My son Benjamin is bright and can do what some four-year-old children can’t, like swim and ride a two-wheel bike. But he has a speech impairment and developmental delays. I tried to get help when he was two because he would just sit on the floor and cry when he could not express in any way what he wanted. Early Steps turned him down because he had good motor skills; and when he entered Head Start, they tested him for speech and passed him because they did not want to deal with him.
Now he is in preschool, and they tested him and found that his development is almost two years behind and his speech impairment is kind of bad. My question is … should I get other testing done by, say, a geneticist or a neurologist for different things? Should I put him and myself through this?
It is unfortunate that he did not get help earlier. It is critical that all of his needs be addressed now. Have you been to the public school yet? He is eligible for a program called Child Find. The public school team will assess for motor, cognitive, language, and social concerns. If they find concerns, the appropriate interventions should be provided by the public school. I would get these efforts started first. Depending on the findings, you might discuss with his family doctor whether medical evaluations would help clarify the reasons for his difficulties.