https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 03 Apr 2026 21:57:47 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/share-your-iep-before-elementary-school-experience#post-2856506 Tue, 13 Nov 2018 20:28:45 +0000 jhd 2856506@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@codeitall: Sorry I forgot to reply! Our IEP meeting went really well. Thanks for asking! I was really nervous about it because I'm just not ready to think about my 4yo going to Kinder yet! ;) I asked for a few accommodations on top of the speech therapy, which might not be essential for K, but I feel better about having them in place as DS grows. </p> <p>He's currently getting only one 30 min session per week through the school but will get 2 per week with the possibility of a third session maybe when he goes to K. We're also doing 2 one hour sessions per week at a clinic at our local university through our insurance. It's a teaching clinic. The professor is fantastic and so far we have had excellent student therapists. But it was a year long wait list to get in! I wanted to push the idea that DS might need more therapy at school than he's currently getting, because private therapy might not continue to be feasible: our insurance approves speech six months at a time, what if they don't approve the same frequency of therapy in future? and also time wise he might not be able to handle an hour long speech session twice a week after a full day at kinder. (He's currently in 1/2 day preschool). Anyway sorry for the ramble. I felt like they listened to my concerns and even if they thought my requests for accommodations were overkill for K, they were understanding and happy to write them in! ;)</p> <p>And definitely like others said above if you haven't yet, get LO's hearing checked. I'd recommend seeing a pediatric ENT and audiologists who specialize in kids if you have those in your area. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/share-your-iep-before-elementary-school-experience#post-2856505 Tue, 13 Nov 2018 20:10:05 +0000 magnolia 2856505@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@cam: yes I second the hearing test and an ENT! My first speech therapist recommended it and my son ended up needing tubes. His speech has improved drastically since the surgery (only two months ago) in addition to a years worth of<br /> Intensive therapy </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/share-your-iep-before-elementary-school-experience#post-2856487 Tue, 13 Nov 2018 18:46:36 +0000 cam 2856487@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't have experience with an IEP specifically but the publically funded program where I am used the Hanen programs. We did both It Takes Two to Talk and Target Word. The guidebooks are available to buy on their website. <a href="http://www.hanen.org/Programs/For-Parents.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://www.hanen.org/Programs/For-Parents.aspx</a></p> <p>I'll also mention a plug for getting hearing checked if you haven't. I would have thought DS could hear fine based on listening to instructions and whatnot but he had goop in his ears that was impacting his hearing and muffling sounds. After he got tubes, speech has been improving quickly with his private SLP. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/share-your-iep-before-elementary-school-experience#post-2856373 Tue, 13 Nov 2018 12:13:39 +0000 magnolia 2856373@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@codeitall: sorry it took me awhile</p> <p>Let’s Talk Together is written by two speech therapists and has hands on activities to do with your child and Play to Talk is another book for parents with activities and ideas.</p> <p>I’m also reading “how to talk so little kids will listen” and while it’s not specifically for kids with speech issues it’s a really good book (and they do have a chapter on “differently wired” kids) </p> [attach=4966/18/pi56ir.450x600.image.jpg] [attach=4966/18/pi56it.450x600.image.jpg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/share-your-iep-before-elementary-school-experience#post-2856154 Sun, 11 Nov 2018 19:38:49 +0000 pinkb 2856154@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@codeitall: we always had a point of contact, we still have the same lady. Even though they are limited on time they can give they are all very nice and understanding. I found the speech and language pathologist that we have very helpful in giving us information and ways to help DD.<br /> I tried to go thru the normal speech services with our insurance and they cover Nothing. We paid almost $800 a month for our insurance and speech would have been 100% out of pocket. So I had to search for help that was aforable for us. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/share-your-iep-before-elementary-school-experience#post-2856137 Sun, 11 Nov 2018 15:27:23 +0000 gotkimchi 2856137@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just seeing this now but we have an iep for speech same thing - 4yo at 2yo or younger level. At one point she was less then 0.1% percentile :sad: we do speech 2 times per week at the school (would be 3 if she attended there) and 2 times private. Let me know if you have specific questions </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/share-your-iep-before-elementary-school-experience#post-2856119 Sun, 11 Nov 2018 11:44:34 +0000 Elizabear 2856119@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hello! I am not a special educator but I am a public school teacher. Knowing what I know from the inside, I would definitely get my daughter private services if needed. I encourage you to find a therapist who will give you tips on how to become your child's therapist meaning teach you how to teach your child everyday. I would def get the IEP in place as soon as possible but also seek out more supports though your heath insurance. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/share-your-iep-before-elementary-school-experience#post-2855955 Fri, 09 Nov 2018 14:28:07 +0000 codeitall 2855955@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@magnolia: That's a good point, the frequency of the EI appts made a difference for his progress, I'm sure it will be the same now. Were you able to find any books I should put on my holiday reading list?</p> <p>@jhd: That's how I feel now! I called to get the evaluation scheduled all the way back around Labor Day and only now are we getting close to the IEP part! How did your new IEP session go?</p> <p>@pinkb: Our local preschool is only in 2 hour sessions, and he didn't need anything other than 1:1 speech therapy, so he will be shuttled to the local elem. school. How did you call a meeting to say DD needed more? The IEP process is so regulated, how are we supposed to ask for more/better help? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/share-your-iep-before-elementary-school-experience#post-2855409 Tue, 06 Nov 2018 21:12:21 +0000 pinkb 2855409@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Agree with above push if needed. It seems like it all takes way too long to get everything in place. DD qualified for weekly speech services as well as full time preschool. She was in school from 730 til 2 with typical speaking kids and some kids who were behind. It was the best thing ever for her. She had previously been at an in home center but the larger classroom with all the kids and an ese teacher in her classroom really helped so so much. She got 1 hr of speech a week split into 2 30 minute sessions in group setting with up to 3 other kids. I wasn't very pleased with the set up and actually called a meeting about it again it took awhile to get set up. Our county is limited as I am sure a lot of places are with the budget they have and how to provide the services. As much as we were so happy for all of it, it was still hard to deal with at times. I continued to look for more help and found a place that gave discounted speech services finally! We are still with the private therapist over 2 years later and still have our iep in kindergarten. Good luck! Sometimes it felt like such a fight but it gets better!! Before you know it their speech does change and you can't believe where you started. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/share-your-iep-before-elementary-school-experience#post-2855401 Tue, 06 Nov 2018 20:51:27 +0000 jhd 2855401@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Agree to push for as much therapy as possible. And push to get your IEP written as soon as possible so services can start ASAP as well. For example, we aged out of early intervention in April and they said they would wait until new school year to write his IEP. There were delays, time taken to evaluate LO, then time to write the IEP and finally we started therapy in December. I’m still mad about it a year later! ;) We are meeting to write his new IEP on Thursday so I may be able to help more then. Not trying to scare you but don’t be afraid to push for what you need. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/share-your-iep-before-elementary-school-experience#post-2855384 Tue, 06 Nov 2018 19:11:04 +0000 magnolia 2855384@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Push for as much as you can get! As a parent you have the right to argue for what you want. the frequency makes a huge difference. My son gets speech 3x a week for 30 minutes. We also do private once a week. We have a preschool special education program in our district/city so he is also in a small class with a trained special education teacher with the services on site. The other public preK would’ve been too overwhelming for him.<br /> . I have a few books I want to recommend to you also but I have to look them up as they are at work right now </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/share-your-iep-before-elementary-school-experience#post-2855377 Tue, 06 Nov 2018 18:43:48 +0000 codeitall 2855377@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Apparently he has made no progress from his appt a year ago when they evaluated him and said he was fine. But we pushed for reevaluation and he's in the first percentile now. At the level of a 2 year old or younger and he's almost 4!</p> <p>We qualify for an IEP and weekly speech therapy at the elementary school. I know that everything depends on the district really, but can you share your experiences and any tips you have? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2832457 Fri, 06 Jul 2018 10:00:18 +0000 Mama Bird 2832457@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yellowbeach: great update! So glad she's doing well! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2832348 Thu, 05 Jul 2018 11:02:32 +0000 erinbaderin 2832348@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yellowbeach: Yay! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2832346 Thu, 05 Jul 2018 10:54:38 +0000 yellowbeach 2832346@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just an update - we ended up doing Speech weekly for about 6 weeks. On the first assessment the therapist said she didn't think she needed it, but since it was recommended it would be paid for and wouldn't hurt. We've now dropped down to once a month for speech, and she passed her hearing testing with flying colors! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2819946 Wed, 02 May 2018 17:31:41 +0000 tlynne 2819946@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ok, so if I were in your shoes, I would call the speech and OT for an evaluation . They will ask you what she's doing at home, observe her and give you a more focused opinion. I would also check with professionals who see her more often and trust your gut. DS1 had a feeding and speech delay (we found out later this was due to SPD) ...we were referred for speech and I chose wait a few months to see if he started catching up (he did). On the flip side, DS2 has had PT, OT, speech, feeding, aquatic, and play-based integrative therapy...and if there were any other therapies I could get him in that would help him, I would. For babies who are seriously behind, early, therapy can make a HUGE difference. That said, it doesn't sound like she is behind...20 words or signs at 18 months is a common benchmark for speech. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2819910 Wed, 02 May 2018 14:19:10 +0000 josina 2819910@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Can't comment on the PT, but my dd is 14 months old and has less words than that, and I think a lot of the babies from our February 2017 group are the same; to me it sounds like her speech is amazing and ahead of her age! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2819906 Wed, 02 May 2018 14:09:01 +0000 JennyLayneAZ 2819906@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Um, dude. My daughter just turned 2 and she only says mama, dada, hi and yeah. She's started saying "um" meaning "up" lately. That's it. 5-ish words. She's 2. Our ped said to give her a few more months (3-6 basically at my discretion, if she's not saying anything new at all in 3 months come back in, but if she's making progress then she should have at least 20 words in 6 months from now, if not, come back). So, no advice but I totally wouldn't be worried about her speech or hearing right now base off the information you provided... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2819864 Wed, 02 May 2018 12:25:23 +0000 psw27 2819864@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am shocked they would say she has any sort of speech delay. My son (also an April baby) has maybe 4-5 words - ma, da, hi, all done and clap - and I use the word "words" loosely since I consider them almost more in line with "sounds" at this point. Our pediatrician was not concerned. Are they forgetting to adjust her back to her due date? She should get 8 more weeks of catch up time for the first 2 years for any milestones. Long story short - I would try not to worry and seek another opinion. </p> <p>And I totally get you on not wanting to have a medical challenge define your child's every waking moment and identity. We struggle with this with our older son. Hang in there! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2819503 Mon, 30 Apr 2018 19:41:10 +0000 yellowbeach 2819503@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks for all the great input everyone. I contacted my EI coordinator who is going to connect us with a SLP that can come to the house or to the daycare like our PT does. I'm going to ask him/her flat out at the first visit to assess if they think this is necessary. Obviously more therapy isn't harmful (except maybe to my wallet), but I don't want my LO to feel like a science experiment who is always being pulled aside for special treatments and missing out on the things the NT kids are doing. At work I see tons of adults who were medically complex kids and it often defines their identity. Trying to minimize that where possible. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2819501 Mon, 30 Apr 2018 19:26:10 +0000 Mrs. Champagne 2819501@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>She’s so cute!</p> <p>Sorry you had a frustrating appointment. Just wanted to chime in regarding speech.. my my daughters 18 month appointment they asked if she had 5 words! It seems like your daughter has quite a lot (I think more then my dd at that age for sure). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2819497 Mon, 30 Apr 2018 18:35:18 +0000 sillymilly 2819497@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I’m sorry, that sounds like a frustrating appointment. I have a 16 month old ex 32 weeker, and to me it sounds like your LO is doing great! At my dd’s 15 month ped appointment, her only words were mama, dada, no, and turtle, and her ped had absolutely no concern about her speech. Also my dd never speaks or smiles at any dr’s appt, so I don’t think it’s fair to base their assessment only on behavior during an appointment w/o taking into account your input.</p> <p>I personally would weigh more heavily the opinion of your lo’s current therapists, ped, and teachers. It could be that this NICU assessment had more aggressive recommends because they see much more delayed children so tend to be more aggressive in their approach in general. They also don’t know your family dynamic, so perhaps they assume no one does the PT exercises at home and your lo only works on skills during therapy (which would be pretty obvious to your therapist). Try not to be discouraged from this one appointment! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2819493 Mon, 30 Apr 2018 18:15:29 +0000 Mrs. Tiger 2819493@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would trust the opinions of those who see her more frequently a lot more. Perhaps you can chat with the PT and see if they agree and/or just decide not to do the extra sessions. Sometimes we feel like giving 110% means doing every suggested appointment or activity, but sometimes the best way to make sure she can grow and thrive is by not forcing them through unnecessary therapies! When D was 9months ish his weekly PT recommended we also do weekly OT for feeding. We tried it for a session, therapist seemed very unhelpful, we were already making big strides using the early intervention OT, so I just cancelled them. </p> <p>Hang in there mama, I know its hard! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2819491 Mon, 30 Apr 2018 18:02:21 +0000 mrsmacSLP 2819491@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>As a SLP and a parent of a 12 month old (we were in the same birth group!) that went through early intervention for PT as well, my guess is she wouldn’t even qualify for early intervention speech! </p> <p>W didn’t qualify at 12 months for either service but particularly not for speech and he has 4 words! Mama, Dada, Rolo (dog) and Moo (milk)! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2819484 Mon, 30 Apr 2018 17:37:36 +0000 muffinsmuffins 2819484@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That sounds so frustrating. I can only comment on the speech and hearing stuff but one thing that our SLP has done a lot is a take home check list of sounds and words and phrases as they know they don’t perform well in the clinic when that young. I want to say it’s a MacArthur bates inventory? You can find them online and maybe check off some stuff before your next appt so they can see more. As for the hearing stuff, I would agree the conductive stuff can be present without other symptoms. My son has had 1 ear infection but does have a motor speech disorder and 4 abnormal hearing tests. They now thing he has mild conductive loss. He had colds a bunch during his tests so they brushed it off but he’s now had two abnormal tests with no cold symptoms. His SLP says in a quiet focused environment it might not show up but in daycare or school where it’s noisy, it can hinder their language development. All that to say is I would keep it on the back burner and not rule it out completely. I know it’s super annoying to have to add a million appointments and drag your kid all over. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2819476 Mon, 30 Apr 2018 16:56:55 +0000 littleblessings 2819476@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Increasing PT to get both sides working the same might be a good idea. From the sounds of it your daughter says more than mine. Mine says mama, dada, Nana and that’s it. They said she’s normal. If your ped, teachers, you and the father have no other concerns than motor control than I would dismiss their opinions for the time being and not stress yourself. No child “performs” their best in front of strangers. They can’t expect a toddler to say everything they want her to because she doesn’t know them. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2819475 Mon, 30 Apr 2018 16:49:42 +0000 Mama Bird 2819475@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Aww, what a cutie! </p> <p>That sounds like a really frustrating appointment. Regarding the PT, it probably can't hurt, but do you have to travel to the appointments, or are they at your home/in day care?</p> <p>The speech delay thing is just puzzling. That really doesn't sound like a speech delay. Sounds like she's doing great. If they were evaluating her during the appointment, it's possible she was feeling shy or tired and didn't want to cooperate. I'd put a lot more weight on what you're seeing at home and in day care.</p> <p>The hearing thing may well be due to all the colds this winter. FWIW there may be some mild conductive problems without obvious symptoms. My son had a lot of ear infections between 1 and 3, and he often measured as having eardrum problems on the test they run in the pediatrician's office... but at home we never saw a difference, if anyone whispered about chocolate he'd come running from the other room. I don't think it affected his speech, but we did have to address this eventually because he was on antibiotics just about every month. It turned out he had an under-treated adenoid infection the whole time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2819471 Mon, 30 Apr 2018 16:37:03 +0000 Chuckles 2819471@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That really sucks. It sounds like it makes sense to increase PT, but their explanations about speech are confusing. And also, speech or OT? That makes no sense.<br /> Did they have specific info on why they said there was a receptive speech delay? (like not following directions, etc) Otherwise it sounds like no one else has concerns. Plus kids never show all their skills on command in a new setting, so it's not surprising that she didn't use all her words. AND... kids at that age sometimes use words once or twice and then you don't hear them again for awhile anyways. I would definitely ask for more specific details about the speech delay before pursuing more therapy. I know how exhausting it can be to juggle multiple EI appointments each week. Hope you get more info soon! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/confused-by-advice-at-nicu-follow-up-looking-for-advice-or-support#post-2819465 Mon, 30 Apr 2018 16:08:19 +0000 yellowbeach 2819465@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ok, feeling overwhelmed and just need to vent. Took our 14 mo ex 32 wker with hydrocephalus to her 12 month NICU follow-up today. She had some stunting in the development of her corpus callosum 2/2 the hydrocephalus, but otherwise structurally brain looks ok. First off, I wish someone would have told me it was a 4 hour endeavor - we missed lunch and nap time... both of us were hangry! That aside...</p> <p>We've know for months now she has some motor asymmetry and delays (only pulls up with her right side, increased tone in her BLEs) and have been working with PT biweekly for 3 months now. Everyone (me, dad, daycare teachers and her PT) all seemed to think she was making strides if not almost caught up. Today the NICU recommended more intensive PT, at least weekly. My reaction: exhaustion.</p> <p>And brand new today is an apparent receptive speech delay. This one really caught me off guard. She had maybe 10-15 words at home, including kitty cat, cup, ball, mama, dada, dog, milk, no, hi, bye... probably a few more. She only said "hi" and "uck" (instead of duck) for them and otherwise just babbled. Her teachers at daycare last week told me they felt she was ahead of the other kids on the room (ranging 12-18mo) in her speech as she used words and sign language to ask for things rather than just grunting for attention. But as of today's appointment, we are "way below" expected levels and have been recommended for weekly speech or OT. They couldn't even really tell me if they were recommending Speech vs OT. :/</p> <p>I have a theory on this whole thing, but perhaps I'm being short sighted. I think they are anchoring to her having hearing issues. Another long story, but when it came time for her NICU hearing testing follow-up, they were full and had to schedule her 2 months after the ideal age. At that point, she was babbling and phonating constantly, so they couldn't test her "soft sounds." At 12 months, we were getting sedation for a surveillance MRI anyway, so we decided to do the hearing testing while she was under. The ENT wanted us to consent to putting bilateral eustacian tubes in if there were any effusions so they could complete the test. Neither my husband or I would consent to a surgical procedure to complete a screening test for something we had no specific concerns about. Plus, this was February, and we had all had colds all winter. So, her hearing testing remains incomplete and she's labeled as having some kind of conduction loss, even though we have no concerns and she's never completed testing. We see ENT again in June when hopefully flu season will finally be over.</p> <p>So, my sense if that they might be anchoring to this "hearing loss" as a cause for receptive speech difficulty. Obviously I can't say for sure that she doesn't have any hearing loss since we haven't completed all the tests, but I've never had any concerns. I just don't know what to do with this "expert recommendation" by a team that saw her once in 6 months for 2-3 hours total, vs myself, her dad, her teachers and her Pediatrician. I contacted our EI coordinator to set up weekly speech as well as bump the PT to weekly, but I'm really frustrated and not sure what to do with all this new information. </p> [attach=7491/18/p80o1v.450x600.30728314_10101486482124777_2196707369262487397_n.jpg] https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/observation-for-speech-therapy-preschool#post-2787008 Thu, 16 Nov 2017 22:24:16 +0000 Chuckles 2787008@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with @magnolia: Can they see him at his current placement? I'm a special ed teacher, and we typically see students in their current classrooms before we decide whether they are a good fit for our program. </p>