need advice

Writing is the most difficult task for many of our kids; I invite you to join the Struggling with Writing Group at community.greatschools.net/groups/12817

My child also had a major speech delay. She received intensive speech therapy starting at the age of 18 months and ended when she turned 4. I have and still do have the same problem, when it comes to explaining oneself. NN can now explain herself verbally, and the same problem is now in her writing. For verbal, I would stopped NN when she was not explaining in the who, what, when, where, why and how context. I than repeated the question, and than repeat again one of the 6 Ws. It is a bit tedious, but well worth it, since it can be done whenever the opportunity arises. Tedious, because it may happen 20 times plus throughout the day.
Does anyone have any ideas, when this is found in writing?

my son is receiving speech therapy. I also didn't realize they could extend beyond what they are already offering him. Thanks that a big help!

I agree with teachnmom - I would seek advice from a SLP. My son has a tremendous vocabulary and excellent receptive language skills. But, he sometimes has difficulty finding the word he wants to use and organizing his responses to open ended questions like you noted. This impacts his ability to easily express himself in writing. Not a concern for you in Kindergarten, but going forward to grades 3 and above it can make school difficult!

SLP can help with many aspects of oral language - and the earlier he gets the help, the better.

If you suspect a speech difficulty, I would make a written request to your school district to evaluate his speech. Be sure to note what kinds of issues you are concerned with so that they assess all areas of concern (and not just articulation or vocabulary). Under the child find provision of IDEA (special ed law) they must evaluate in about 60 school days (it varies by state). Once the evaluation is complete, you will meet with a team of teachers including a speech and language pathologist, regular ed teacher and special ed teacher to determine if he has a disability that warrants speech services. If so, together you will build an IEP (individualized education program) that outlines the goals and services that your child requires.

If you do not feel comfortable waiting for the school (because at best you would get the answers sometime in November), you can work with your doctor to try and get a referral for a private evaluation. Often times these evaluations are much more thorough and diagnostic. However, schools do not have to accept the recommendations, they need only to "consider" them. But, with any luck, insurance might pay for therapy.

Speech and language challenges can improve. But, without intervention they can make learning and social interactions difficult. Things like following directions, understanding instruction that is presented orally and working in groups can be difficult if there is a speech and language problem.

I urge you to seek professional advice. Your intuition is telling you something and my experience is that moms truly know what is best!