KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

slmkhoo wrote:Sounds like your daughter is ok. The problem is that some teachers tend to compare with the ideal and don't have a wide range of tolerance. Same with some doctors. N2 is how old? Some kids don't get all the consonant sounds clear till 7 yo. And few kids are that keen on worksheets at N2!

I agree with point 3 that parents are the best teachers for young kids. Speak clearly to her to model good speech, and give her time to respond. As long as she knows what to aim for, her muscle coordination will catch up eventually. Baded on your description she sounds fine.

Thanks for your assurance...N2 is 4 years old. I actually sent my girl to Phonics class by Edufarm, and the teacher told me that my girl was perfectly fine, and that she is able to follow her class and did the worksheets by herself (though not 100% correct, about 80%). So i am really confused by the different point of view....

Previously, her Childcare teachers told me she's not okay and even comment that she's going K1 next year so I should be worried...then turn out that it was actually they themselves not paying attention to my girl's development. I am not expecting them to look after my girl exclusively, but if they really feel my girl has some issues, shouldn't they start to pay more attention to her rather then just pass such comment and then make my girl go through all these test....only to tell me at the end of the day actually they realize she's okay after paying more attention to her.

And KKH doctors are also doing the 'just to play safe" kind of recommendation. I mean there are really lots of other kids with real issues that need the place at Eipic centres. Anyway I have decided to give up my seat for the Eipic centre so that other kids with real need can get the place earlier (waiting time is 6-9 months!)

I will just let my girl develop at her own pace.....

Hi Tiffany, i am going through a similar situation as you.

My child was actually diagnosed with GDD. 1st is her speech & langague and 2ndly is her gross motor skills.

She went through the hearing test, doing ST and OT at NUH, and EIPIC recommendation.
Eventually upon teacher's advise, we gave up all the therapies in the clinic. I feel that the therapies in the clinic are a waste of time. For every appt, I have to take leave from work to bring her. And the appointments are usually once a month, which I don't think can do much. The doc advised us to enrol her in EIPIC, but I visited the centre and feel that the kids are of more severe cases (no offense) and my child won't be able to fit in. Also, I have no help to send and fetch her from EIPIC. We gave up the slot in the end.

She currently goes for a small group specialized tuition for English and Math and we do see progress in her. The centre also provides speech therapy which she also goes for 1 hr a week.

She is weak academically but I don't think she is a "special-needs" child. Although she still has some form of help, I am still worried as she is going to P1 next year. She still cannot write well, cannot read, and not to mention she cannot read a word of chinese. How to even do HYPY in pri sch?

I am considering to defer her from P1 but then again, many parents have advised me against it.

kay_liz wrote:She is weak academically but I don't think she is a "special-needs" child. Although she still has some form of help, I am still worried as she is going to P1 next year. She still cannot write well, cannot read, and not to mention she cannot read a word of chinese. How to even do HYPY in pri sch?

I am considering to defer her from P1 but then again, many parents have advised me against it.

Why do they advise against deferment? Is it only because of "losing" a year, or are there other reasons? If it's just the "losing a year" I would say that it's not a big deal. It's better to take time to build a good foundation rather than have your child play catch-up all through school. If she is already weak academically, then she is not likely to be able to catch up starting from a lower baseline.

If she is already struggling with 1 language, you could consider applying for MT exemption. Having a GDD diagnosis should help. It would be better to try to get 1 language to a reasonable standard than to struggle with both.

I would agree with getting the deferment, for at least 1-2 years.

For GDD, it’s not really a “specific special needs” case. More of general delay all around. Meaning eventually will catch up with the peers. You just gotta give them extra time period 1-2 years to catch up and they will do fine. It’s kinda “cruel” to force them to start P1 earlier than their bodies’ development is able to.

kay_liz wrote:Hi Tiffany, i am going through a similar situation as you.

My child was actually diagnosed with GDD. 1st is her speech & langague and 2ndly is her gross motor skills.

She went through the hearing test, doing ST and OT at NUH, and EIPIC recommendation.
Eventually upon teacher's advise, we gave up all the therapies in the clinic. I feel that the therapies in the clinic are a waste of time. For every appt, I have to take leave from work to bring her. And the appointments are usually once a month, which I don't think can do much. The doc advised us to enrol her in EIPIC, but I visited the centre and feel that the kids are of more severe cases (no offense) and my child won't be able to fit in. Also, I have no help to send and fetch her from EIPIC. We gave up the slot in the end.

She currently goes for a small group specialized tuition for English and Math and we do see progress in her. The centre also provides speech therapy which she also goes for 1 hr a week.

She is weak academically but I don't think she is a "special-needs" child. Although she still has some form of help, I am still worried as she is going to P1 next year. She still cannot write well, cannot read, and not to mention she cannot read a word of chinese. How to even do HYPY in pri sch?

I am considering to defer her from P1 but then again, many parents have advised me against it.

Hi KayLiz, to be honest, sometimes I feel that it is the school that is pressurizing parents.Teachers are the ones who compare kids in the same class. Once they see a kid that does not talk or read as confidently as the brighter kids, they will label them as slow in development.

Just to update, I went for the Caregiver's course for my girl's speech development recommended by KKH. Halfway through the course, I find it totally irrelevant to me as this course is mainly for parents whose kids are still not making a word. During break, I spoke to the trainer and she ask about my girl's condition. So after much discussion, she said that she suspected KKH doctor referred me to the wrong course! I should be attending a course for "Early Talkers" and not this course.

We have faced such issues ourselves when we were kids. Therefore, I have been telling myself that I do not want to compare my kid to anyone else. After all these episodes with KKH, I too feel it's a waste of our time. All I can say is, trust your gut feel as a mother. To be honest, we must accept the fact that not all kids are Einstein. So don't listen to anyone. If you know your kid has got no medical/genetic issues, just give them some time.

Thanks for sharing this valuable post.
cldxsolutions

my girl is 5 years old this year and also unable to speak clearly and unable to express even though she wanted all the things that she said become unclear.
i am worried she go forSpeech therapy once every 2 weeks. i can see improvements but i think still lacking behind..

We used to have the same issue with our 2nd child. We asked for help from a Speech therapist. The speech therapist will work with your child to improve speech and language skills, and show you what to do at home to help your child. She did helped a lot.

Hi, I've read through the posts trying to find ways to help delayed speech.

From what I've seen, it's
- stoop to eye level
- show mouthing to child

Anything else?

Speech and language is an essential part of any child’s development. Language development impacts your child’s social interactions, behavior and academic skills.