Are there any courses or resources i could use to help my 4yr old brother to start speaking? He is delayed.?

Question

my brother is going to school but does not understand much or speak. Does anyone know anything that can help him?

Answer 1

Have his hearing checked. One cannot learn to speak if one cannot hear.

Answer 2

If your brother is 4 years old and not speaking or understanding much, you need to get him assessed.  Go to his school (I'm assuming he goes to a public school) and tell him that you want to make a referral to the special education team. Request a developmental evaluation. Don't let them tell you that they can't do it.  Any child referred has to at least be discussed by the team.  Has his teacher said that she think's he may have a developmental delay?  She may have already referred him to the Child Study team at school.  Another good resource is his pediatrician.  He can do a quick developmental profile in his office and refer him to the local school district for assessment.  If he is lucky and has good insurance, try to get an assessment by a Developmental Pediatrician.  If he is on Medicaid or some public support of any kind, ask his worker or case manager.  Federal Law stipulates that anyone 0 to 21 can receive special services if found in need of them.

Answer 3

Your parents should have him assessed for speech language therapy(SLT) by a speech pathologist. He can be assessed by the school if requested by your parents and/or they can take him to a private provider (see what their insurance covers). In our school district they automatically  screen each child in kindergarten & 1st grade for speech, maybe your school district does the same. The school can provide him with speech therapy (even if he's in pre-k) after the assessment and found eligible at no cost to your parents and/or they can take him to a private facility. My son has autism and has receptive and expressive language disorder, so he receives speech therapy through the school but also a private provider.

It probably couldn't hurt for them to get a referral from his pediatrician to be evaluated for any learning disabilities that may be causing his speech delay and to ask the pediatrician to check his hearing in case he has a problem with his ears.  If he is found to have a learning disability your parents can also request an evaluation for special ed through his school so he can get an IEP, IFSP in place; or a 504 Plan if not eligible for special ed.

Answer 4

He may be autistic.  This can be a very scary and heartbreaking condition.  The good news is that small changes in diet may bring him out of it.

Answer 5

Ask your parents to speak to the speech pathologist who is treating him for activities you can do at home.