Basically she said in order to get "qualified" (again, what's the point if you have to pay), you have to be severely delayed in 1 area, or delayed in 2 areas. I think LO is overall good except for the pronunciation. I couldn't say that before last month, but he made a lot of progress all of a sudden. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450410 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:36:34 +0000 mediagirl 1450410@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@irene: the one thing that stuck out to me is that the evaluation is free. Why not do the evaluation, she what they say and then make a decision from there. They may say he's perfectly normal and doesn't need therapy, but you won't know unless you go. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450393 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:32:52 +0000 mrsjyw 1450393@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DH's BFF's son sounded exactly like your son at 2... they did get an evaluation done, but they said that he didn't need treatment at the time. He's 3.5 now and talking up a storm.</p> <p>I'd say wait it out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450356 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:20:07 +0000 MusicaV 1450356@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would get evaluated for Early Intervention. The evaluation is free. Even if your LO doesn't "qualify," you are still getting an evaluation of his speech. After DS's evaluation, therapists gave their impressions of how delayed he was and what we could do at home (without therapy) to help. Are you assuming your LO won't qualify because you think he isn't delayed enough? Or did someone else tell you that? Also, treatment may not be free through EI but it is cheaper than going through your insurance (in our state, I'm assuming this is true everywhere but I could be wrong). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450350 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:18:34 +0000 Maysprout 1450350@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Both my husband and I went to speech therapy in elementary school and we both speak fine now, it wasn't too late for us.</p> <p>I kind of figured my daughter would be the same way but she pronounces things so much better now that she's 2.5. Her best friend was speaking a lot less than her at 2 and spoke with a lot more mispronunciation and they've both progressed tremendously. I'd wait or do the free evaluation to ease your mind but I think a lot of learning how to talk and move your mouth develops with practice while they're 2. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450337 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:14:16 +0000 looch 1450337@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@irene: Your're so right. It's tough, especially because, as my son's daycare director mentioned, this is an age where they start making friends, and you don't want them to be excluded because other kids can't understand them, you know?</p> <p>That's what ultimately pushed me over the line. I know they're going to be fine, I really do! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450324 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:11:05 +0000 irene 1450324@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: Hugs. Yes I feel the same as you. With the recent progress he has made, I feel that he is ultimately going to be OK, but then you never know, and I would hate myself if eventually he reach an age too old to correct a problem which could have been fixed easily if we were younger. </p> <p>And don't feel guilty because I think your son is going to be OK too. Then you would look back and wish you had spent that therapy $ on your new kichen. hehe </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450299 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:02:16 +0000 looch 1450299@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The price for the eval sounds about right, we were quoted the same for a 5 hour eval that we could record. </p> <p>Ultimately, I went ahead and pursued therapy (my son is 3, too old for EI). At the end of last year, I was considering using a private therapist that would cost us about $75-90 per session. We ultimately changed our insurance and found an in network therapist that would only be $35 per visit.</p> <p>I felt very guilty about possibly denying my son treatment because of cost. I actually got to the place mentally that I would forgo vacations, upgrades to my house etc to give my son the services I felt he needed. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/speech-therapy-please-help-me-make-a-decision#post-1450290 Wed, 26 Feb 2014 09:57:23 +0000 irene 1450290@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hi ladies/bees, please help me make a decision...</p> <p>I have posted about LO's issues with speech for many times. He just turned 2 last month. I've been worried about his speech since he was young, but recently he made a lot of progress. </p> <p>He does have 150+ words, doing 2 words association (not yet sentence). But he is having issues in terms of being able to pronounce words (again, I really do not know how to gauge. I am just looking at what other toddlers are doing at his age, so far most of his friends speaks clearly, and some speaks in sentences, but LO can not). He can not say "s", "tr", "v", "f" to name a few. For example, he can not say my cat's name "Mooshi" (He goes "thhiiiii"), and he call his friend David as "dadid". He use "d" or "th" to replace s, tr, v, f...etc. So strangers won't understand half of what he says. I don't even understand what he says a lot of times.</p> <p>Seeing my concern, our pediatrician did refer us to see a speech therapist. After talking to the insurance multiple times, I realize developmental-related speech therapy is NOT covered (It has to be caused by medical illness, surgery, or autism spectrum in order to be covered). It wouldn't even be counted toward our out-of-pocket maximum. I just asked the specialist, they said evaluation alone will be $800-1200. They can't quote me on the price for treatment because it varies.</p> <p>I was also in touch with the early intervention program. I was informed that only the evaluation is free. Ongoing treatment is NOT free. And we won't be eligible anyway because we are not severely delayed (and why do we need to be "eligible" when it is not free anyway?). So in a way, I got cold feet. And for some reason they still haven't called me back for an evaluation appointment (I just called to follow up).</p> <p>A friend (with 3 older children) also briefly mentioned that her sons have similar problems and they went to speech therapy, and she was told that the "s" (called lisp) will self correct by age 5, and they will be concerned if it hasn't been corrected by then.</p> <p>So, what would you do? Would you say I should wait and see? Or should I go ahead? </p>