Speech Therapy
I've had a lot of people ask me how Will's speech therapy has been going. Honestly, it's amazing. Granted, he's not up to the 250 words he should have right now, but we've went from 15 to around 50 in less than six months. That being said, it really ticks me off when I read articles like this one who blame the parents for their kids not talking.
The person who wrote this article did not do their homework at all. Want to know why? First, per my speech therapist, a lot of this is genetic. One of the first questions she asked me after our first session was if there was speech issues in our families (my sister had speech therapy for alliteration issues when she was in elementary school. Plus, we found out that several cousin's kids have been in speech therapy too). Second, I told my pediatrician at Will's 18 month appt that I thought he was behind. They dismissed my concerns and six months later we entered speech therapy, because he started losing words. Why didn't they refer us at 18 month or earlier when I expressed my concerns? The answer I was told was because he was a boy and walked early (at 9 months) that he would talk late. When doctors dismiss mother's concerns based on the fact that the kid is a boy, I can see how the study see this big problem with boys. Next, they comment that too many people put their kids in front of the TV. Guess what? Part of Will's therapy is to watch Diego and Dora. Has it helped? Yes! He actually talks to Diego and Dora.
I get that in some cases that parents are too busy to talk to their children, but to claim that in the majority of the cases, I disagree. I've taken statistics — you can make any study pretty much say whatever you want. The article quotes anecdotal evidence. That means we are going to make it say what we want. Plus, if you blame the parents, then they don't have to cover the help these kids need.
I'd love to know your thoughts. Since I have a kid who never shuts and one in speech therapy, I am a little biased in my thoughts on this topic. What did you think of the article? Do you agree? Disagree?
8 thoughts on “Speech Therapy”
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I read that study and I was very angry to say the least. It's easy to blame parents for everything. It's funny that the study's author mentions "anecdotal evidence", even warns about it, yet continues to use it to base her study upon it. Why not use the experts i.e. speech therapists for her study?
I actually showed this to our speech therapist and she agreed with my assessment of it. She said that you would never see a speech therapist say that.
I used to think that it was partially the parents – but learned quickly that I was COMPLETELY off base. I'm so glad Will's therapy is going well!! That must be a load off your mind 🙂
So what changed your mind? Having kids?
I have 2 children as well and one had speech therapy and the other didn't, so I don't think it is the parents fault either.
Also, my son who had the speech therapy wasn't interested in watching tv until the past few months, so blaming "too much tv" wouldn't have been an option for us.
We were instructed to watch tv too and one that comes to mind were the dvds called Baby Babble. (I am not sure how old your son is so it might be too young for him.)
Our doctors were also dismissive when I brought it up and we had to seek out the help on our own. We completed the therapy 8 months ago because the county said that his speech was normal no longer qualified. However this week his teacher brought up a concern with speech…hmmm.
We'll age out before they kick us out. 🙂 It's frustrating. Plus, people don't realize that we have to pay for this and that insurance often doesn't cover it.
I've only had girls – the oldest had an entire language that we had to decipher, and ended up being a communications major. The second, 4 years younger, never developed her own language.
Both grandkids spoke early – my grandson at age 17 months speaks in 4-5 word sentences. We always encouraged speech in the kids and grandkids.
I’ve have a boy– had speech therapy, so I don’t think it is the parents fault either.,at least i don't agree all the points!