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Submitted by an LD OnLine user on

Just looking for some advice.

I talked today with my son’s pediatrician about the one day a week speech and lang help the public school wants to provide for my son. Everyone pretty much concluded, even the Dr. , that once a week is not sufficient.

She gave me the number to a local clinic that is supposed to be very good for children with speech and lang. However, when I called I was told that they do not have a speech/lang pathologist on staff but they anticipate one some time in July.

There is a rehabilitiation hospital that has a speech and lang dept., the same hospital will be doing my sons APD scan in the fall. I went there last Thursday and left copies of his speech and lang eval. I have not heard back so I will call them today and find out the situations. My first questions is, I should go there instead of waiting??Right??

Second, how will speech and lang therapy interfere with Phonographix? We are starting today and I don’t want to get him confused??

Third, What exactly happens at these appointments?? The school professionals, can’t seem to tell me??

Thanks
K.

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 07/01/2002 - 2:36 PM

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the waiting issue

SLPs are few and far between and the money is often better with the elderly than kids-the date you were given most likely is the soonest a recent grad who was hired while still in school can begin. If you are more comfortable with the agency, Id wait. S/he wil be young, enthusiastic and interested in working with kids-she may even be open to discussing phongraphix

I dont think thered be confusion as my son(age 10, in speech forever)rarely deals with the written word. She might say s as if its a letter name rahter than a sound, but I dont imagine she will write it or expect reading from him

I work in early intervention w/slps and I dont know that this eval would be much different than what hes had. Might look more at oralmotor-prescribe mouth exercises-private seems to focus there more. But, other than more time & thoroughness, I wouldnt expect anything way different

JMO

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 07/01/2002 - 2:38 PM

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Part of the problem is that I don’t know what to expect at all. I have all these tests and don’t know what they mean or what they don’t mean!!

I am not sure what I should expect the SLP to do??

K.

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 07/01/2002 - 8:03 PM

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my son had two-through the school-I believe you are very wise to go through the hospital for this one. Nothing against the school-but I understand it isnt as reliable when done with schoolish distractions

I know one test involved memory-repeating back digit sequences-he did horribly on it. Another involved recognizing sounds-something like the games in phographix-he did average on this one. SLP told me the second was the one most kids who have AP difficulties have probs with. His results pointed to more of a memory issue

But I only know bits and pieces-the few things the SLP mentionned when explaining results. Hopefully someone can be of more help

Nothing to worry about or prepare him for however. I dont know that he would see it as different than anything hed already done(in his eyes)

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 07/01/2002 - 9:01 PM

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He gets very worried and anxious when it comes to testing and especially working on the letter sounds.

I remember listening in on some of the testing with the SLP and he asked her a thousand questions before she even started. However, part of that is my personality showing through. I explained to the SLP that is how I act.

Anyway, I was told that some of the testing is inaccurate because she didn’t take his first answer, she let him keep talking and even coached him until he got the right answer, and on some testing he got to upset (started to cry) and she had to stop.

I hope that the SLP at the hospital understands a little better. The school SLP seems very impatient.

K.

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 07/06/2002 - 12:16 AM

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1st) if you get the time, I would greatly appreciate it if you would email me and tell me a little about phonegraphix, I have never heard of it.

2nd) A good speech therapist works with, not against other methods. otherwise, you are not helping either the parent or the child.

3rd) I work in private practice and we are having trouble finding SLPs. The pay is better with adults. But there is no job security with adults. The field fluxes unfortunately. Where do you live?

4th) A hospital therapist is not always the best, it depends on the hospital. A private SLP may be better. You want one who understands phonemic awareness, reading basis of learning difficulties related to speech and the like. Often school therapists actually are the best at this. Some do private therapy on the side.

5th) Its not the school therapists fault in any way shape or form that time was given, it is out of her control. Its about money as someone else said. Sad but true.

6th) Sometimes coaching happens because some of the tests really are above a child’s age but testing doesn’t stop until they can’t get it. You may want re-testing done another time for intertesting reliability.

What should you expect? I can help you more there if I know what he is having trouble with and what testing indicates.

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