by Deneecer@aol.com » Sat Dec 12, 1998 12:00 pm
I had two children with speech delays, one from cleft
lip/palate and the other from frequent ear infections.
My advice would be to get them into speech as soon as
possible. The school districts have a program for ages 3 years+
that is available at no cost to you. All you need to do is look
in the phone book under the district that you live in and call
the special education office. Tell them you're interested in an
evaluation on your child.
They have many different programs available, based on what
they determine are the problem areas. My son with the cleft
palate would go once a week to the school for a meeting with the
speech therapist there. When he was a baby they did in home
therapy. My other son had a more serious delay and qualified for
the preschool program. He would go to the local school and they
had a classroom set aside for the preschool children. The best
part is that since it's part of the school program there is no
out of pocket cost to you.
I'd be happy to answer any further questions you might have.