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Speech Therapy/Public School Rant


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Ugh! My 7 yo ds takes speech therapy at one of the local public schools. He goes twice a week and frankly, I am getting sick of it. They aren't doing anything for him there that I am not doing here! It is 30 minutes twice a week and there are 5-6 other kids in the little group at the same time.

 

They play games that have nothing to do with language, they watch movie clips and today they were reading Captain Underpants. Really????

 

I do more with him to improve his speech than they do and honestly, I believe the improvements he has made are because of MY work with him, not the school.

 

Not only that, but today the speech teacher asked me if he was having any trouble reading and if I was "concerned" with how he was doing. I said that I wasn't concerned. He then told me that my son told him he couldn't read what he was asking my son to read. I asked if I could see it. It was the Captain Underpants book. A chapter book. My son is on lesson 80 of OPGTR and he can read me most level 1 readers or easy readers that have one to two sentences per page. I told the speech teacher this. Then I took the Captain underpants book and opened it to a random page and had my son start reading. He couldn't read the words dark, day and some words like everything but but he read shone, chase and think. The speech teacher told me if I was concerned I could have him tested. No thanks, we're doing fine.

 

I asked my son why he said he couldn't read and he told me that the book had too many words he didn't know. :glare: Well, next time at least read the words you know! That's all I want is the public school trying to coerce me into testing him because he doesn't "read" all the big words they teach kids to memorize by sight.

 

OK- my rant is over.

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Yes - this is why I refused their therapy, made them write a letter explaining why they could not provide the therapy my DS needed, and then went through our private insurance for REAL speech therapy :)

 

Get a copy of the IEP, a letter from them about what they are providing, and then get him independently evaluated. The evaluator will tell your insurance company that the school is not meeting your son's needs... You may be surprised what that can do :)

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Yes - this is why I refused their therapy, made them write a letter explaining why they could not provide the therapy my DS needed, and then went through our private insurance for REAL speech therapy :)

 

Get a copy of the IEP, a letter from them about what they are providing, and then get him independently evaluated. The evaluator will tell your insurance company that the school is not meeting your son's needs... You may be surprised what that can do :)

 

 

I will look in to this. Thanks:)

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I am sorry. I take my son to the public school for speech and OT and PT. In NY, the parent has input on the special services plan. If you have input, next year demand he get at least one individual session a week. My son was getting two individual and one group.

 

I met once with a lawyer who specializes in education law. It was very, very helpful. For example, I found that the school could not say that they don't permit individual sessions. I found out that if I go to the IEP meeting, I have equal say and don't have to agree with what the therapists offer. I walked in ready to go back to the lawyer if need be, but it wasn't necessary. just by speaking up and holding firm, the school gave me what I asked for.

 

Now, it is different in every state, but make sure you know exactly what your rights are and what the school cannot insist upon. it can make a big difference.

 

And I cannot imagine a 7 year old being able to read those words. My boys are STRONG readers and I wouldn't expect that at that age. Maybe my eldest could have...maybe... but I wouldn't expect it of just any kid.

 

And don't you HATE how they pull reading into speech therapy with such young kids? I know it comes in handy but when you have an emerging reader, and you are using a specific system to teach it can really make a mess of things.

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I am sorry. I take my son to the public school for speech and OT and PT. In NY, the parent has input on the special services plan. If you have input, next year demand he get at least one individual session a week. My son was getting two individual and one group.

 

I met once with a lawyer who specializes in education law. It was very, very helpful. For example, I found that the school could not say that they don't permit individual sessions. I found out that if I go to the IEP meeting, I have equal say and don't have to agree with what the therapists offer. I walked in ready to go back to the lawyer if need be, but it wasn't necessary. just by speaking up and holding firm, the school gave me what I asked for.

 

Now, it is different in every state, but make sure you know exactly what your rights are and what the school cannot insist upon. it can make a big difference.

 

And I cannot imagine a 7 year old being able to read those words. My boys are STRONG readers and I wouldn't expect that at that age. Maybe my eldest could have...maybe... but I wouldn't expect it of just any kid.

 

And don't you HATE how they pull reading into speech therapy with such young kids? I know it comes in handy but when you have an emerging reader, and you are using a specific system to teach it can really make a mess of things.

 

Actually, this is one of my main beefs. It seems that they do everything in these sessions except SPEECH. Also, my son comes home describing the bad behavior of another boy in the group. Apparently, my son got in on it one day and he told me about it - not the speech therapy teacher! I straightened him out quick. I feel like it is a waste of time.

 

Also, the teacher doesn't get ugly, but it is clear to me he frowns upon our homeschooling and the last IEP meeting we had, the principal of the school was ugly and condescending. I had to set her straight and she did not like that at all. Anyway, Texas HS laws are fairly simple, but I always feel a little leery of these people and feel like they are looking for reasons why we shouldn't be homeschooling. Maybe I am just paranoid.

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At the very least I would request an IEP meeting and ask (demand) one-on-one speech therapy. My son is only 3, but he is progressing very well with the hour per week of speech therapy he is getting one-on-one. If standing up to intimidating people makes it hard to get what you want, you can hire someone to help you with it. I forget what it's called, but I have heard of people who get miracles done for kids because they know the law and won't be talked down to. Hope you are able to get your child in a better situation soon!

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My dd has been receiving speech therapy at our local elementary school for a year now, about 45 minutes a week in a group setting, and it did nothing. Absolutely nothing. The therapist actually admitted later that, basically, she wasn't really doing anything speech therapy-related. She couldn't understand a single word my dd said, even though complete strangers usually understand at least half. My dd made amazing progress, though- because I've pretty much devoted my life to helping her learn to talk. And now she's two and a half and making five and six word sentences, with a vocabulary close to seven hundred words, so I think we've done well.

 

If I could do it over, I would go through our insurance and have her see a real speech therapist at the hospital. No way would I take her to the school. They're useless, and I'm not nearly as anti-ps as some people.

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My dd has been receiving speech therapy at our local elementary school for a year now, about 45 minutes a week in a group setting, and it did nothing. Absolutely nothing. The therapist actually admitted later that, basically, she wasn't really doing anything speech therapy-related. She couldn't understand a single word my dd said, even though complete strangers usually understand at least half. My dd made amazing progress, though- because I've pretty much devoted my life to helping her learn to talk. And now she's two and a half and making five and six word sentences, with a vocabulary close to seven hundred words, so I think we've done well.

 

If I could do it over, I would go through our insurance and have her see a real speech therapist at the hospital. No way would I take her to the school. They're useless, and I'm not nearly as anti-ps as some people.

 

 

My son doesn't even have a severe problem. His s's are either skipped or turned in to sh - but only at the beginning of words. He has a little trouble with some of the consonant blends. I am really wondering if we need a professional at all. The only thing that concerns me is that he is 7 and still having problems. I guess I will call the district and request an IEP meeting.

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Sounds too much like the "reading expert" that showed up at my son's highschool, bomb-dropped a reading test on him, and declared that he could not comprehend. HA! I know better. I also know that rumination is important in true comprehension and that bomb-dropping a test is not a good way to evaluate.

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As a Speech-Language Pathologist I hate hearing experiences like this. This is one reason why I have not worked in school settings. Many of these SLP's are overloaded with so many kids that they have to have huge groups just to see all of them. But I can't, for the life of me, even understand why you would show something like "Captain Underpants". What in the world?

 

I would definitely seek out some private therapy services. And to the poster who said that their SLP admitted to not doing anything speech therapy related, I would probably file a complaint...with the school and possibly ASHA (American Speech-Language and Hearing Association). That is just WRONG!

 

Jenn

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As a Speech-Language Pathologist I hate hearing experiences like this. This is one reason why I have not worked in school settings. Many of these SLP's are overloaded with so many kids that they have to have huge groups just to see all of them. But I can't, for the life of me, even understand why you would show something like "Captain Underpants". What in the world?

 

I would definitely seek out some private therapy services. And to the poster who said that their SLP admitted to not doing anything speech therapy related, I would probably file a complaint...with the school and possibly ASHA (American Speech-Language and Hearing Association). That is just WRONG!

 

Jenn

 

The ST at my ds's school told me to get private therapy because they have less restrictions. The school only offers therapy for things that affect the child's ability to access the curriculum. That meant that when they screened my 8yo, they used 1st grade norms because he is in first grade (October birthday and I held him back a year.) This resulted in not qualifying for services.:glare: This is the same child that on *age* normed scales is at the 5th percentile, has an obvious language problem (still used pronouns incorrectly, has word retrievel problems, etc.) and doesn't know the alphabet or sounds!

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If your son only has articulation issues, you need to try to get him some 1 on 1 time or at least get him in an articulation group. The activities you mentioned sound like their working on social skills or comprehension. An SLP may do those things, but they shouldn't be doing them with kids who are there for articulation issues. My ds does do those types of activity in speech, but he doesn't have any articulation issues, he's there for social skills and comprehension.

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My son doesn't even have a severe problem. His s's are either skipped or turned in to sh - but only at the beginning of words. He has a little trouble with some of the consonant blends. I am really wondering if we need a professional at all. The only thing that concerns me is that he is 7 and still having problems. I guess I will call the district and request an IEP meeting.

 

Not to hijack, but... I'm just curious, because my four year old twins have difficulty with their R-sound (beginning, middle, and end).

 

Does anyone know what we could do to work on the R? I've worked with them a bit on "crowing like a rooster" and "rrrrrrrrrrrrr-ing like a pirate." These were two tips I got from a speech therapist friend of mine (who is too busy getting her doctorate to work with the girls).

 

Anyone know how to fix an R? Both girls also have an attached lingual frenulum, which we will address with the pediatrician at their next annual visit (March). When they were younger, he said to wait and see if it went back on its own, but since it hasn't, they may have to have their tongues clipped. :tongue_smilie:

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You need a parent partner, which is a person who is knowledgeable with the law and helps you advocate for your child. They attend the IEP meetings with you. Sometimes just their presence will make the school toe the line; other times they have to speak up more.

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I am very leery of parent advocates in my state. Here, they work for the school district. I was an advocate professionally and I consider that a conflict of interest.

 

I have been told that in my state the insurance companies will NOT pay for anything offered by the schools. If I want to leave the school system I have to sue and get the school to pay for it. Or, I may leave the school system and get and pay for private therapy.

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I'm not surpised you had a bad experience with a speech teacher in public school.

 

They are limited in what they can do and especially in a group setting they are limited. I also question the quality of some of the teachers. If you had a choice, would you pick this teacher to be your sons speech therapist?

 

My son received speech at school (early intervention, preschool, kindergarten and first grade) and at the same time I took him 3 times a week for private speech therapy.

 

It costs me tens of thousands of dollars but it was worth every penny.

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I'd probably get booted from the profession if I was still in it, but for basic mis-articulations, you can *certainly* do way better than group therapy. Unless the therapist is being intentional about giving you home work to do outside his sessions, your son is spinning his wheels IMHO. My best work was when I saw a child (I think she was 4 or 5) for articulation therapy once a week or two and the mom was very, very intentional about completing the exercises/ activities I gave her at home (this was in an outpatient setting). Her speech changed quickly, easily and it was a good use of my time and the mom's time.

 

I'm not trying to dis the therapist at all. S/he is trying to fit a *lot* of kids into a short school day. Caseloads in schools can really be unreasonable. Trying to schedule therapy around recess, lunch, reading and math.... it can be a bit like The Cat in the Hat balancing the fish, the dish, the ball, the cup, the plate, etc. Oh, and then there are evaluations to add in, IEP meetings to add in, consultations with teachers.....it isn't easy and sometimes you have to put kids together in groups just to make sure everyone is getting what their IEPs say.

 

Your therapist is undoubtedly trying to meet the needs of a diverse group of kids with language/ articulation/ phonological awareness/ reading issues (yes, we are trained to work with reading). Natural conversation is a great way to help a child learn to generalize his newly acquired articulation skills into speech (assuming you've acquired some!). Reading can be a good help, too, because you have the visual cue of the letter(s) you need to articulate clearly. But, if it isn't working, it isn't working.

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Not to hijack, but... I'm just curious, because my four year old twins have difficulty with their R-sound (beginning, middle, and end).

 

Does anyone know what we could do to work on the R? I've worked with them a bit on "crowing like a rooster" and "rrrrrrrrrrrrr-ing like a pirate." These were two tips I got from a speech therapist friend of mine (who is too busy getting her doctorate to work with the girls).

 

Anyone know how to fix an R? Both girls also have an attached lingual frenulum, which we will address with the pediatrician at their next annual visit (March). When they were younger, he said to wait and see if it went back on its own, but since it hasn't, they may have to have their tongues clipped. :tongue_smilie:

 

A 4 year old isn't expected to say the /r/ sound correctly yet. It is one of the last sounds to emerge correctly in all positions. However, I've always had my kids practice "growling" with a "gr" so if we did need to work on it, they'd be in the habit. The back of the tongue touches the back of the roof of your mouth when you say /g/, making the tongue pretty close to where it needs to be for the /r/ sound, so this often works.

 

Work with the dr. on the lingual frendulum and she what naturally occurs if that is clipped.

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Anyone know how to fix an R? Both girls also have an attached lingual frenulum, which we will address with the pediatrician at their next annual visit (March). When they were younger, he said to wait and see if it went back on its own, but since it hasn't, they may have to have their tongues clipped. :tongue_smilie:

 

I know two people who went this route and it did not work. I would exist all attempts at speech therapy (privately) before I did this to my child.

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I'm not surpised you had a bad experience with a speech teacher in public school.

 

They are limited in what they can do and especially in a group setting they are limited. I also question the quality of some of the teachers. If you had a choice, would you pick this teacher to be your sons speech therapist?

 

My son received speech at school (early intervention, preschool, kindergarten and first grade) and at the same time I took him 3 times a week for private speech therapy.

 

It costs me tens of thousands of dollars but it was worth every penny.

 

No, I wouldn't choose this guy. The teacher he had last year was great. This year - ugh.

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