Speech therapy for toddlers in Dubai?

[XB70]

Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations (including where not to go!). Our little boy had ongoing problems with fluid build up in his ears which culminated in grommits.

However, while his comprehension and sentence structure is excellent, his prononcuiation makes it difficult for him to be understood (he turned 3 in June).

We wanted to get the little guy to see someone ASAP to help him out - my wife saw that the American Hospital and Kids First MedicalCentre both have speech therapy facilities.

Any thoughts gratefully appreciated

Cheers

[ezah]

Kids First on Al Wasl road (04 3485437).. my daughter has been seeing them for 8 months and its helped no end. Start with seeing Dr Sara at Family First (04 3805430) next door for a 2 hour assessment, then you will get a report which specifies the development areas and she will put you on the waiting list for a therapist. With this report you can possibly claim all the sessions on your insurance, but without the report.. you cant. Our SLT was 3500 a month, so claiming it back is a huge bonus.
Be warned, the waiting list can be long (6 months), but depending on which school/nursery your child is at you may be able to jump the queue as they also do in-school sessions.

We also tried Stepping Stones but didnt like their attitude, which was basically "pay us 10k for assessments and then we will tell you what you need", without even seeing the child.

If you need more info PM me, but we are very happy with Kids First.

p.s. mu daughter started when she was 3, and I am glad we didnt leave it any later. We were having problems to get into some schools because of this, but if you show that you are dealing with it then they are more open.
p.p.s and no, I don't work there

Edited by ezah on Sunday 14th September 06:57

Edited by ezah on Sunday 14th September 06:59

[XB70]

Thanks so much!

I will let my wife know and drop you a PM when we get home

Cheers

James

[XB70]

Just an update - went to Kids First and they were outstanding.

Did the assessment and only needs a few sessions. They could have spun a lot of nonsense and said that he needed detailed ongoing assistance and we would have just paid.

Very impressed - thanks for the recommendation!

[ezah]

Great to hear it! Its done in a very fun way, so he should enjoy it as well as see the benefits soon.

[XB70]

Thanks again (from my wife) for the recommendation.

I felt so sorry for him - my wife was saying that he would try and interact with other kids and walk up to them and say "hi guys" (picked up from me) but after a few minutes when they could not understand him, they would sort of shun him so he would then wander off to play by himself

He is a rela pistonheader in the making though - likes trains, cars, movies, gadgets, driving and 'adventures' --- ooh, let's drive 90mins to see a bird poo covered IL-76, grab a photo of car with said plane and leave. The treats for the drive probably helped!

Cheers