The Parents Guide to Speech and Language Problems

This book is an excellent resource for anyone who has a child with speech and language difficulties. There is an enormous amount of information but it is very well organized, and easy to reference in a hurry. The quotes throughout from parents who have "been there" make you feel like you aren't alone. It's very easy to feel overwhelmed when you first get a diagnosis, but this book helps the process of really understanding what you can do to help your child, and the support that is available.

This book is very well written. It gives tons of information about the process of being evaluated to different types of therapy to web sites with more information... The list goes on and on. It is written in a way that is easy to understand and not full of technical terms that make you fall asleep. I highly recommend this book to anyone whose child is about to enter the speech delayed evaluation process.

I have just begun my journey of educating myself more about my son's speech delay/developmental delay. This was the first book that I purchased and couldn't put it down. It is so easy to read and understand, not to mention interesting. Since finishing the book, I have moved on to other ones - they just don't hold my attention. I don't want a book that you need a degree to read! This book is very informative and gives you very important information. I will definitely use it as a guide/resource for a long time! The author herself has gone through the same issues with her two kids, so she has more perspective and emotion about the topic.

This is the book that I wish had been available when we first started trying to find help for our son with his speech delay. Debbie has clearly done her research, and lays things out in a informative but accessible way. More importantly, she's been there herself, and she has helpful insights included throughout the book from other parents who have experienced raising a child with speech and language problems. The chapter on dealing with insurance companies is especially helpful. Debbie has provided an extremely useful tool for families to use!

I went ahead and purchased this book even though some reviews panned it for concentrating too much on apraxia. I disagree; there was plenty of advice, straight from the parents interviewed, on many speech disorders. I liked this book because not only was it an easy read, but the author included invaluable information such as how to deal with insurance companies, how to find a lawyer, seeking financial aid for therapy and even provided information on finding speech disorder Web sites and how diagnosis codes affect insurance claims. The author really did her homework and it shows. This book has been my only written resource so far, and it has empowered me to have intelligent and productive conversations with the many speech therapists, occupational therapists, and developmental interventionists that I have dealt with thus far. Great resource.