If you are wondering about how your child’s communication skills are developing, and wonder is turning to worry, please do not take a ‘wait-and-see’ approach. It is best to find out as early as possible if there are delays or differences with your child’s development, as support and intervention can take time to reach full effect.
Here is Shay Grant’s story. Shay is a parent and former client of Tongue Twisters:
I first started worrying that my son was having difficulties with language when he was around one year old. He was a very active baby but was reluctant to make many sounds, and none of them were clear words. By 18 months I knew that he was definitely having trouble talking, and so consulted with a speech therapist thanks to a GP referral. I was assured that what he was doing wasn’t something to be concerned about and to just leave him to develop in his own time.
For the next two years I repeatedly sought the advice of our GP, and support from friends and family. I knew in my heart that my boy was struggling, but was constantly dismissed as worrying too much, or being too demanding on him. When he was four years and four months old, I discovered Tongue Twisters, and from the first visit Melva was able to identify gaps in my son’s speech and immediately started working with him to improve his speech and language.
After a couple of months, he was using a few clear words, but this was only the start of the change. He started socialising with other children at daycare rather than clinging to the teacher. He had less tantrums as he was able to tell us what he needed, and was more settled when other people were around.
By the time he started school, my boy was still far behind his peers, and I know this made the transition difficult for him. I often wonder what his first year at school would have been like if we had started therapy when he was younger, and feel guilty that I didn’t push for more help. Melva also helped us to identify an Auditory Processing Disorder in my son, and this time we acted immediately and sought professional help. As a result, he is a thriving, happy seven year old who loves school and will now talk to anyone he meets. We are so grateful for Melva’s support and expertise!
Shay Grant
It is beneficial to get any concerns about children’s speech and language development assessed by a Speech Language Therapist. If you would like to book an assessment, contact me. As a Speech Language Therapist I am a registered member with NZSTA. Email me at melva@tonguetwisters.co.nz