Final answer:
To decide if a child requires therapy for SSD, consider factors like severity, communication impact, social and academic performance, age at kindergarten entry, family's socioeconomic status, and school size. Additionally, a child's other conditions, such as auto-immune or mental health disorders, or being on the spectrum, can influence therapy needs.
Step-by-step explanation:
When deciding if a child needs therapy for a Speech Sound Disorder (SSD), several considerations come into play. It is important to determine whether the SSD impacts the child’s ability to communicate effectively in everyday situations. Factors such as the severity of the disorder, the child's social and academic performances, and responsiveness to early intervention are crucial. Additionally, the age of the student when entering kindergarten might influence speech development and therapy needs, as might the number of school-age siblings, due to the varied attention and interaction levels present in the child's environment. The socioeconomic status and family background can also affect access to resources and support systems, which is key in managing SSD. Lastly, the size of the student's school can impact the level of support and resources available to them.
Families may also weigh the benefits of certain educational environments, such as mainstream schools that focus on verbalization and lip-reading versus specialized schools that emphasize ASL and deaf culture, which becomes a particularly personal decision for parents who may also be deaf. Auto-immune disorders, mental health disorders, and being on the spectrum are factors that further contribute to the decision-making process regarding the necessity and type of therapy and educational accommodations needed for a child with SSD.