At what age should I bring her to a specch pathologist to be assessed. They cut a bit of her tongue today to free it up for feeding. (She is a week old...) They said she may need surgery at some point. Please point me in the right direction!!! I don't want her to be delayed because of this.
TracyInQueens
Posted:
Member since
Re: Any SPeech Pathologists out there?
I don't know any but I wanted to say congrats on your baby.
HI! I did Speech Path undergrad and although I ended up in teaching and it was a long time ago, I just want to put your mind at ease with whatever I can remember. Don't hold me to it since it's been so long!
From what I can remember being 'tongue tied' just means that the part that connects the tongue to the lower part of your mouth (if you look in a mirror and lift your tongue up you can see it's like a thread like tissue) is just a bit too short and does not allow for good range of movement of the tongue. It can hinder feeding and articulation when your child begins to develop speech sounds.
From what I remember is the surgery pretty much involves snipping that thread like tissue to make the tongue more flexible.
Any surgery is frightening and I would highly recommend researching it before you have it done. IMHO it's not a horribly dangerous sergery and your baby should be fine.
I hope everything goes ok! I will say a prayer for you and your baby!
They already snipped her today, but they said they would need to do more surgery at about 3 or 4 if it affected her speech. Something about the muscle.
coxmandi
Posted:
Member since
Re: Any SPeech Pathologists out there?
I'm not a doctor or speech pathologist, but my brother had the same procedure when he was a baby. It didn't end up affecting his speech and no further surgery was required. I hope the same happens for your baby!
1017Bride
Posted:
Member since
Re: Any SPeech Pathologists out there?
Congratulations on your baby girl! My husband is one. Let me ask him and get back to you!!
Goldi1021
Posted:
Member since
Re: Any SPeech Pathologists out there?
Congratulations on your new addition!
I am not a speech pathologist either but I do teach special ed in a day treatment center. Most of our kids get speech.
One of the biggest things I remember learning in grad school (I finished grad school 10 years ago mind you) was that early intervention is key. As soon as you can have her assessed at an appropriate age (1017 Bride's husband would probably agree), the better off she will be and the less likely she will be to have issues in speech in the future. I write and suggest referrals for services all the time. You shouldn't have to pay for those services either. It is critical to be an advocate for your child. Good luck.
1017Bride
Posted:
Member since
Re: Any SPeech Pathologists out there?
Hi my name is Bryan (DH of 1017 bride) and I am a New York Certified Speech Language Pathologist. In the state of New York you are allowed under Early Intervention (i.e children that are below the age of three) to have a full speech and language evaluation at any time. Your pediatrician would have to refer you to a center or agency that performs these services. The cutting of the lingual frenulum is quite common in people. That is probably what was done to your child so don't worry. However if you are seeing problems with your child in drinking the formula or showing an inability to produce some cooing sounds in the next 4-6 months then you have every right to ask for an evaluation. Also consult your pediatrician during this time as he will be giving you the referral to Early Intervention. The most important thing is to be observant without being nervous. This procedure that was done to your child is not that uncommon and if the baby needs services it will be allright. I hope I have shed some light on this situation and good luck to you and your beautiful baby.
