Can anyone lead me to

rejectedmom

New Member
some good interactive speech articulation software for my 7 year old grandson? He needs help that the SD isn't giving and his parents can't get privately. He is a sweet kid and he loves computers so I know he will use the software if I get it for him. It needs to record what he says and show him how he is mispronouncing it. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. He is very smart and doing well in school but his speech is beginning to get in his way. Kids are beginning to tease him and he is getting very frustrated. Where he used to be willing to repeat himself 20 times to get things across he is now just giving up. He is so creative and loving I hate to see him withdraw because no one can understand him. He is of normal hearing but I have always felt he was mildly CP. He was a premie on life support due to undeveloped lungs. -RM
 

Sharon1974

New Member
Why isn't the SD giving him speech therapy?? I had the same problem. In the end I took JK to an audiologist for a hearing test. She told me his hearing was fine but wanted to know if I was aware of his articulation problems. I told her that I was, but the SD was not in agreement. She indicated in her report that he had multiple articulation problems and that she felt he would benefit from speech therapy. I gave a copy to the school and he suddenly qualified for services. What a miracle!!!!
 

Martie

Moderator
I have no specific titles to suggest, but look into software for hearing impaired children. They use this type of software to get the HUNDREDS OF HOURS of practice they need to improve articulation.

Your grandson should get results much more quickly with or without CP if his hearing is within normal limits. by the way, "by policy" (illegal policy) some SDs leave children, especially boys, untreated until age 8 because MANY children do develop out of mild artic. problems. However, I wouldn't include a preemie with possible CP in that group.

So if you try the software and it helps, great. If not, when he is 8, you (or his parents) need to get tough with the
SD.

Martie
 

rejectedmom

New Member
My grandson has speech therapy a half hour a week with the school district. They say that he will be where he needs to be at the end of this year and will no longer have services. i do not know how they figure this when no one outside his immediate family can understand this child. His mother is translating for him constantly and frequently she doesn't even understand him. Many relatives including the other grandparents have come to me about this and asked if I could get them to put my grandson into more extensive therapy. I have tried to tell my daughter that she needs to get a private evaluation and then go into his end of the year IEP armed and ready. -RM
 
O

OTE

Guest
Don't think I'd worry about the IEP this Spring for next yr. Obviously he's going to continue to need therapy and will test out below avg. What I would do is to push for more than a half hour per week. I'd demand two half hours per week individual plus an hour of group. The point would be that if his teacher cannot understand him then this is having a major impact upon his reading skills- age appropriate major learning issue. It's significantly impacting his education. Can't imagine he'll be denied service for next yr.
 
O

OTE

Guest
You're talking about an articulation problem. Can he make the sound of every letter in the alphabet? If not, it could be, as it was with my Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) kid, a matter of oral motor function and very few SLPs even know how to do that evaluation. Check out this:
1. When he chews, is his tongue moving the food from one side of the mouth to the other?
2. Is the food being chewed in all of the teeth, on both sides?
3. The Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) should have looked at this but... can he move his tongue and lips to make each sound appropriately? Just go through the alphabet. Tongue has to be moved out for some sounds, lips change from round to normal position, etc.?

I would also very strongly suggest that the parents both go to a speech therapy session, that one half hour a week and see what the Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) is doing. Ask the Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) for homework they can do with him. I assure you that mine didn't get where he is today by leaving it to therapists. They have to practice the sounds with him every night for at least a half hour a night.

I've thought about the software and looked through the Edmark ones. But I don't think software is really what you need. Think I'd focus on figuring out which sounds, age appropriate of course, he needs to work on and then work on those. eg something like a Dr. Suess book of the particular sound he's working on would be good for him to read aloud to parents. A children's librarian at the public library would be able to point out books for the sounds that he's working on. Also think about limericks for that sound, Sally sells sea shells... though of course, blends such as sh and th are not age appropriate.

Other thing that comes to mind is music (CD, tape) that focuses on speech. I'll dig up some names for you.

FYI: if he can make each individual sound but can't put them in the correct order, can't get them to work together, that's a whole other subject.

Check out asha.org. There are some good articles in there.
 
O

OTE

Guest
I did a cursory search... wow.. how times have changed. When mine was doing speech therapy these things didn't exist on the internet. Gotta love the internet!

Here's a LOT of stuff to print and do at home
http://www.speakingofspeech.com/

Look also at the Iowa site I posted on general which is a link on the speakingofspeech site. Talk about explaining speech...wow.
 

rejectedmom

New Member
Hi OTE, I am just checking back in. As usual you always come through. I too looked at the Edmark software. I am not sure if my grandson has oral motor problems or not. I would guess that he does. He has been Dxd with very low muscle tone. He is very awkward and somewhat uncorordinated. As far as speech homework goes, I do not think anything really is done outside of school except maybe five or so minutes a day. I had asked my daughter a while back if the therapist used a tape recorder and mirrors so difficult child could see himself when he made the sounds and hear how close he came to them. My daughter didn't know! she is really so much relying on the school to do what needs to be done she doesn't listen to me that she needs to be an advocate and be more involved. Her idea of being involved is the PTA and classroom volunteer. I tried to tell her that she could drop that and get more involved with grandson's difficulties and be way more effective but she doesn't listen. That is why I was looking for things my grandson could do on his own. He likes to read and does read really well. I saw a little gadget that they can speak into and hear exactly what they sound like. It is not expensive so I am going to get that for him. I had offered to give the kids art lessons and was hoping that I could work on hiis speech when his mother was not around. She was enthusiastic but then kept blowing them off. I think I actually had two sessions with him last summer.

I spoke to his mom the other day and told her about some of the internet resources and she said Ok but I doubt she will follow through. I often feel like screaming at her and her husband about how neglectful they are in this area. Of course I don't but you can imagine how frustrated I am.
 
O

OTE

Guest
OH, I know that frustration. I can't tell you how insane it drives me and not with my relatives! I see so many Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) kids in my son's classes that have so much potential but the parents can't or won't do anything. Now that my son is older I see kids who are in their early teens, when the potential for growth is largely over and ARGHHHH... two come to mind immediately... one isn't potty trained and both are totally non-verbal even though I know they can sign, speak,...

Anyway, if it is oral motor all the speech therapy in the world isn't going to help. Believe me, been there done that. 5 years from now he'll still have the same articulation. He needs to have an oral motor evaluation. I paid for it and it was $400 a bunch of years ago. But there's no other way. If his mother won't take him and won't let you take him I don't see that there's anything you can do. Like I said above, maybe see what you can figure out yourself. Also, I'd put him in front of a mirror and that Iowa program simultaneously. Let him watch how the sounds are formed on the Iowa video and then watch himself in the mirror.

What about a quarterly progress report from the speech therapist? The goals for speech therapy in the IEP? That should give you some idea what the therapist is working on.
 

rejectedmom

New Member
Ote thank you. I am still prodding along on my daughter. But she is now in total avoidance mode. I will have him for a week or two in the summer. Not sure what I can accomplish in that short time but will always try. In addition to the articulation difficulties my grandson "spaces out" alot. I think he should be monitored for sesiure activity and my daughter agreed with me a while back. Unfortunately she now has changed her thinking and says that he is fine. My gut tells me that he isn't but again nothing I can do but try to help him when I have alone time with him. I ran into this type of thing when advocating for my foster kids while they were transitioning back to their birth homes. I also ran into many resistant parents in the many programs my kids were in for their disabilities. I was so sad to see parents get in the way of their child's potential. I used to want to scream at the parents and now feel those same emotions when observing my daughter and her husband. -RM
 
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