Speech Therapy Concerns: Dos and Don’ts for Preschool Teachers

It seems that every year there are more and more children in speech therapy before kindergarten. Parents are hypersensitive to how their children speak and how “well” they compare on speech problems with other children they know of the same age.

As teachers, we need to remind them that, as with other areas of development, each child progresses in speech and language at a different rate. It is very common to say “Otay” instead of “Okay” or “Tefelon” instead of “phone” in the preschool years. Many three-year-olds will say “He went to the beach.” You can progress to “He goes to the beach” or “He goes to the beach.” The correct use of pronouns (personal and proper), as well as verb tenses, are part of the growth and development of preschool speech and language. It is when a pattern of use that is outside the developmental norm can be seen in their speech or language that teachers should raise a red flag.

As teachers, parents ask us to answer some questions that are not easy to answer. When we are asked if we think your child has a speech problem or a language problem, we have to be very careful about how we respond. If we answer yes, we have just labeled that child and the parent assumes we are correct because, after all, we are the experts when it comes to children.

Now, don’t get lost with my next statement, it’s blunt but true: we must remember that we are NOT speech and language experts (unless of course you have your degree in speech and language pathology). We should NOT tell parents that we think their child has a speech or language problem. We once told a parent that his child had been “diagnosed by an expert.”

A speech problem refers to a problem with the production of sounds. A language disorder refers to having difficulty understanding or putting words together to communicate thoughts or ideas.

The child’s problem is often not simply a speech or language disorder. A child may have one of many other things that are affecting him and the problems he sees in his speech and language may actually be a symptom of this other problem.

A child with speech problems may have a hearing or inner ear problem that has not yet been detected. The language-impaired child may have sensory/sensory integration issues or may simply speak a different language at home and her “problem” is learning a new language.

As preschool teachers, we have training and experience that let us know when children don’t seem to be developing within typical milestones. Our role is to know what the developmental standards are for speech and language acquisition (as well as other areas of growth and development) for the ages of the children in our care.

The best and most appropriate steps we can take to ensure we handle development issues professionally and within the limits of our training are to:

1. Stay current on growth and development training.

Contact a local speech/language pathologist to set up basic training on what to look for in terms of developmental norms and red flags.

2. Observe and record… OFTEN!

Part of our day should be devoted to recording observations of children in our programs. If you or a parent is concerned about a child’s speech or language development, record conversations. Write EXACTLY what the child says. Do this for a period of time and then check your results. Are there common patterns (eg, of sound replacements: child replaces the “ch” sound with a “t” sound)?

Once you’ve reviewed your observations, look at the developmental expectations for that age. Is what you are observing common for this age group?

3. When in doubt, consult an expert in the field. We are experts in typical child growth and development. Once you have determined that a speech or language pattern with a child appears to be out of the ordinary, ask an expert for their opinion on whether or not to refer this family for a professional evaluation.

4. When talking to parents about their child’s developmental concerns, don’t present yourself as an expert in that field (again, we’re not speech therapists, occupational therapists, etc.).

Let the parents know that, based on your training and experience, you think it would be a good idea for them to get an opinion from their child’s doctor or a specialist regarding ________(fill in the blank: speech, motor control, etc. . ).

Remind parents that all children grow and develop at different rates and that there may be a window of six to eight months for each age group. Rate your concern by letting them know what you, as a trained child growth and development professional, would expect to see children this age doing in your area of ​​concern. Offer them a written summary of your observations. (Not a copy of your observation reports for each day, but a typed summary that “consistently replaces the ‘ch’ sound with the ‘t’ sound.”)