Well, we had Landon tested by the school district's speech language pathologist and we got his results today. He has Phonological Disorder, which is a type of speech disorder known as an articulation disorder. Children with this disorder do not use some or all of the speech sounds expected of their age groups. We knew Landon was having difficulty with some sounds because some people have a hard time understanding, especially when he talks for an extended amount of time, like when he is telling a story. Landon had ear tubes inserted in the summer to drain fluid that had been retained in his ear and we are told that he may have "learned" an easier way for him to pronounce things since he couldn't actually make out the distinct sound differences between some letters. Now he will start going to speech therapy two times a week to try and "unlearn" it and learn it correctly. He has a moderate form of the disorder. He is very excited though because he gets to go to an elementary school and he says "I go to big kid school!" He loves Mrs. Leslie too. She's a sweet and is also expecting a child (her first) the beginning of June so we get to be "growing belly buddies" as she said:) Katelyn and I get to wait in the front lobby, which Katelyn thinks is great because she gets to watch all the school kids walk by. I've decided we will work on Katelyn's "schooling" that half hour. The other curve ball we were given is that because he is receiving special education services he automatically becomes eligible for their Pre-K program next year which is 5 days a week from 8 to 1. We didn't qualify for it before since we were over income so we had gone and signed he up for a two day a week (9-2) pre-school through a local church but it would cost us $1200 and the pre-k is free. Ugh, decisions. I personally don't know if I am ready to part with my "big" boy all week long though. Mrs. Leslie recommends the pre-k program because unlike the church preschool, at the pre-k one the teachers are made aware of his speech disorder and work it into their daily routine. For example, they have a chart they keep track of throughout the day on how he uses his speech and then they report it to the therapist who sees Landon three days a week. I think Katelyn might have a hard time parting with Landon that long, then again, we will have baby girl here by then so it might be easier over all. So what do you think? Is a 5 day a week program too much for a four year old? Or is it worth it because he gets that extra attention on a daily basis? Feed back please.
