Parents who enroll their children in private schools may have difficulty finding speech therapy services if their child has trouble articulating certain speech sounds. These children often do not qualify for the speech and language therapy programs typically found in public schools. And many private speech clinics are expensive and / or inconvenient. So what can private school parents do to help their children overcome speech difficulties?
While most private schools strive to develop superior educational and enrichment programs, they generally do not provide speech and language therapy. Generally, these schools simply do not have the financial resources to offer speech services. Consequently, many parents are alone in finding speech and language assistance for their children. Unfortunately, although there are several options to help children with speech delays, private school students cannot always find a good option.
Parents can first explore the services available through public schools. In the typical case, the child will be evaluated by a speech and language pathologist to determine if the child’s speech and / or language delays meet the necessary criteria to qualify for the school’s program. Speech and language services are provided free of charge for children who qualify. However, here are two caveats: 1) very few children who could benefit from speech therapy services will be able to qualify and 2) if they qualify, they can receive therapy only 1-2 times a month. Why is there such a limited availability?
Because all school districts operate with limited funds, many programs have too little money allocated to provide ideal levels of service. Special education, which includes speech therapy, is one of those programs. Whether or not to provide speech and language services to a particular child depends on the individual school district. This can put private school children at a distinct disadvantage. In California, for example, schools only receive state funding for children who actually attend a public school. Therefore, districts may be reluctant to provide already limited services to children for whom they do not receive state funding.
In addition, speech and language services through public schools, as well as other aspects of special education, are targeted at the lowest performing segment of the population. In other words, a child would have to be severely impaired in speech and / or language to qualify for these free services. Many parents seeking a speech and / or language evaluation in public schools are told that their child’s “problem” is not serious enough or that the child is developing “normally.” Special education programs in public schools were not intended for children with “mild” or “moderate” speech problems.
Another option for private school parents is to have their child evaluated at a private speech therapy clinic. This approach may be appropriate for many children. However, private clinic therapists may also tell parents that their child’s disability is not severe enough and that he or she is developing according to the “developmental norms” of speech, or that a particular sound error can self-correct “so late at 7 or 8 years.”
On the other hand, if the private clinic RECOMMENDS speech therapy for the child, it can be quite expensive. If your health insurance plan covers speech therapy sessions, and they often don’t, a copayment will generally be required. Even at $ 20 per session, the total cost of therapy can be significant. For example, a typical course of speech therapy may require two sessions per week for a period of 8 to 12 weeks. In that case, copays would be as high as $ 480 plus transportation costs and the inconvenience of adding so many appointments to your already busy life.
What about the “developmental norms” and “self-correcting speech sounds” mentioned above? Could some children just “get over” their speech problem? While it is true that some children end up going through the developmental stages of speech and pronouncing all speech sounds correctly by age 7 or 8, this is not always the case. In my experience, both in clinical settings and in the public school system, children who have not self-corrected their speech sounds in kindergarten often do not improve without some amount of speech therapy intervention. Kindergarten is a time when children learn letter sounds and begin to learn to read. They also interact more and more with other children and adults. Incorrect speech sounds at this age can cause difficulties in learning to read and create uncomfortable social exchanges when the child cannot be understood. The child may even begin to lose the confidence to speak and / or become frustrated when others cannot understand him.
While many of these children end up developing their academic and reading skills very well, they may still have a speech gap / delay. I have heard students walking the hallways of my children’s private school speaking with glaring speech errors. For example, they cannot tell the / s / sound, or the / r / sound, or the / th / sound, or their / sh / or / ch / or / j / sounds are distorted. These students are in first through fifth grade and could not be understood at the last school-wide presentation because they had speech sound errors.
I have heard parents complain that they could not understand many of the children when they got up to speak due to their sound errors in speech. I’ve heard high school kids who still can’t pronounce their / s / or / r / sounds. They sound “different” at best; “strange” at worst. Everyone notices these speech sound errors. The most important thing is that the child himself realizes it.
The reality is that the longer parents wait to correct their child’s speech problem, the more difficult it is to overcome. Any speech pathologist will tell you. What some speech pathologists won’t tell you is that many of these speech sounds can be easily corrected by showing parents some simple techniques for teaching the sound, then giving them guidelines on how to reinforce the sound and how to help your child carry the sound. Right. sound in conversation. Parents should also know that they can work with their children sooner than some guidelines suggest. Many of the sounds of speech can be taught to children as young as 3 years old. Children learn quickly when they are young and are generally very receptive to new ideas, especially when they are effectively praised for their efforts. Some children improve dramatically with just one month of parent-driven speech therapy at home.
Many private school parents notice that their child has a speech delay. In looking for an answer, you may have researched your options and discovered that none seem to give you exactly what you need to help your child. However, they may delay the start of speech therapy due to cost or inconvenience. However, these parents must realize that time is of the essence in the development of speech sounds. If your child is at least 3-4 years old, the time might be now!
