May is Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM). This year's theme is Early Intervention Counts! As I contemplated a topic for my BHSM newsletter this year, I started to wonder what parents wished they had known earlier. So I asked. I took to social media, email, and spoke with parents in person. I posed the following questions to parents of children already receiving speech-language services: What do you wish you had learned sooner? What do you wish others understood? As I processed through the answers, a few themes quickly emerged:
- early intervention
- parent education
- augmentative-alternative communication (AAC)
You can click to download the newsletter here --> Early Intervention: What parents want us to know. I am going to expand on each of the three themes in blog posts throughout the month. Today, I'm expanding on the most common theme: early intervention.
A lot of well meaning people told us stories about how boys talk later than girls and tried to reassure us by saying "he'll catch up." For me, waiting to see if my son would "catch up" was so stressful. It feels good to get support from a speech therapist and see progress instead. Why wait?
Early intervention! The number one response was wishing they had gotten help sooner. It saddens me that in 2015, with all that we know and with effective interventions available, the number one response by parents is that they wished they had gotten help for their child earlier.
I wish I had learned earlier of his need for speech therapy. I thought he was falling behind around when he turned 2, but when I would talk to family and friends they would say "kids learn at different rates" or "boys are slower to learn."
I wish I had known sooner. I wish I had sought out a speech-language evaluation and therapy sooner. Well-meaning friends and family members dismiss parent concerns with comments like “kids develop at their own pace”, or “when s/he is ready, it will come”. Many doctors often also advise a "wait and see" approach. We want to allay fears and reassure those we love. We want to hope for the best. And there is some truth to these statements. Kids do develop at different paces. But the reality is that speech, language, and communication skills do not come easily and naturally to every child. Not every child "catches up" or develops appropriate speech, language, or communication skills on their own. Some children need specialized help. There is no shame in that.
I wish the neurologist, psychiatrist, pediatrician, ...SOMEONE, had said something!
Wait and see. The trouble with this approach is that precious time is wasted. The earlier intervention is started the better the outcomes. Why wait and let a child struggle? Why wait and let them become frustrated by their difficulty speaking, understanding or communicating? There is no harm in checking now. And it can make all the difference in your child’s future.
Please help spread the word!
- If you are a friend or family member: Listen. Be supportive. And encourage any parent who has a concern regarding their child's development to get it checked out by a qualified professional.
- If you are a doctor, teacher, or other professional: when a parent comes to you with a concern (or if you observe a concern) regarding the speech-language development of their child, refer them to a speech-language pathologist for a professional opinion and recommendations.
- Parents: Trust your "gut"! There is no shame if your child needs speech-language therapy. And there is no good reason to wait! By getting your concerns checked out immediately, you are giving your child the best chance of realizing their full potential and avoiding unnecessary stress and frustration.
Earlier intervention can make a difference! The only professional fully qualified to determine if a speech-language based delay or disorder is present is a speech-language pathologist. A speech-language pathologist can assess to determine if a child’s “problem” is a normal stage of development or a speech or language disorder. Don’t wait. If you have concerns, trust your “gut”. Help is available! Seeking the professional opinion of a speech-language pathologist can put your mind at ease, or put you on the path to finding the help your child needs.
Check back next week for my blog post on the next theme: parent education!
I linked up with Consonantly Speaking's Better Hearing & Speech Month (BHSM) Linky Party 2015
You might also like the following posts:
Apraxia, Fluency, Voice, on my! The S in SLP
Receptive, Expressive; Oral, Written - The L in SLP
Putting it all together: Communication