hold off on kindergarten due to speech delay?

[mariza75]

My daughter turned 5 yrs old in February. She was a micro-preemie (1lb 10oz) and had extensive health issues. She has been the healthiest she's ever been the last year and a half. Despite this, she still has issues with her speech. She attends daycare and is able to get along w/o problems. She is eligible to attend this year but I don't believe that she is ready.I had planned on holding her from kindergarten for one year. I planned on her attending voluntary pre-k but have discovered that Florida doesn't allow this if the child is older than 4 yrs old on Sept. 1. I don't know what to do now. She is scheduled to attend a speech eval but not until after school starts. She is also not ready academically. She is smart but has some delays. Does anyone have any experience with this issue? Will I be doing more harm than good if I hold her back? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  

[specialmom]

I certainly understand your concern and you seem like a really excellent attentive parent!  We are so lucky to live in this country as there are laws protecting your child's education.  She would have qualified for early intervention (much provided free) from birth until age 3.  I'm surprised that her pediatrician didn't put you in contact with these agencies that would have started working on her speech and other delays.  (In my state, a premie such as your daughter would have been automatically referred . . .).  She then would qualify for early intervention programs within your school system until kindergarten age.  She is now 5, but I do think the public school system is still your best spot for her.  They will evaluate her with regards to her speech and any other developmental delays and put into place a program for her that will allow her to learn the best way she can.  It is a law that they have to do this (IDEA).  It hurts at times to have a child called disabled but whatever it takes to get proper schooling for them, then so be it.  She will have a support team at her school (of which you will be part of) that will address her needs.  My son has a developmental delay also called sensory integration/processing disorder.  It is tricky in school to deal with and I'm a nervous wreck as he will be starting kindergarten this fall as well.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do (and would have loved to kept him in preschool another year) but have now met with the school, his teachers and couselors and feel that this will be the best place for him.  I'm in the same boat as he hasn't been in the school system yet, we did all of our therapy and preschool privately until now.  So it is kind of unknown territory.  Your daughter will have speech therapy and other services provided to her by the school.  That is a great thing about the public school system in the US.  These are just my thoughts on the subject and I wish you and your daughter the best.

[specialmom]

one last thought,  I'm so glad she did well with preschool.  This is a good sign as to how she'll do in kindergarten!

[tejodouro]

I was in the same situation as you are. I thought that my daughter who has a pragmatic speech delay should be held back 1 yr.  My issue was not the California law but the fact that my daughter is very, very tall.  Her dad insisted that she could not he held back because she is too tall.  She is now in third grade and the tallest girl in her class.  She does fine academically but she still struggles with social language.  She has a hard time making friends, she does not talk much in her classroom and she also sturggles with math.  If she was petite, she would have been better off being held back one year. So, my recommendation is that if she is not ready from a speech/social point of view and academics, hold her back or put her in a very samll private Kidergarden and make her repead K in public school later.  It only adds to the child' stress to be behind socially and why not hold her back?  This decision will impact her for 13 years of school and also college.  Here in California, most parents hold their boys back if they are born after June.  In California, the child can enter K if they are 5 by December 1st of the year they enter K. The parents have the right to hold them back 1 year. I am surprised that Florida does not allow you to hold her back.

[ChitChatNine]

My daughter who had major speech issues (actually she was in intensive speech for 8 yrs with 100% success) and has a b'day of May 31st would have benefited from being held back that extra year.  Every year, she struggles academically until January of the school year (she's 16yrs old now).  It never dawned on me to hold her back another year -- she had severe allergies and asthma at the time which was a challenge, too.  However, it sounds like the public schools will have what your daughter needs in the way of programs and speech, etc.  It may be prudent for her to attend the schools with the understanding she may repeat Kindergarten if necessary.  Going another year w/o the intervention may not be helpful vs. starting school and getting it so she can get qualified and be on track ?