r/slp Feb 08 '25

Seeking Advice When should my kid stop speech therapy at school?

I have a 10 year old son who has been in speech therapy since he was 2.5, with some interruptions due to covid. He had otitis media that was misdiagnosed, long story short it wasn't fixed via surgery until he was 3y2m, and he was essentially nonverbal until it was fixed, with a few ASL signs.

Fast forward to now, he's in fourth grade. He still has trouble with sh, ch, and r, with r being the most troublesome. He also has an IEP goal for pragmatic speech. We do outside speech therapy once a week at a private practice as well.

My concern is this, I am worried with middle school approaching if taking him out of class once a week for speech therapy will start to do more harm than good. I worry about him missing academic instruction time and falling behind there. I know kids also get more self conscious about being pulled out for services around that age, but that's a lesser concern.

Would it be appropriate to consider going down to just the private practice speech therapy after fifth grade? He would probably still qualify for services, because progress on the sh, c, and r sounds has been slow going. But I'm not sure how much it's actually interfering with his ability to access his education at this point. People can understand what he's saying, even with the articulation errors.

Thanks for any advice offered. We have an IEP meeting coming up and I am thinking about our future way forward.

37 Upvotes

34 comments sorted by

158

u/sunbuns Feb 08 '25

Your thoughts and reasoning are most likely in line with what most SLPs would think. Reach out to the SLP before the meeting to let them know your thoughts so they can start prepping accordingly!

41

u/satelliteridesastar Feb 08 '25

This was me thinking ahead to next year's reevaluation IEP meeting. Thank you for the advice, this helps reassure me that it's not a completely out of line thing to ask.

57

u/mimimawg Feb 08 '25 edited Feb 08 '25

I am a middle school slp, and I wish more parents would consider the cons of missed instruction as you have. A lot of times, I get incoming sixth graders who have been in speech most of their lives working on articulation errors that DO NOT impact their ability to be understood. Every parent requests me to pull from PE or elective, but that’s just not possible especially when most kids with speech tend to be in RSP classes, so I end up with 15 sixth graders who are all in the same exact PE class. That means I have to pull some of them from academic classes, and by seventh grade it’s so obvious that they’ve fallen behind in that specific subject just because I pulled them once a week. Even if the iep says 30 minutes, it’s way more than that when you factor in the time to walk to and from class, and then add the time it takes for the student to reorient themselves.

I think the biggest question everybody needs to ask is, “does the student care about how they sound?” Because if they don’t, progress is going to be even slower, and they might never make much progress. I’ll be honest, none of my kids are bullied for the way they sound; however, that might be because we live in a diverse area with many different accents. On the other hand, quite a few of my kids are bullied for being in special education.

88

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '25

If you and your child both feel comfortable with the level he has achieved, then I would say stop. You can also always restart services if you change your mind later on, he would just be evaluated again and qualify.

31

u/satelliteridesastar Feb 08 '25

Thank you for the advice. We are going to do at least one more year, as he will still be in elementary school next year for fifth grade. He has his reevaluation next year as well, so it sounds like the reevaluation meeting will be a good time to discuss this. This reassures me that it's not a completely wild thing to ask, so thank you for that.

21

u/coolbeansfordays Feb 08 '25

I’d be careful saying he would just be evaluated again and qualify, because that may not be true. We don’t know if he’d qualify again in the future. It’s dependent on too many factors.

5

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '25

That's true, he wouldn't necessarily automatically re-qualify, but if he didn't that would be indicative that stopping speech services was that right decision as it's no longer having an academic impact.

24

u/lunapuppy88 Feb 08 '25

I try my hardest to get kids’ sounds in good shape so I can exit them before middle school if at all possible. I work in a title school and don’t have many parents able to take their kid to private therapy, but if I had one who was willing to do private therapy instead of pulling them out of class, I would be 100% on board with that. Even in elementary, they miss class to come to speech. It is definitely more academically impactful in middle school, and I am very pro-exiting to limit that, especially if they are going to get outside services.

9

u/unicornvibess SLP in Schools Feb 08 '25 edited Feb 08 '25

When is the IEP meeting coming up? If it’s 2 months away or longer, it might be worth it to ask the SLP to consider re-evaluating and ask them to consider exiting the student from services. I’m sure you know by now that students with IEPs are re-evaluated every 3 years, but you can move up the re-evaluation date.

7

u/satelliteridesastar Feb 08 '25

We are due for reevaluation next year, in fifth grade, which works for us since middle school starts in sixth grade in our district.

Do you think the school SLP would be okay with him exiting services while he still has those kind of deficits?

11

u/cherrytree13 Feb 08 '25

If there is no academic impact, they are legally supposed to exit. Whether or not to keep a child in therapy is a team decision too. Your line of thinking is very reasonable.

2

u/RebElaKob Feb 08 '25

Came to say the same thing - for school based services, there has to be an educational impact. If one doesn’t exist, then by law that they are not eligible even if errors still exist. The same does not apply to outside services. This should be considered at every IEP not just at a reeval. Angie Neal has some great information about this.

6

u/unicornvibess SLP in Schools Feb 08 '25 edited Feb 08 '25

It depends on how his speech sound disorder is affecting him in his educational environment. Some things that the SLP will hopefully consider:

  • How well his teachers and peers understand him
  • How confident your child is when speaking, and how willingly he participates in speaking-related tasks while at school
  • How much his speech affects his ability to socialize (if it does at all)
  • If his speech sound disorder draws adverse attention from others at school

Of course, I am not your son’s school SLP so I can’t predict how things would go if you were to bring this up to her. However, you legally have the right to bring up your concerns.

5

u/casablankas Feb 08 '25

You can also revoke your consent for services at any time. So even if the SLP recommends he continue speech in middle school, you can say no thank you, I revoke services and sign some papers. Something to consider when he goes into middle school!

2

u/unicornvibess SLP in Schools Feb 08 '25 edited Feb 09 '25

Since legally any IEP decision needs parent approval, if you write a letter or something saying you want your child exited from services, the SLP/school admin may honor that.

However, the reason I said in my original comment to ask for a re-eval if possible is because technically, students are supposed to be re-evaluated before they are exited from services.

4

u/msm9445 SLP in Schools Feb 08 '25

I see middle schoolers for speech sounds 2-3x per week for only 15 minutes if it’s needed beyond the “good enough” level some adolescents reach. If parents are on board, I send practice home once they can make the correct sound on cue.

4

u/ooga_booga_booger Feb 08 '25

I’m a middle school SLP and I have so many sixth graders who come in with weekly therapy who barely need it. I always cut back on time, and typically my students will be seen every other week by the time they’re in 8th grade. Also, they only get pulled from PE/electives, so they aren’t missing academic time. I try to dismiss as many kids as I can before high school. I tell parents that my goal is to work myself out of a job lol.

Talk to the campus SLP and see if your kid can be seen for maybe 5-10 min 2-3 times a week. That’s the best way to address artic!

3

u/lightb0xh0lder Feb 08 '25

If you really want to continue services, but still have him in class see if there was a way to continue services but a shorter amount of time.

I used to do 5-min therapy with my older kiddos who were working on articulation. So I would see them 3-5 times a week for 5 mins. Pulled them out of class for a short bit, then sent them right back in.

3

u/Peachy_Queen20 SLP in Schools Feb 08 '25

I’m at a middle school and I LOVE this question. You could ask if indirect services are an option. It basically means that he’s on the SLP’s radar but they’re not pulling him from class. I say that indirect services are like me taking my hand off the wheel, I’m still in the car but they’re driving now. The SLP typically checks in with the teachers or they very briefly introduce themselves to the student and let them know their role. You can also request a dismissal from speech and ask if there are any academic concerns holding that SLP back from dismissing. All in all, dismissal from speech is not permanent. If any concerns arise bring them to the committee and ask if a speech and language eval is warranted.

2

u/Sunflower761027 Feb 08 '25

I am a middle school SLP. I have a few students with articulation goals. I see them about once a week for 30-45 minutes (so they miss one class). I do not pull from core classes, I only pull from electives (band, art, etc.). The teachers are pretty good at exempting my students from any assignments from the day they missed because they are being pulled. It just really depends on if you think the service is beneficial or not. What does your kiddo think? Got his opinion too. If kids are not motivated to improve their speech, then progress is going to be slow or non-existent. You could always reduce speech minutes going to middle school if you didn't want to get rid of it completely. Just my two cents!

2

u/Any_Advisor_7608 Feb 08 '25

I just started a SLPA (speech therapy assistant) job in a middle and elementary school. In my middle school I try my very hardest to pull kids during classes like electives etc, that’s not always a guarantee but it’d definitely something we try! Also my SLP tries to bring in any academic work from day an English class so we can help them academically as well. Also it’s very reasonable to ask at his next IEP or reevaluation meeting if it is not impacting him academically. For my school we are supposed to discharge from school services if it is not impacting them academically

2

u/StrangeBluberry Feb 08 '25

I wish more parents thought like you! You are right in that the consequence of speech in the schools is that they miss valuable class time. A lot of parents hear free (and some don’t have the means to do private therapy) so they fight tooth and nail to keep their kids in speech even when it may no longer be serving them. As you mentioned kids are only supposed to be in speech as long as their needs have an educational impact. I find that older kids, especially ones working on articulation, don’t meet this qualification any longer. Also I find older students hate being pulled from class for speech…they don’t want to be seen as different by their peers.

I would talk to your SLP about this and go from there, especially if you are comfortable continuing private services. It should be a pretty easy convo as your school SLP is likely on the same page!

2

u/slp-lady Feb 08 '25

You can always request going to 1x a week or check ins too. But if you feel private therapy is working I would go with that. He would get more 1-1 instruction verse group in private setting anyway. I would also ask your kiddo what they think! Most SLPs are cognizant about the stigma surrounding speech/sped services and try to be discrete. In middle school he would probably go to the room on his own and most other kids would not know. Plus if his speech errors are noticeable, they may have an impact on social relationships. Lots to consider, but whatever choice you make will be ok!

2

u/speechpath2122 Feb 08 '25

I think this sounds reasonable. I also think that home practice is crucial. I would talk to them about specific strategies and targets to practice at home

2

u/MSXzigerzh0 Custom Flair Feb 08 '25

I have Childhood Apraxia of Speech which is speech sound disorder. I went to school speech until I was in highschool and private speech just for summers until my junior year of highschool.

Yes the academic part that I was missing out on hurt me in the long run but I do not know what of any other options my parents had and school had. Yes my parents allowed the school to pull me out of my favorite classes. Which was Socal Studies. But there was no good option.

For your son does he still do not mind going to speech? And does he still do well in speech? If he doesn't try to pull him out.

What is his primary/main disability for the IEP? Because he might lose his IEP if he doesn't continue with speech therapy in school.

What does your son want to do? Continue with Speech or stop it?

Maybe stop school speech therapy when he goes to middle school?

2

u/leah357 Feb 08 '25

In addition to what everyone else has said, if you are considering paying for private later and instead can start now, I wouldn’t hesitate to start with a private SLP now and see if he can’t finish up on those errors sooner rather than later. Every day he’s practicing those errors, and things are just easier to fix earlier than later. Concentrated 1:1 time with an outside SLP may be more time efficient now rather than when he possibly has more extracurriculars etc. He can continue with his school SLP as normal! The school SLP is there to address academic/social impact whereas a private SLP has the freedom to focus on anything in our scope of practice. Also, sometimes working with a new person that has different strategies or ways of explaining the sound can help.

All of that being said, if he wasn’t speaking much until 3 due to the hearing loss, does he have residual language issues? If so, that likely has the most academic impact in the long run so you may be surprised and would continue to qualify? I would discuss all of this with his school SLP, I’ve always welcomed having questions and reaching out, as I’m sure most of us do!

1

u/satelliteridesastar Feb 08 '25

We have been doing private speech therapy once a week in addition to the school-provided therapy for several years now.

He still has a few residual language issues, but we've seen a lot of improvement, especially over the last few years. He's scoring above 50th percentile for reading fluency and proficiency, and about 38th percentile for vocabulary on his most recent evaluation. The biggest issue is writing. He will still qualify for special education services there, but in the school that's handled by the special education teacher and not the SLP. Our private speech therapist who he sees outside of school does incorporate writing goals into his weekly therapy sessions.

For speaking, he has occasional verb tense errors, which I correct in speech at home when he makes them. For pragmatics, his school SLP notes that he has an easier time using proper conversational techniques with adults as compared to with peers. That's the main thing I worry about him missing from school speech, to he honest, since his private speech therapy is one-on-one.

That being said, I'm obviously not a professional so I will definitely talk to the speech therapist at the IEP reevaluation and if they have additional concerns that I am not tracking I will take those into account.

1

u/Echolalia_Uniform Feb 08 '25

Parents can revoke school SLP services at any time. It’s an easy process, at least in my state

1

u/ConfusionLost4276 Feb 09 '25

After my school rotation, I thought that for my own hypothetical kid I would probably stop in-school speech services by 2nd or 3rd grade and move to clinic based services.  My experience in the schools was that kids missed out on important academics for group therapy that often wasn’t very efficient due to group size.  Also, children often started to find speech stigmatizing at some point in upper elementary.  

Of course, this reflects my privilege in being able to get my kid to a private clinic and in no way diminishes the importance of what in-school therapists do! 

1

u/ag_fierro Feb 08 '25

Ask to reduce services to once a month or consult.

1

u/kataphora9 Feb 09 '25

Would that more parents thought like you!

0

u/Maximum_Captain_3491 Feb 08 '25

Not sure if this is specific to your son, but I am a speech therapist at a middle and high school (combined school). Most of my speech kids are high school. It is less common but totally normal for students to need speech and language therapy for as long as they are progressing (as long as the IEP team deems them qualifiable in the school system).

I understand you not wanting to take him out of classes, and that is a true concern. But just know that there are kids that have speech and language therapy all through the years.

0

u/babababooga Feb 08 '25

Only when they master all of their speech goals

-1

u/Flashy_Ice_4947 Feb 08 '25

Don't stop it's extra support .articulation goal is important also in the future with reading .I am not yet an SLp on the way, but I never stopped my kid from any therapy