Speech Issues in a 2 yr old....mild rant

[gypsyhips26]

So I think this is the best place to post this....

My DS is 2 1/2 and is in full day preschool/daycare. A few months ago the teachers recommended that I have his speech evaluated because he was stuttering at the beginning of his sentences -but not all the time- just when he was super excited and could get his thoughts out fast enough. But the stutter seemed to go away soon after. So I thought we really didn't need to proceed with the speech evaluation, as he is speaking better and with more confidence etc.

(Just a little background on my DS, he's a very social child and very chatty and people are frequently commenting on how well he speaks for his age. They often think he's older than his actual 2 1/2.)

Then at school this week, we were told that 2 children were being moved up to the next room. One of whom is 3 months younger than my DS. So I inquired as to why the younger child was being moved up & my DS wasn't. I thought it was a fair question to ask. And I got the response that my child's speech & vocab weren't advanced enough, and I had better get the evaluation done if I want him to move up. I was kind of offended at the comment, and while I'm trying to remain objective, I am kind of angry at the teachers/administrators. Am I just not seeing/hearing that his speech is SUCH an issue and is detrimental to the other student's development because I'm his mother?

Anyway, I am still having his speech evaluated, but I just feel upset that I feel as though the teachers are blaming him for holding up other student's development.

I really feel like my DS needs to move up to the next class, as they keep bringing in younger & younger kids into his class and now I feel as though their lack of language is influencing my DS. He's started grunting & whining when things aren't going his way, which he wasn't doing before the younger kids came in. When he's at home & playing with his friends or with us, he speaks in full sentences,etc.

Anyway, just wanted to vent a little.....

[elmh23]

Everyone thinks they're an expert in how a 2 year old should talk. My MIL was convinced ds was completely normal when he wasn't opening his mouth to make sounds (so zero babbleing) at 16 months. My guy does have a delay, but still everyone is an expert.

As for your situation- it's really crappy that they won't move him because he might be a little behind language wise. I'd bring it up with them that since the older children have moved on and there are younger kids who don't have the speech, your child isn't getting the modeling that is needed for him to make progress. And if they refuse, I'd consider moving him to a new daycare.

Good luck!

[gorgorita]

I believe that momma always knows best. If there is a delay significant enough to do the evaluation or therapy, your heart will tell you. Otherwise, my opinion is that all kids develop differently and if he speaks sentences and has quite a vocabulary as your child seems to have and do, then I would move him to a different center or ask to move him up.
The staff has already set their minds on his speech development to be delayed.
The fact that he stuttered in their presence and they did nothing to encourage him or try to help him out to deal with excitement on everyday basis but just recommend a therapy is a bad sign to me. I wouldn't want my kid to be around such judgmental people.
They are not moving him up seems to me like they are trying to educate or "punish" you
sorry, my post is kinda negative but this is what i picked up from your description.

[Qestia]

I don't think momma always knows best, because I didn't. My DS had been in a home daycare until he was about 2.9 yo, then we moved him to the toddler room at the place where he now goes to preschool. He had only been there a few months when they recommended a speech eval and DH and I were flummoxed. We felt he was just fine. Well, we did have him evaluated and he now gets speech therapy twice a week through the public schools. I was concerned about doing the eval because I didn't want him pigeonholed, but I'm really glad we did. The speech therapist was really able to pinpoint and work on the areas where he has issues, and was able to explain it all to us much better than the school. There really isn't a down side to doing the evaluation, but if you are that unhappy with the school, maybe you should look for a different one.

[sapphire_chan]

They have a problem with a 2.5 year old stuttering when excited? And they're trying to say that they're some sort of "toddler language experts"? <--click link for full smiley effect

[gypsyhips26]

well thank you ladies for all the great input & insight.... I'm waiting to hear back from the EI people about a time for an evaluation. I think we'll have it done at school so they can see what the teachers are seeing/hearing. So right now I'm just sitting tight until then.

But going with my gut, I really feel like his fluency issue, as they're calling it, has resolved itself....but we'll see...I'll keep you all posted.....

thanks mamas!

[gypsyhips26]

So just to give a quick update on the speech issues....

we had the evaluation done and .... my DS is perfectly normal! Who would've thunk it!

The evaluators mentioned that he occasionally had some trouble finding the words he needed to describe things, but used all of the other vocab he had to express himself and they saw no evidence of a stutter and mentioned to me that it was even a little too early to truly diagnose a stuttering problem if there was one.... and that all of what they observed was perfectly normal for his age.... what was really interesting however, was the administrator who had recommended the evaluation, seemed to disagree with their assessment..... sigh.... and then it came out that one of her children had issues with fluency (as they call it) and so i got the impression she's particularly dialed into potential stuttering in the students

As for kids moving up to the next class based on development & speech, well after the eval, i've decided that its practically an arbitrary decision on the admin's part, as they moved up another child at the last minute, who i know doesn't speak any better or is any smarter than my child or any of the other kids in his room.... ahh the joys of preschool

thanks again for listening mamas, you're the best!

[sapphire_chan]

exavtly the result I expected. If the admin is arbitrary about that then what else is she messing up? I would look into changing preschools if at all possible

[elmh23]

What a weird admin! I'd also look in to changing preschools. It's shouldn't be like that.

[Catherine12]

Originally Posted by gypsyhips26

And I got the response that my child's speech & vocab weren't advanced enough, and I had better get the evaluation done if I want him to move up.

Is that a direct quote? This sounds to me like they were bullying you into getting the evaluation.

[gypsyhips26]

actually i was feeling bullied a bit and we are changing schools, but we have to wait until september to do it, waiting lists & such. And I was so annoyed about it all the other day, i was daydreaming about quitting my job to keep him home with me until kindergarten, but since i need to work for the insurance, that's not really an option.

thanks again for the support mamas!