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Speech And Language Delay


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Hi Everyone, I'm not really sure where to put this so do feel free to move me if you think more appropriate.

 

I'm just wondering if anybody knows if there is an age limit on how old a child needs to before we can refer them to SALT?

 

We have referred a child in our pre-school room and the process has taken soooo long that he is only just being assessed now and he starts school in Septemeber- we referred him months ago.

With how long this process took, I'm wondering whether we should start the ball rolling now for a little boy in our 2-3's room, he will be 3 in August and has very limited speech, he has only been in our setting for 4 months. He can communicate his needs but tends to do this through gesture/body language or even on occasions aggression. He uses about 20ish single words that are mispronounced.

 

What do you think, would SALT say he is too young?

 

Thanks.

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I would say definately not too early to refer. In our authority we have been given an Early Years Communication Guide which goes from 0-5. Even in the 0-6mths age group there is criteria for referring.

The criteria given for referring a child of between 2yrs and 2yrs6mths are :

not understanding instructions, adults need to add gestures to instructions

vocabulary of less than 40 words. Not beginning to join words together. No evidence of vocabulary growth

No interest in interacting with others. Rarely points to adults to show interest. repetitive activities in play - little range

always flitting - short attention span

people very familiar to child do not understand speech

 

any of the above may alert you to consider referring. I really believe that support given in the early years is vital and can really improve outcomes for children when starting school.

Good luck

Edited by Guest
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Hi

i would say refer now!! the earlier he is assessed the more help you will be able to give him.

 

i qualified as a SALT a few years ago and there were hardly any jobs. it makes me angry because there are some children who are on waiting lists for months where as if they had more SLT's then the waiting times would be shorter!!!!!! (sorry bit of a rant)

 

pls refer him asap!!!

 

good luck#!!

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Guest Wolfie

I agree with everyone - refer now! The process takes soooo long, it is best to get the ball rolling ASAP, as you say.

 

There are so many national initiatives being rolled out at the moment that emphasise the importance of speech, language and communcation skills and the importance of early identification of any potential problems or delays that I think you are completely justified in taking action at this stage.

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Can you ask parent to take child to Speech Therapy drop-in session? I know in Bucks they run a drop-in session where parents can take their children if they are concerned about their child's speech. mrsW

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Are you able to supply assessments done by yourselves - i.e GASP or DLS? Within our area I have been shown how to do both and supply these with referral. This then speeds up the process quite considerably, the last two I referred had their initial visit within the month.

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We have a two year old just joined us and the only thing she says - repeatedly - is UH. She sometimes points, but everything is UH, there's no other sounds at all, no B or M even.

 

So how long should we leave her, do you reckon? I was going to give till Easter and see if there were any more sounds, what do you think?

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Thanks for all the replies.

 

It's good to know that he isn't too young. I think he would really benefit from it and knowing how long it took with the little boy in pre-school I really do think the sooner the better.

 

DCN, that was really useful, he definately ticks more than one of those boxes.

Korky Cat, that would be good, thanks.

 

I'll have quick word with our SENCO tomorrow then and then speak to Mum.

 

Thanks Again

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Cait, is she just turned 2 or an older 2 year old? How long has she been at your setting for, a couple of weeks or a couple of months?

 

Going from the replies people have given me, I guess I would say the sooner you refer the better?

x

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We have a two year old just joined us and the only thing she says - repeatedly - is UH. She sometimes points, but everything is UH, there's no other sounds at all, no B or M even.

 

So how long should we leave her, do you reckon? I was going to give till Easter and see if there were any more sounds, what do you think?

[/quote

 

It depends if you have other concerns i suppose - around play and interaction/understanding instructions/wellbeing and involvement.

I she just 2 or way past 2?

I suppose I would observe whether the interventions you are making are having any effect - singing songs and rhymes with her focused 1:1/adding language to her play/naming what she's interested in - I know you're already doing that but I know when I began to have concerns about a child who was nearing 2 with no words yet after 2 weeks of really focusing on him, over pronouncing words of toys he was interested in and using signs to back up, singing 1 or 2 rhymes repetitively he came on really quickly.

I know you'll be speaking to parents too but you may need some more information from them if she's only just joined you

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Hi Cait

 

I would definately refer the 2 year old in your care. We had a little girl who'd just turned two when she joined us and had no speech at all. We involved our early years SENCO who helped us with IEP's. We were given fun exercises to strenghten the muscles for speech such as blowing bubbles and sucking and blowing through straws! She turned three while she was still

waiting to be seen by SALT. Her behaviour was deteriorating rapidly at home (not pre-school) with tantrums etc so mum

decided to take her to see a specialist privately. It just seems too long to leave children on a waiting list, so as per all other posts - refer away !!

 

dottyp

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Guest heleng

Don't know if it is the same everywhere or just in Suffolk but her referral would actually go through quicker if the parents go through the GP or health visitor and ask for support and a referral.

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Don't know if it is the same everywhere or just in Suffolk but her referral would actually go through quicker if the parents go through the GP or health visitor and ask for support and a referral.

 

That's worth trying. She has absolutely no problems understanding what's being asked of her, so we know it's not hearing

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Guest pamgreen

This document is brilliant and the CD with it offers lots of advise. It is called the Inclusion Development Programme (IDP) is supporting children with speech, language and communication needs. It is relevant to all practitioners, teachers, managers and leaders working within the EYFS, with children from birth to the age of five. You can order it from teacher net.

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