OT Speech Development Kindergarten preparedness/UPDATE 5/17 post 15

[PoohHappens]

Sorry OT and long, but I know I have encountered a couple Speech therapists or teachers, or SLD teachers on here and I have some questions. My son is 5 and he did have speech therapy from 20mos until 3 years. At that time his evaluation showed him slightly delayed but not such that he qualified for anything. We then sent him to precshool and he is now in a PreK class 5 days a week. He was doing well as far as we knew. His speech is still behind some other kids his age, but he is communicating well. He just had his K evaluation and it did not go as well as we had hoped. Now we are looking at a private school that I think has some higher expectations than some. They are going to re-evaluate him in May. His biggest issue was with sequencing. He was not able to answer questions about the story and what happens next etc......He was also asked to place six cards in proper order about building a snowman and I believe one other story. I should say he has never built a snowman but does know what one is. He was unable to complete this task, although she did say he did finally get it but placed them from right to left. In working with him on some of these things I have found something else that puzzles me. When I ask him to repeat what say-if it is simple--Mickey Mouse has big ears he does fine. If it is more complex-Minnie Mouse wears a red dress with white polkadots he cannot. He always asks what again and then gets it mixed or leaves part out. Sometimes he substitutes words with the same/similar meaning like really for very or even lake for ocean. He can count to 20 and knows all his letters and letter sounds. This is puzzleing me. His PReK teacher said he was doing well and he has already been OK'd for K at his current school, so we have somewhere for him to go in the fall. We just want to help him develop some of the skill that are not coming togther for him. I also do not want to overlook something that can be potentially difficult for him as time passes. I would love any info from the personal experience to professional. If this is something we should have evaluated more in depth I am happy to I am just not sure where to go?

 

[dfarner]

Elementary teacher here. From what you have described it does not sound like you should be alarmed about his development. First, let me say, that the K evaluation is being done a bit early from my experiences. If your son is starting school in the fall, it is with most school districts that he would be tested sometime late summer. I would think that private is very similar. You mentioned another eval. in May. This is only 2 months away and it may not be that he makes that much improvement during that time. Don't get discouraged about this
Sequencing-this is a bit of an abstract concept, and putting a snowman together on paper is a bit tough for a 4 or even 5 yr. old to do. How does he do w/ patterns (circle, square, triangle, circle, etc...)? Patterns are a kind of prelude to sequencing-see how he does w/ this.
Story retelling-absolutely not anything to worry about if he cannot do this right now. Do you read to him often? That is the absolute best thing you can do. Story retelling is a concept that is taught in Kindergarten. And you could ask simple things of him about the plot, setting, character of a story. But you can be very simple and work up as he progresses.
Word association-lake to ocean. Nothing wrong with this either. In his mind, he knows or has seen that a lake is a large body of water. So is an ocean, in his mind. He is using what he already knows to associate. This is a good thing. If you said "ocean" and he said "train" then you could see that he has no idea of what an ocean is.
If he can count to 20 and knows the letters and beginning sounds he has a solid foundation. I would suggest reading to him as much or than you already do. Ask questions about stories, but not to the point of burdening him.
I would also suggest using flashcards, work on his colors, make sure he can spell his name and knows his phone number and address-that sort of thing.

 

[misskaren0894]

I am a preschool special needs teacher. I have many boys in my class with speech/language delays. I agree that you should read, read, read, and then read some more with your son. It is the best thing you can do. While you are reading, ask questions. When the book is over, ask a few questions about the story. Sequencing simple events (like making a PBJ sandwich) is much more age appropriate, than a 6 part snowman sequence. Anyway to work on this skill, take one of his favorite stories and make cards about it. then have him put them into order. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a great example. I do storytelling everyday in my classroom, and it has helped the kids tremendously with sequencing, and the story concept of beginning, middle, and end. It's as simple as - I got my toothbrush out, I put toothpaste on my toothbrush, and I brushed my teeth. I draw it out, and then the kids re-tell it. Then they draw their own stories. This has helped in all areas- writing, sequencing, problem solving, etc. As far as the word association thing, I agree with the previous post. Most kids have heard the words, but to pull them up when needed is tough. Lake vs. ocean is really hard because they are both bodies of water. That is like learning new vocabulary words. To me it sounds like your son has a good foundation. If he can recognize letters/numbers, and knows a few letter sounds, and his writing skills are good. He is probably going to be fine. Hope this helps!

 

[lastminutemom]

Many private schools "cream" -- that is they are not only interested in the top students that they interview/test/evaulate. Sometimes, this is because they offer a very rigourous program and they are careful to try and only accept students that can mangage their curriculum. Other times, it is because they offer no remediation/special ed. services (and they don't have to, unlike publc schools) and want to avoid not being able to meet a child's needs.

As the teachers that have responded have said, your child is most likely fine.

 

[dfarner]

Many private schools "cream" -- that is they are not only interested in the top students that they interview/test/evaulate. Sometimes, this is because they offer a very rigourous program and they are careful to try and only accept students that can mangage their curriculum. Other times, it is because they offer no remediation/special ed. services (and they don't have to, unlike publc schools) and want to avoid not being able to meet a child's needs.

As the teachers that have responded have said, your child is most likely fine.

I agree.
Private schools have a certain image they want to uphold and do not fall within the same legal guidelines that public schools do for offering special ed services.

 

[PoohHappens]

Thank you for your responses. I do agree about the private school thing, I asked what would happen if he were to go to public school and they stated they would enroll him no questions asked. In this case I think it is their curriculm and wanting to make sure the kids can keep up with it. There is an extra program for children who are having difficulties, however it of course costs more. We love this school and also for religious reasons really want him to be able to attend there. We read and have been working on talking about sequencing in everything we are doing. Making dinner, brushing teeth etc...... I would love some recomendations for other books. This is our first and currently only child. He is adopted and so we do no have a lot of information as far as development for his birthparents although we did have the privilage of meeting them. As far as the time of the testing--we met with the priciple and that is one thing she told us--it was very early and that is why they will address it again. School starts in August and I suppose being a private school they want to get everything lined up. Thanks for all your imput, it really did make me feel better.

 

[PA Princess]

I was just wondering if you know what curriculum the private school uses? I have 4 kiddos(13, 12 , 6, and 2), and the older 3 have been in a private Christian school that uses the Abeka curriculum.

It is a more advanced curriculum and all the kids are reading by December of K and are counting money, telling time, and doing adding and subtracting problems in K. From talk with my public school friends (some parents and some teachers), this is more advanced than public schools in our area do in K. This may explain the different expectations for readiness you have discovered.

If it is the Abeka curriculum, I would look into purchasing some of their pre-school materials...may help you better prepare your son if you think this is the best school for him.

Another issue to consider is birthday. My two boys have 8/30 and 8/31 birthdays and their school has an 8/15 cut off for K, so they began K and turned 6 very soon after. However, both boys did really well in K and had no issues with the advanced curriculum.

My daughter has a late June b-day, and while she did well in pre-school and is on target age wise in her development, she had a much harder time in K than my two boys.

Hope you are able to find the best situation for your child and family.

 

[PoohHappens]

Thanks, he is currently at a school that uses Abeka and he is doing just fine with it, and he may continue to Kindergarten there. I can't remember the curriculum at the new school we are looking at and it is one of the things I am hoping to find out from the priciple when I talk to her next. As for his Birthday-here lies an issue. He is a novmeber birthday, so he is already 5. Their cut off is June 1 the child must be 5 prior to entering K. So there are a few kids who are older in the class. However if we make him wait another year he will turn 7 a couple months into his K year. I think this would be hard for a child, esp as he meets others and says he is 7 and then he is asked what grade he is in. If his birthday was May I would not have as much an issue as some of the kids will turn 7 right at the end of school or during the summer prior to first. I do think he is slightly behind with some language develoment skills, but really only about 6 mos. I am sure it will all work out in the end and if we keep praying and being dilligent to attend to his specific needs we will find the right place for him at the right time for him. I am just so relieved to not feel like I was crazy and totally neglected to teach him something. He potty trained late and his speech did not come together right away. I kind of felt like it was almost impossible to move on to bigger and better things until he got those things all organized. Once he did he seems to be catching up fast. He went from knowing no letters to all letters and sounds in about 4 months. If they would only ask him to sequence Thomas engines or Mickey and his friends he wouldd probably nail it.

 

[texaslover]

Kinder teacher here.

I work in a pretty academically advanced public district (we are writing our numbers to 20, counting money, doing basic addition, and interpreting complex graphs currently) and I have kids at the beginning of the year that don't know their letters or sounds and can't sequence. I agree that private schools have their own requirements and there is not much you can do to get around them.

Your son sounds like he is doing fine developmentally. If you want him to be able to sequence 6 or more events you probably just need to draw pictures of different everyday things (cooking a cake, getting dressed, morning routine, bedtime routine, building a lego creation, etc.), cut them up, and have him put them in order. Stress left to right in reading and sequencing. When you read to him use your finger to show left to right reading. Do first, second, third with different things (what happened first, second?, third?) and have him line up pictures or events starting on the left. Kids get it pretty quickly with repetition.

 

[belle&beast]

I'm preschool SLP (speech-language pathologist) and I think you should have your son's speech and language reevaluated now. When he turned 3 he probably had the necessary skills in place, but may be slower to develop abstract language skills which will be important in kindergarten. I see a lot of kids that come from early intervention and do not receive services at first and then need to pick it back up as they get older and more is expected. I would suggest goping through the public school system for the evaluation and therapy. In my area the SLPs do service kids in private school and depending upon the numbers in each school, they may even go to the private schools to see the kids during their school day.

You have gotten some great ideas from PPs about what to do at home!

 

[wdwfamilyinIL]

While I am not a specalist in the field at hand, my middle son has had a lot of delays. I don't know if you have ran into this, but I get the feeling quite often that they just don't think that he can do something, when he can. As a parent I have that on top of teaching them things, the best thing I can do is try and build their self esteem. Maybe you already do this, but around this area there are more people that put a child down than try to build them up. As far as books, we like the leappad system. Some of the books can get expensive, but that has helped a bunch. I made flashcards of many different things, we have also bought the "workbooks" from the stores.
On a side topic, if you feel that your child is having speech problems, I personally would have his hearing checked. A lot of children have problems with fluid in the ears, and it can cause a lot of problems. Hope this helps a little

 

[dfarner]

While I am not a specalist in the field at hand, my middle son has had a lot of delays. I don't know if you have ran into this, but I get the feeling quite often that they just don't think that he can do something, when he can. As a parent I have that on top of teaching them things, the best thing I can do is try and build their self esteem.

Bravo to you!!

 

[PoohHappens]

Thank you all , you have so many wonderful comments. I really tried to back up tonight to make sure he was even getting the concept of sequencing at all. I discovered he did not. I don't think he understood what he was being asked to do. I got out a bag of MM's and started with a simple pattern of 2 colors and asked him to make the same pattern. After I pointed and said each color and explained 3 times using different language what I wanted him to do something clicked. Like Ohhhhh thats what I am supposed to do. After that he nailed it and was also able to continue my patterns even using 3 colors and doubles and triples. It was amazing to watch his frustration go away and then he even started to talk through it to me like I had to him using words like "what would come next mmmmm that would be a blue one". I also let him eat any of the patterns he accomplished I think I will continue with this in various forms and add some work sheets with shapes and colors for a couple weeks until he feels more sure of himself. And also just keep reading reading reading. He has also had the leap frog letter factory video that he loved and so we got the word factory one where they start building words. I am sure you think I am neurotic and crazy now, but I feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to be his mother, and I want to do the best I can to help him learn new skills and be confident in himself. I cannot tell you all what your words and suggestions have meant to me.

 

[dfarner]

Okay Pooh, so now you've got me crying

No, really. I am so happy for you. It is such a personal high to see your kids achieve. I know you must be so proud. Good for you.

 

[PoohHappens]

Sorry I know this is an old thread, but I was so appreciative of the help and responses at the time that I just wanted to add an update. We continued to work on some of the areas where things had not gone as well in the origional interview. He reallys started to grasp some of the sequencing etc....Well yesterday he had is re-interiview and did terrific. The teacher he met with was very impressed with his improvement and how much ground he had covered in a short time. He has been accepted for the fall and we really do feel this is the right school for our child and family. He was so excited and proud and had to put the T-shirt they gave him on immediately. I was practically crying I was so proud of him. The teacher said when she pulled out the story sequence cards he announced "Oh I can do those". Thanks again for all your help and suggestions and most of all all the great love, support and reassurance this board never fails to offer.

 

[surfgirl]

Thanks for the update.

You asked about which books to read aloud. I recently read a book called, "The Read Aloud Handbook" by Jim Trelease. It was recommended by a school psychologist who does both testing for private schools as well as working with developmentally delayed kids.

It was an amazing book! I want to give a copy to every parent I know. We read a lot to our kids, but I will read even more.

"The Read Aloud Handbook" by Jim Trelease.

I had to repeat it, I love it that much. At the back, it lists age-appropriate books to read aloud to children of all ages. This is one of the two books that have directly impacted my parenting.