Is this a normal thing?

[AmyP]

Sarah doesn't talk yet and she just turned 2. I've been begging EI for speech therapy for her for the last six months. Finally, at our last appointment, her teacher told me that our county's EI doesn't give children speech therapy until they're talking. :wtf: She said she would continue to work on language development, and she would get a speech therapist to evaluate her. She said it was unlikely we'd get speech therapy from EI because of their rules and suggested we seek speech therapy elsewhere. Even her teacher basically said she didn't agree with the rules.

Is this normal? What are the rules in your county for speech therapy? I'm annoyed that the county isn't providing Sarah the services she needs and I'm having to go outside and pay for therapy she should be getting for free. It's a 20-30 minute drive, and $180 for the evaluation and $25 per session. We can afford it, but it's money we shouldn't have to spend.

[Jillian]

Those definitely aren't our rules here...

But Kris ran into this for Fisher a couple months ago (and they moved to a new district)...so I guess it's definitely not unheard of...you're only the second person I've ever heard it from though, it's absurd!

[Karri]

Its different everywhere. I've seen plenty of ads for private child speech therapists, so I have to assume that there is a reason they stay in business.

Its different here. You qualify if you're 25% delayed in expressive or receptive. Up till age 3, you're under the Birth to 3 Program, which the County pays for. After that, its the school district. We've qualified under both.

[Bonnie]

I'd definitely get the official word from your county program and if that is true, look into private therapy... perhaps get your insurance to pay for it. Courtney was in EI from birth to 3 and had speech way before she was even 2... she also went to Special Ed. preschool before turning 2 and had speech there, but she also gets speech through our insurance at Children's Hospital developmental clinic... and now that she is 3, she will get therapy at her new preschool, through the school district.

Talk to your pediatrician about what is available in your area. We have a $10 co-pay per visit at Children's, and the therapy has been wonderful.

[MrsPeacefrog]

I have been paying for speech therapy for Aiden since he was 3 (he is 4 1/2 now) I pay $55 for a 30 minute session, every two weeks, I think $25 is a bargain :lol: The waiting lists for free speech therapy here was about 10 months long and I refused to have him wait another 10 months to get help so I swallowed the cost. I stuck with the private one once he started because I really liked her and didn't want to change him from his teacher after working with her for 10 months.

Can't you just pay for the initial consult, get a report and then use that as proof that she needs it and use that to get the free therapy?

[AmyP]

I talked to the pediatrician about what's available at her 2-year appointment and she suggested this clinic (at my old college) as well as one at another college (where DH goes for grad school). Our insurance charges a $30 co-pay for a specialist, so $25 is actually a bargain. The other clinic I contacted operates on a sliding scale according to income, so I have a feeling I'm going to be paying more than $25-$30 per session. The pediatrician did say that Sarah absolutely needs speech therapy at this point.

Deb, I like your idea. Maybe if I get the initial evaluation and show it to the county, they'll give us free services. It's worth a shot anyway. We'll see Sarah's teacher this Tuesday and I'm hoping she can tell me if/when the speech therapist is evaluating her.

[Brandi]

That's crazy! Heather started with a speech therapist at 20 months. She was saying less than 5 words. EI is so different everywhere. We had a $150 monthly fee!

I think you should get the ST. It's bogus to say that they need to start talking to get it. What a crock!

[Brooke]

When I had Rebekah evaluated by anne arundel county, she was 21 months old but only at the 14-month level for expressive language. So she qualified for services. However, the therapist told me to wait until she was 2 and see if she had an "explosion" of words. If she was still behind at her 2nd birthday, then they would start therapy.

So she didn't have to be talking to start therapy.

Also, alot of the kids that come to my work for OT also go to speech and several of them don't talk at all, just make sounds. So I think either Sarah's teacher is wrong, or your county's rules for speech therapy stink.

[Ana975]

Hi Amy, I can't remember where you live but I have a friend who is getting her master's in speech therapy in Baltimore so if you need any info I can give you her email and you can ask any questions you may have. If you live in Baltimore or close to it, maybe she can even get together with you and Sarah.

[Dennis]

Definitely press it. Joe got speech therapy from early intervention when he was around a year old.

[AmyP]

Ana - I do live in Baltimore. If she's going to Towson University, we may wind up seeing her anyway.

Her teacher is now tellin me that's not the rule. Just the way they do things. :dunno: Her evaluation is on Tuesday through the clinic, and the county is checking her out about a week later. I am just going to wait and see what everyone says and then make a decision.