What to do with Speech delayed 3 yo

[247mom]

Hello Ladies,
I started my dd (7) in BLHFHG last year, and we love HOD. I also have a 3 yo ds (will be 4 end of Oct.) and a 21mo. old dd. I am trying to figure out if I want to start LHTH with my ds this year, or wait until next year. He has got a mild speech delay- at 18 mos. he didn't say two words, but after a lot of speech therapy, he is doing much better with it. He is SUPER active and tends to have a very short attention span at times. I would really love to have ds 3 and dd 21mos. go through HOD together. I think that will really work for them. So, if I start him in it this year, can I do it again next year with both of my little ones, or would that potentially bore my son? Has anyone else tried that, and if so how did it work for you? I could always just work on some things with him on my own, but I am not a super organized person, so I feel like he may benefit from my using lesson plans. Any advice is greatly appreciated here!
Thanks!

[Starla]

I'm new to HOD as well, but I have a 4 year old daughter who was also speech delayed and is receiving speech therapy and has a short attention span. (She also is VERY active. I have two sons who I thought were very active at her age, but I never knew what "active" was! ) Your son sounds a lot like her. I don't have a LOT to say, because I'm so new to HOD, but I have now just gone through two and a 1/2 units of LHTH with her. The finger plays are great for her speech, because of the rhyming and the repeating of the same thing for 5 days in a row. I can hardly manage going through all the "boxes" at one time with her, (because of her short attention span) but I break it up into two sessions with a play time in between or even wait for an hour or two, then resume. The activities are not long but they are engaging. I also am definitely NOT an organized person, which is one of the reasons I ordered LHTH in the first place - to give her activities each day to look forward to. If I don't have things planned, she'll find many messy things to get into - trust me. Anyway, I don't really have advice to give you, but wanted to say that your son sounds so much like my girl, and I so much related to you and your son. So far, having only started with LHTH it seems to be working well with her. I'm sure some other ladies will share who have lots more experience than me!

[247mom]

Thank you, I really appreciate what you had to say...my son DOES get into huge messes when I am trying to HS my 7yo. I think if I were to do LHTH with him, it would give him some great one-on-one mommy time that will help him have a purpose and feel special. I am really leaning toward this idea...

[netpea]

I've heard Moms on here do LHTH twice, often once with the 2/3 year old books and once with the 4/5 year old books.

[my3sons]

My ds had speech delays as well, and several years of in-home therapy. We did LHTH with him, and he did great with it! He is also very active, so I think your ds would enjoy LHTH. LHTH is such a great way to have some 1:1 mommy time with our little ones. I love that it is all planned out for me, and we have such fun doing it together. Many moms go through LHTH with the 2/3 options, and then again with the 4/5 options. I think this would work well, as the fingerplays are wonderful for speech delays. They made phonics so much more easy for my ds. Your ds would have double-dipped in these great skills and be that much more ready for LHFHG. Likewise, you could combine him with younger dd second time around. This sounds like a good plan to me! I thought you might like seeing the LHTH photobook - it captures the fun of LHTH, as well as the skills that are taught. Here's a link to that...
http://heartofdakotasphotobooks.shutterfly.com/21

In Christ,
Julie

[spidermansmum]

We used LHTH with my littlest one-he has some speech delay .We stretched it out over 2 years .I think LHTH really helped him and he loves it

[KTLM6]

My dd was speech delayed due to hearing difficulties when she was young. She also has a short attention span (diagnosed ADD). She is now 14, but when she was young she struggled a lot. One of the things that helped her enormously was repetition. I am currently doing LHTH with my four year old. While her speech is fine (she never is quiet ), I have noticed similar attention issues. It might just be her age at this point, but I find repetition helps her too. I am planning on doing LHTH twice with her. I think, the second time around using the older activities, she will get a lot more out of it and her motor skills will have improved somewhat. Right now she loves it and is having fun. She doesn't realize she is learning! Best of all, with school only taking around 30 minutes a day, I don't worry that my youngest dd will lose focus. If I see she is getting distracted, I give her break or just move on to the next activity. God Bless!