My son is about to turn three years old in two weeks and he just started a new school and does not respond to his teachers coments or answers to teachers questions. His teacher informed me that he does not speak at all during school, he doesnt even let the teacher know when he has to use the bathroom which often leads to him having accidents if his teacher doesnt catch it on time. He does have some speech problems but he is getting better but im afraid that if hes not talking he could regress a bit. I dont think that he shy because he talks constantly wherever he goes and is often the center of attention. Can anybody give me some sort of advice or ideas on how i can him to open up at school.
My little brother has speech issues and will not speak when in new places or situabecause he is uncomfortable. It could be your child is just sensitive and is waiting till he is comfortable to talk.
Because you said he has some speech problems, I urge you to get him tested for speech delay. The school district does this for free. It's important to get him help with his speech as early as possible.
I suggest that he doesn't talk at school because he doesn't yet feel comfortable there. Fitting in takes some kids longer than others. You don't say how long he's been in this school. I suggest that it may take a couple of weeks for him to open up.
I suggest that the best way you can help him is to not mention his not talking to him. Give him hugs. Tell him you know he'll get used to school. Tell him he's doing a good job going to school. Build up his self esteem.
I worked in a child care centre about 20 years ago and we had a little girl just like this. She refused to say a word to anyone - not the teachers or the other children. Her mother would bring recordings of her singing and chatting non-stop into the child care centre to prove she could actually talk. I made it my mission to get this little girl to talk. I gave this girl a lot of one on one attention. I would sit her on my lap in group time and have her whisper the answer to me. We would then play a game where we would whisper the answer around the whole group. As she became more confident in doing this, I would then say to her "I cant hear you" and encourage her to speak louder. I was only on a four week secondment to this care centre and at the end of the four weeks this girl was speaking shyly to the other children. I hear she went on to become very boisterous over her next 12 months in the centre. I believe this child was suffering from seperation anxiety and just needed some extra attention to reduce her anxiety and help her settle in. She had been at the centre for 12 months before I worked there.Talk to your son's teacher about giving him extra attention and making him feel special. Being in a new place with a lot of strangers can be very overwhelming. I hope this helps.
Delays only make children more delayed if they do not get intervention. Have him assessed by a SLP and a SIPT certified OT whoi can help him with sensory processing of information that is overwhelming his central nervous system and not allowing him to modulate his emotions to the environment.
You mention he talks all the time when you go places, and that this behavior is very off for him. It could be an adjustment issue...
BUT-- to me that would be a HUGE red flag that there may be something going on in the classroom. I would ask to observe the classroom and see how the kids react to the teacher, including your child. Pay very close attention, because the teacher will be on her best behavior.
Things like these situations have turned out to have teachers who yell, grab, or use fear to control the classroom....
If you child acts unlike how his personality usually is--trust your instincts and check it out....Kids tell us A LOT just by how they behave. And sometimes we do not listen as close as we should.
