Question

I briefly spoke with a mom recently and she mentioned that I should look into school testing for my sons speech for a possibly to qualify for free preschool. I just got done looking at Plainfield SD 202 site and I’m lost! Any insight or a specific place I should call tomorrow? Thank you! My son is 2. 5yr now - 3yr old on August 28th. He isn’t talking. No mama or dada, really nothing. Just babbles. I’m in speech therapy now but it’s not doing much. From what I’m researching just a regular preschool like Plainfield Park District for 3yr olds they will not work specifically on speech with him.  

Answer 1

Bonnie McBeth is where you need to look  

Answer 2

Bonnie McBeth for sure. They will evaluate and recommend a program. It’s a fantastic school!  

Answer 3

Bonnie Macbeth is good when they’re 3 and above, your child is my sons age, I’ve been calling all over but our insurance isn’t accepted by most, I’m currently trying to go through the state. I looked into west side children’s therapy and they had good reviews!  

Comments

@croaky So, we’ve been doing private speech therapy thru our insurance. Cost wise it’s pennies (after insurance pays it’s only like $9 a visit for us) BUT I ONLY get 15visits a year. I’ve used almost half of those already.  

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You are SO lucky. My insurance doesn’t cover a dime

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@croaky and @baggott early intervention is great! My daughter had it for speech and OT when she was 2. If your child qualifies when they turn 3 they will guide you through the process for ECE, which my son was in. The fees are very reasonable based on income. Good luck

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My friends son went to Westside children's therapy and she LOVED IT btw.  

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@beers id love to be able to go, I’ve read amazing things, but we just can’t afford out of pocket  

Answer 4

I'd start with Bonnie McBeth - they should be able to point you in the right direction &/or to the right person.  

Answer 5

You should contact Child and Connections to get him evaluated in your home for free. If he qualifies for Speech Therapy, therapists will work with him in your home until he turns 3, then they will assist in transitioning him to Bonnie McBeth preschool where he can continue to receive Speech Therapy.  

Comments

@denationalize Oh okay, I’m in pickle with my insurance because he’s doing private speech therapy thru my insurance and I ONLY have 15visits per year for speech therapy. He’s used half of them already. So insurance will become a problem because of the visit limit we have.  

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Early Intervention offers a sliding fee scale based on income. Whatever insurance doesn’t cover, the state will assist in covering remaining costs. I’m a therapist in Early Intervention so don’t know all the ins and outs with insurance but if you call Child and Family Connections, they can explain it all to you

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@denationalize thank you, it’ll be my first call tomorrow morning!  

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Feel free to PM if you have any questions. Happy to help.  

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@denationalize when my daughter was 2. 5, I had to pick up what insurance didn’t. I think I paid about $70/month.  

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@sima77 yes, the eval is free then there is a sliding scale for services if a child qualifies. I don’t know all the details but a service coordinator can explain everything in great detail.  

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@sima77 mine was $70/mo for El also and just couldn't afford that

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@beers I think I only did 3 months. It was tight but I thought it would help but she wasn’t assigned a weekly speech therapist just a once a month visit. The other weeks were an OT who was delightful and good at her job just not as a fill in speech therapist. I know that it was hard a dozen years ago because there wasn’t enough speech therapists to service everyone. When she got to Bonnie, she made amazing progress.  

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We had one for a weekly visit and a PT for him since he was also a late walker (16 mo) but he ended up not needing it anymore. But paying 70/mo for a ST monthly is ridiculous. We only had her for a few months also because then we ended up moving and I was pregnant. So before Christmas I called up our coordinator again to get him going on it again and she said it'd be awhile since they are short ST and never heard back from her. So im pretty much over them and want him in somewhere else. Im gonna give Bonnie a call. My niece is 4 and has been going there and they love it for her.  

Answer 6

Okay - My 2. 5yr old is my oldest so I guess I didn’t realize Bonnie McBeth was linked so closely to the school district. Ugh, lots to learn before my littles get to school! I will give Bonnie a call tomorrow morning and see what information I can find. Thank you!  

Answer 7

We did EI and then transitioned to Bonnie McBeth at 3. They do an evaluation and then let you know which program they recommend for your child. We had a good experience.  

Answer 8

You can get an evaluation through early intervention. If you are in Will County you can call 815-730-2617. The evaluation is free, and if he qualifies for services they will help you transition to school when he turns 3.  

Comments

THIS! They will guide you through the process and set up all the Bonnie stuff, too

Answer 9

Bonnie McBeth’s program starts at 3 years old. Early Intervention is who you should contact now. @rubstone10 just posted the number.  

Answer 10

I work at Bonnie you will need to contact Child and Family Connections. If you qualify for them you will transition to Bonnie right before your child turns 3. edited to say the program you get into depends on what your child qualify’s for. It is not always the free program

Comments

@kleon Thank you very much! - I will call Child and Family Connections tomorrow and hopefully get things going.  

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@baggott I’m happy to answer any other questions you may have. Please call the office and ask for me.  

Answer 11

@sextet71768 any advise?  

Comments

@hugibert yes call Bonnie McBeth! And keep doing private speech! Park district preschool will not work on speech

Answer 12

Don’t know about the speech therapy but Bonnie McBeth is wonderful

Answer 13

Have your child evaluated by early intervention, they will help with preschool transition as well. Have you considered an evaluation with a developmental pediatrician? EI can help with that too, or I’d get on the waiting list soon.  

Answer 14

Neither of my daughters got free preschool through Bonnie but they did get free speech 2x/week. I put them in the high school early childhood classes and WILCO early childhood. Both programs were awesome and very affordable. BTW, my youngest didn’t talk at 2. 5 nor did she respond to EI. Once she got into Bonnie at 3yo, she spoke in complete sentences right away. She started in the program in September and graduated the following May.  

Answer 15

Call early intervention! They are the best!  

Answer 16

Bonnie mcbeth. My daughter was nonverbal and she received an iep. She is in the Leap Program which is where kids go when they don't talk or have limited language skills. She started last fall and now she never stops talking!  

Answer 17

Child and Family connections, first. Its Off of Glenwood in Joliet. They will guide you.  

Answer 18

Little Learner Children’s Academy  

Answer 19

Contact Bonnie McBeth for a screening. If he qualifies then possibly preschool could be no cost to you and he would receive speech services

Answer 20

Contact the school district and they will direct you. Were going through this also as we speak with my son :)

Answer 21

Call Bonnie McBeth - the office- to set up some testing. If he qualifies for speech therapy, he may be able to attend preschool at zero cost to you. He will see the speech pathologist there for however many minutes he qualifies for and the sessions will be during the time he attends school. You are correct that a regular preschool program will not address speech issues.  

Answer 22

School district can’t help you until your child turns 3. Contact Child and Family Connections now and they will start with an evaluation. When it gets closer to your child turning 3 they will transition him to Bonnie McBeth. Depending on when his birthday is there may be a gap in services. My sons birthday is in June. He aged out of the program when he turned 3 and Bonnie McBeth picked up the services when school started in August.  

Answer 23

Call the district or Bonnie McBeth

Answer 24

Call Bonnie Macbeth! They are amazing!  

Answer 25

Thank you ALL! I’ll get in touch with Bonnie McBeth. This is all so new and I’m really hoping I’m not too late! I appreciate all the feedback. you all saved me from making a ton of calls! ☺️

Comments

@baggott They are fantastic. My daughter (3) has been doing speech there since Sept and I can’t even begin to tell you how much she has improved. If he only qualifies for speech, preschool will not be free but at least he’ll get the speech help he needs❤️

Answer 26

We did EI through child and family services and then at 3 start at Bonnie Mcbeth, they have a speech only program or you can put in pre school there and they receive speech in school like my daughter has for 2 years now  love them there

Answer 27

Following. I'm in the same boat. My son is 2. 5 and he says hi. That's it.  

Answer 28

It’s not too late to start early intervention! You can call your local CFC(child & family connections) who can get you started with a speech therapist at home and right before 3 your little guy will be set up with an evaluation for school/continued speech services if needed! Let me know if you need any further information!  

Answer 29

I will say that I am currently on week three waiting for Bonnie mcbeth to call me back. Reception said that is normal-- call backs for scheduling assessments take 3 ish weeks to schedule

Comments

@algonquian does your child go to early intervention currently and how old are they?  

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Nope, we're having him evaluated for the first time for speech and physical related to seizure disorder. He is 4

Answer 30

Good Morning! I called Bonnie McBeth this morning - the woman I spoke with was very helpful and after listening to my situation she suggested I called Family and Child Connections. I called them right after and left a voicemail for the coordinator, so hopefully I get a call back by mid week - next week!  

Comments

@baggott that was me at the open house! I’m glad you got a hold of Family Connections, that is what my son has been doing, early intervention. Maybe they’ll end up at Bonnie together!  

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@triennium Yes! It was so nice to chat with you - you really got me thinking after that night that I needed to make some moves with our current speech situation. So thank you so much for giving me some insight  I would love if they were at Bonnie together! It would be good for them and probably us as well. haha  

Answer 31

Write the district a letter requesting your child be evaluated for special needs services. Because of his age, the district may try to pull a fast one and have you put off for evaluation because of other kids who are already on Early Intervention (EI). Know that it is not legal for them to put you off like that, so, stand your ground to be sure he’s evaluated sooner, rather than later. I would also extremely highly suggest you have your hold evaluated privately, and that private providers report cannot be excluded from the district evaluation process. The district purposely glosses over certain kids because they don’t want to offer services. This was my experience with the district for dealing with my child needing services. The district and school kept putting us off and giving us the run around so we had to hire legal assistance to get our child what they needed to succeed in school. And we had FOUR outside independent evaluations that all matched up regarding the child’s needs. I am more than happy to chat via pm if you need any help with the whole process.  

Answer 32

I am who you talked to. I pm’d you

Answer 33

Did you ever call Bonnie mcbeth? I'm in the same excat situation. My son needs to talk :(

Comments

@beers yep! Called this morning - they are open till 5pm. They were actually really nice on the phone and directed me to call Family & Child Connections. This was the exact # she gave me to call. I’ve already spoken to them as well today and was told a coordinator will call me in 4-5days to schedule a face to face in our home and get things rolling.  

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@baggott see we already have a corrdinator and I spoke to her before christmas but they were short speech therapists and haven't heard from her since. It took about a month or longer to get a therapist the first time. Ill need to het ahold of her again then

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@beers ohhh gotcha yea Bonnie was going to help me much because I have never called that Family and Child Connections, he’s never done EI. So I’m literally starting from scratch. That sucks you are sort of at a standstill. Wish I could help you but I’m still in the very beginning stages. Sorry!  

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Once you get a coordinator it is a very easy process. It's just the waiting for them to call you back when they find a therapist. Good luck!  

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@beers thank you! Good luck to you and I hope you can continue with the next step soon!  

Answer 34

We are going for our evaluation on 3/16 they start with a home survey that they grade then you go in for evaluation if that shows need