Stutter, speach

Can I jump in too?

My son tends to stammer… saying the first word or first few words over and over.  It happens more often when he is excited, but really at anytime.  It isn’t ALL the time, but is enough….  (btw, he is almost 8)

So, he is likely to say….

Mom, I would like to…. I would like to…. mom, I’d like to….  (at which point I usually say something like “you would like to…?” or “what would you like?” and then he says “Can we go to the park?”  or “I would like to go to the park…?”…  

I have to admit that at times it gets very hard to be patient while he tries to tell me something….

We had his speech evaluated at age 2.5, and he tested at “low side of normal” – and he was re-evaluated at age 3.5.   I arranged another eval just before age 5 (when the schools take over the speach program here)… and he evaluated fine.  BUT – they really only evaluated his ability to make all the sounds really.

The problem I had is that it seems (from everything I have been able to find out) that anymore speach evaluations or therapy is done through the schools here… and no one I have talked to knows about doing it with homeschoolers.  The only other option is to have the doctor refer him… and then we would be PAYING for it….

I keep going back between feeling like I don’t need to worry about it, to feeling like I really need to worry about it….

suzukimom, you can always get an eval and then refuse services if you decide to not pursue it further. Just a thought.

The older kids get who have frequent dysfluencies the more likely that it is a true “stutter”. Although 7, 8, 9 is still young. Yet, I once worked with a hard core ‘stutterer” who was only 9-no one even knew he was aware as he was so good at avoidance techniques (switching words around to avoid those that he knew he would stutter-yes, he was VERY smart!).

So I will just say, if in doubt, get the eval. Stuttering is a tricky one and it is one of the speech issues that can continue for a lifetime.

You may want to contact your state homeschool group and see if they can recommend someone. They MAY have someone they can recommend that works with homeschoolers and/or reduces rates for private pay.

-Rebecca

I am not trying to be a wet blanket, but what if you get an eval done at the school and then refuse services?  I recently saw an article about a Canadian family who were court-ordered to send their 2&3 yos to “school” for socialization, and they had the same issues with their older 8 & 10 yo kids too.  What would the ramifications be for you if you went to the school and then said no?  if you can figure out an eval without the pressure of “you must do as I say” from the school, it might be better. And we can start praying that the answer will come soon…

Gina: There is always something they can do to help with dysfluencies. I would ask the therapist how comfortable they are in working with it and how much experience they have as it is a specialty in itself (although if it isn’t their speciality but they have some experience, they will probably be fine. You just don’t want someone who has no experience with it).

sheraz: I forgot about that case in Canada! It would probably be better to get the eval elsewhere and then decide what to do once you have all the information.

-Rebecca

Sheraz, you do have a good point there….

but one thing to keep in mind about that case is that it was in Quebec… the most homeschooling unfriendly province in the country (and if I can say so, an odd province to begin with.  they have laws that the rest of the country would never get away with….  like signs for stores HAVE to be in French…. the can’t be in English, etc.)   We would NEVER live in Quebec in a million years.  (and I’d just add that if I was that family that the kids got sent to school, we would have moved immediately, trusting that we would find employment elsewhere.  (Seriously, I think I would load a hand-cart if that was our only choice… lol.)

I actually live in one of the easiest provinces to homeschool (submit a notification in September with a plan for the year (which I leave pretty vague…  things like LA: Read classical literature and work on cursive”) and then a report in January and in June…. which I also write very little.  

So I would hope that there would be no problems if we ended up refusing services…..

Well, I can’t guarantee it wouldn’t be the case… (you never know…) – but I don’t think it is as likely….

I know of a couple of people that have had their homeschools “investigated” (if someone lodges a written complaint then they will investigate).  The one person I know of is 98% sure that a anti-homschooling relative “reported” on them.    They found the person doing the investigation kind, and open to their method of homeschooling (unschooling), and the investigator found the family was doing well, the children were happy and obviously learning.   (I don’t know if that family had any issues, like an older child not reading or anything like that….)   

So…. I would think it would be safe to get an eval and then refuse treatment….  but it IS still something to consider because you never know…..