Anyone can make a referral for special education (yes, speech falls under the special education umbrella) at anytime throughout the year. However, I encourage you to first talk to your child's classroom teacher to see if he or she is noticing the same things in the classroom that you are noticing at home. If your child's teacher has noticed some issues, ask if and how these difficulties are affecting your child in the classroom. The teacher, or you and teacher, can then come and talk to me about your concerns. After reviewing these concerns and developmental expectations for your child, we might then decide whether to pursue a referral for special education or if it might be more appropriate for your child to enter a pre-referral intervention program (RtI). This program can be conducted for up to 12 weeks during which progress will be measured and reported to you and the classroom teacher. If the child's skills are able to "catch up," the program will be discontinued and no further intervention will be needed. If little or no progress is made, we (as a group) can then determine if a referral for special education is warranted. These steps are only my suggestion and should not prevent you or the classroom teacher from making a referral for special education if you feel the child needs it.

Speech and language are NOT one and the same! As a speech-language pathologist, it is my job to treat both. Here is the difference:

Speech is a term often used when looking at communicating through spoken words made up of sounds. An example of a speech deficit would be the child saying "wabbit" instead of "rabbit" or "thun" instead of "sun." Often times you may hear the term "articulation disorder" to describe speech deficits similar to the example I just gave. Another speech deficit would be frequent use of prolongations, repetitions, and sound blocks, commonly known as stuttering or fluency disorders. An example of this might sound like "I I I I like to go to the ppp-pool on Sat-Saturdays." 

Language is the way we express and understand speech and nonverbal gestures through our use of vocabulary, sentence structure, and our knowledge of social cues and social communication. A child can have deficits in each or all of these. 

I periodically send practice sheets/ calendars home with my students. Student success can be achieved faster when they practice their skills in different environments, especially at home. Parent involvement makes a big difference in the progress of a student! Listen and engage with your child as they practice at home.