Benjamin's Speech Evaluation

This week I took Ben for a speech evaluation with the Montgomery County Intermediate Learning Center. We have always battled speech issues with him and at his three year exam, the doctor noticed a few sounds that he is still mispronouncing so she suggested I get an evaluation done to see if he would qualify for speech therapy. The services are all free so it's no loss to us and if he does qualify for services, I have heard great things about the outcome of the special help.

So, he met with the speech therapist and she gave him an evaulation to see if she feels he would qualify. We have to wait another few weeks to find out to results, but the evaluation went very well. She evaluated him on usage of language/vocabulary and also on diction/pronunciation. We went into the exam with only a concern in the diction area, but they still evaluate at both levels. As expected, she said that she has absolutely no concerns about his vocabulary or usage of language. He actually scored on a 6 year old level for that part of the exam!

She did notice some inconsistencies with his speech when evaluating him on pronunciation. Several of these sounds (consonant blends and a few consonants) are not expected to be mastered until a later age so they will not be a concern (for now). A few of the others could possibly use some speech therapy to help perfect, but she honestly was not able to gauge whether he will qualify for services until she sits down and scores his results. So, we should know in a few weeks. If he does qualify, he will be set up with a speech therapist at one of the local schools right near our house. So, we will see what happens!