Speech progress

I thought it might be relevant to include an update on any developmental issues we had encountered with Connor.  I have no idea if this is related to Connor's scaphacephaly and any possible pressure on the brain.  But nonetheless, I mention it in case it resonates with anyone else reading who knows a cranio child.

At 3 years and 10 months, I decided to take Connor to a speech pathologist recommended by our local Maternal Health nurse, for the purpose of having his progress assessed prior to his commencing pre-school the following year.  At that stage Connor's speech definitely lagged behind his peers at playgroup.  I could understand him but people outside the family had difficulty.  The speech pathologist was kind enough to send me an email report summarising her opinion following our visit.  I have pasted it in below, together with her six month follow up opinion. 

Speech Pathologists opinion - First visit - 8 December, 2010 - age 3 years, 10 mths:

Thankyou for bringing Connor to speech pathology today for assessment.

I assessed Connor for speech articulation but we also discussed some other areas of his development.

1. Speech Articulation

Connor is presenting with a mild delay in phonological development. It is not clear whether the tongue tie is contributing to this delay but is possibly mildly affecting 'l' at this time. Errors noted were:

deleting consonants at the end of words (eg. bus to buh)
deleting consonants in the middle of words ( eg. window to wi - oh)
deleting the weak syllable (eg. flower to flow, matches to mat)
substituting 'w' or 'y' for 'l' (age appropriate but consistent)

I did feel that Connor is not yet attending well enough socially to benefit fully from therapy for these errors and it is still possible that some self correction may occur. Connor was able to produce an approximation of 'l' which is encouraging as far as future progress is concerned.

We agreed that I will review Connor in 6 months.

2. Social development

Connor presented with mild delays in this area and this was evident early in the session. He was hypersensitive to my approach and showed limited eye contact throughout the session. He was also less responsive to my direct questions and praise feedback than would typically be expected. However, he appeared to enjoy the task, he know many of the words and did complete the testing with help. He was generally compliant which was great! You also mentioned that Connor has some history of hesitations or sensitivity in his social peer group.

I would recommend that we discuss this area again when you return in 6 months. At that time he will have had an opportunity to show how he is doing within his age peer group. His teacher may also be able to make observations about this area as she will have extended observation opportunities. I would recommend that you consider an OT assessment at any time if you feel that his sensory processing is making things more difficult than they need to be and I can direct you to my preferred colleagues if you wish.

Please contact me if you have any questions or feedback following our consultation today. I look forward to seeing you again in 6 months and for the time being, I have place Connor on my waiting list for therapy.

Speech Pathologists opinion - Follow-up visit - 3 June, 2011 - age 4 years 4 months
 
Thankyou for bringing Connor back for review today. He has shown rapid improvement over the last 6 months in his speech clarity and falls within the average range now. He has corrected his pattern of dropping syllables and end sounds from words and has all of the sounds present (except L) which we would expect for his age. He replaces L with W or Y which is very common in this age group. This will probably self correct but if still present in 12 months, you are welcome to bring him back for another review.


I was pleased to hear that Connor is settling well socially at kinder. He certainly listened well to me during the session and responded more rapidly than when I saw him late last year. Of course if you or his teacher have any more concerns about his social use of language you can get back in touch anytime.