for those who have gone through Early Intervention.....

[HappyLady]

My DS (2.5) qualified for services. He scored well above his age bracket for everything except his communication skills, which I knew would happen. So now he has 2 different speech therapists coming to our home, 3 times a week, for a half hour each. He's had 3 weeks of services so far and quite honestly, I don't see the point of them and am wondering if every else's experiences were the same.

 

The first time one of his therapists worked with him, all she did was a couple puzzles with him. I sat there wondering what she was doing that I don't already do so I asked her about it at the end of his session. She said she just wanted to get to know him and see what she was working with. Ok, I could understand that. Thankfully, both therapists were surprised at just how advanced he really was compared to the other kids his age they've worked with. He says a lot of words and can tell you what he wants, most of the time, but he's not saying sentences and he has tantrums quite often.

 

So, after a few more sessions with both therapists, and watching them do nothing more than what I do with him (puzzles, books, playdough) I again asked what she, the therapist, was doing differently than what I was doing with my DS. She flat out told me she doesn't do anything special and it's obvious (by what my DS knows) that I'm already doing what I'm suppose to be doing. She told me she's there to give him an extra "push." So now I'm really confused.

 

Like I said, both therapists are really impressed with my DS and say he knows a lot more than their other clients and we're the "perfect family" for how hands-on we are with him, but with them "working" with him for only a half hour at a time, 3 times per week, is this really going to help him? Especially since they aren't doing anything special with him?

 

I don't want to waste my time with this and would rather get him some other help, if there is anything besides EI, if all they're going to do is play with him. I haven't seen any improvement with my DS, but I do believe he's on the verge of a breakthrough. I'm seeing little signs (I was seeing them before EI started) so I know it's going to happen, but is EI really necessary?

 

For those of you who have gone through EI, were these your experiences as well? What did your therapists do with your children? Where do you think I should go from here?

[MeaganS]

We've worked with lots of different therapists through EI and they vary in their usefulness. A lot depends on the individual therapist. However, just because they look like they are playing with him, doesn't mean that they aren't doing something special. They should have a list of goals that they are working on helping him meet, and as soon as each goal is met, they should move on to the next. More than anything, these lists of goals have been useful for me to see gaps in dd's abilities that I might have otherwise missed. Especially at the beginning, though, they may fly through these goals until they get to exactly where your son is having trouble. Honestly, I don't know how much good EI has done us because I don't know where my DD would be otherwise, but if you think there is a better option out there for your son, then by all means, pursue it. I tend to take the approach that I know it doesn't hurt dd and she enjoys it, so it can only be a good thing for her. And hopefully, it helps. I can say that DD continues to improve in all areas that therapy focuses on, though.

[Mommyof4ks]

EI was very helpful with a couple of foster kids I had, because I was used to working with typical kids, not neglected kids, and I think they made a huge difference for them. EI was no help with my ds though, and I think it was because he was advanced in so many other areas tht speech had simply not caught up. He did not talk until he was 4, and then he started talking in complete sentences with big vocabulary. The tantrums before that were awful. We never did any speech therapy aside from the little to nothing that EI did for him from 2-3. I know therapy helps some kids, but I also think that sometimes kids progress on their own, and therapists take the credit. :)

[Alessandra]

My dc had EI. Honestly, my first reaction is that you are lucky to get services 3x/week!

 

I would be grateful and stick with it. In my experience, therapists use games all the time to teach skills. They may be working on eye contact, turn taking, staying on topic, appropriate facial expressions, attention span, following multi-step directions, imaginative play, and a host of other skills. Doing this through games is a big plus, imo, because children look forward to their therapy.

 

I don't think most people would expect to see major improvements in three weeks, so the fact that you don't see any would not be a cause for concern, imo. Personally, I would stick with the EI; in any case, EI eligibility will end on ds's third birthday.

[prairiewindmomma]

---

[MomtoCandJ]

DD had EI for about 3 months before she started HeadStart. She was in for speech. I noticed a little from EI but she only had some one once a month (which is how it is set up for summer). I think Headstart worked much better for my dd. She had speech therapy once a week in the class room, where the therapist worked with her and the other kids in a group setting and she had another one on one session once a week in the therapy room. Maybe putting your child in Headstart or early Headstart would be a better option. Early Headstart is more homebased, regular headstart is more center-based. EI will help you though getting an IEP (which is needed for services) DD had the same therapist from EI in HeadStart but I think that the more structured and frequent interaction helped greatly. Well that and just being with other children her age. Not sure where you live but I would find out what the cut off date is for Headstart in your area. DD just finnished her second year (she didn't need speech services this year but her therapist from last year still visited about once a month to see if she would need services again.)

[ChristusG]

DD #1, who is now 9, qualified for EI back when she was about 20 months old. She wasn't talking at all, still just babbling, and was still getting about 90% of her nutrition from nursing because she had issues with textures.

 

I found the same thing you did. DD did twice a week speech therapy....except we actually had to go to the clinic for therapy. All the therapist did was basically say words back and forth with her. I thought it was pointless and didn't see improvement, but we stuck with it for nearly a year. She also qualified for public school speech therapy through the school system when she was 4. We stuck with that for two years before we finally gave it up.

[Cera]

That was not my experience at all. We had our daughter tested at roughly the same age and she scored in the 99th percentile on every test except articulation (she was in the 6th percentile). Our EI speech therapists sat down with the chart of sounds and expected age of mastery and made a plan for her that involved working on one letter sound in isolation and then in context at a time until she was 75% accurate with it. They actively taught her tongue placement, lip formation, etc and also taught us exercises to strengthen her mouth and get her accustomed to proper positioning for speech.

 

They were great and when she turned three they referred us to the speech dept at a nearby university for follow on services (twice a week for two hours she met with a grad student and professor as part of the schools speech pathology program).

[Mergath]

We've been involved with EI since dd was a toddler. Like others have said, they do vary in their usefulness, but one thing to keep in mind is that a big part of the earlier sessions is the therapist developing a relationship with the child. Once the child is very comfortable with the therapist, it's much easier for them to go beyond simply playing to do more difficult articulation exercises or whatever. If a therapist walked in on day two and was like, "Okay, I'm going to shove this wooden stick in your mouth and watch while you make different sounds on command," the kid would probably run screaming out the back door.

[Dancer_Mom]

The quality of your EI services varies WIDELY in my opinion based on your state, county, and program. Unfortunately we had the same experience as you. My twins qualified immediately but then had to wait almost 6 months before a therapist opened up for them to work with. The specialist that came before that was only required to take a certain number of childhood development units ie: didn't have a bachelors. She spent most of her time giving me advice about how to spend time with my kids, reading to them etc... stuff that involved parents already do. We were lucky enough to have health insurance that covered therapy so we paid for private therapy till the EI therapist opened up and we just weren't very impressed. We stuck with it for about 9 months before giving up. FWIW we also ditched the private therapy too because my kids started screaming bloody murder during every session and their suggestion was for me to start leaving the appointments which I didn't want to do. Ultimately, I decided to do my own research and do what I could at home and things came along for them... I don't think this would work for every kid. In your scenario I might ask to see their paperwork, ask for their specific goals and how they assess progress. I think a good therapist should be able (and willing) to explain how what they are doing is helping even if it looks like play. If they can't do that, then I might try to get a private evaluation (not sure if that is possible in your situation).

[GoVanGogh]

We had a similar experience when DS went through ECI.

He qualified for speech. Therapists did manage to teach him sign language, which helped his communication. But no improvement with actual speech and they didn't do anything with him that we were not already doing.

Now, nine years later, DS was diagnosed with something ECI should have picked up on.

Overall, I was not pleased with our experience.

[SKL]

I did not seek EI because I felt my dd would not have responded to it well. When she was a tot, she would get very nervous and severely regress when new people entered her life. That said, as they got older, I must say that I noticed my kids' speech always improved after spending time with adults other than me. I would always notice a significant jump after a short visit with the grandparents (still do!). So to some extent, just hearing another person talk / interact may be helpful. Since it's free and doesn't seem to be causing any harm, I'd stick with EI unless it was causing a problem in some aspect of life. But if you believe there is a chemistry or other problem with the assigned therapist(s), you might want to request a change.

[K&Rs Mom]

Since it's free and doesn't seem to be causing any harm, I'd stick with EI unless it was causing a problem in some aspect of life. But if you believe there is a chemistry or other problem with the assigned therapist(s), you might want to request a change.

 

:iagree: It's not long until EI no longer applies, so it's worth a try for those few months, imo.

 

My younger was referred by her ped for speech just after she turned 3, so got to go through the school district instead of EI, and the activities with her therapist were nothing like what we did at home - it was very obvious this lady knew exactly what she was doing, and dd was "finished" in a year (caught up to the goals for that age, no longer eligible for therapy). At one of the first meetings, she sat with me and went over the chart of what sounds should be produced by how many months of age, marking where dd was on track or unable, and set all of her goals based on that. Honestly, if it had been what you described, I probably would have given up, but maybe not right away. I'd give it a few months first to see if they are just trying to establish a relationship and get more "serious" later.

[sbgrace]

My son started in EI at 6 months, so we had many different therapists over the years. Some were fantastic, others not so much. A few seemed a waste of time. I do think it's too early to know, though I'd be a bit concerned that the therapists haven't communicated goals or told you what you could do at home to target those goals. Maybe that's coming? At any rate, he'll age out in 6 months. You're fortunate to get 3 days a week (I think once a week, two weeks, or even month are much more common). I'd just stick with it and hope for the best for the remainder of the available service time. Try to pick their brains so that you have some ideas to target your work with him now and when he ages out.

[Supertechmom]

It seemed like a waste ( we're now in year two of speech). Some days it stills seem like a waste. They (speech services and EI) rarely do anything that I don't do with him until just recently. But yet.... A strong relationship has developed between the team and my son. Now even though he is three, the speech therapists are able to do lip and tongue placement several times in therapy, they are able to get 100% cooperation most visits. They are able to get letter sounds and a host of other more complicated "sound" things that I wouldn't have thought to do or known to do. he aged out of EI but still qualified for speech and will for a long time. The sessions seem like controlled confusion and sometimes I would just ?????? What a waste. But we stuck it out and saw lots of improvements over time. The sessions are getting into more " speechy" things now and we are seeing more improvements in a quicker time period. But those first few months, even the first year, made me wonder.

[PeterPan]

It's the therapist. When I looked into EI for my ds, the therapist around here was utterly new. So I drive to a private therapist who specializes in his problem. It is true they take time to observe the dc and get to know them, but for a therapist with experience, that doesn't really take a lot of time.

[Donna]

I work in EI and my first thought was...what state are you in that sends out 2 different therapists with the same certification 3X a week? Here in southern NJ, unless the child is on the spectrum, that is unheard of. (I am not a speech therapist but a physical therapist and I have only 2 families I see more than once a week.)

 

The philosophy here is the therapist comes out once a week and teaches you what to do to work with your child the rest of the week. It is a family training model. Each therapist may have a different style or different level of ability...but the ideal would be for the therapist to work with your child through play and use their specific training to promote speech development, talk to you throughout the session to let you know what they are doing, and leave you with a written note and activities to do throughout the week. They should have a clear understanding of speech development goals for your child and how to work to meet them. I know family teaching is the most important aspect of what I do.

 

A hands-on family is the ideal because progress tends to occur much more quickly with follow through during the week but you need to know what, exactly, they are doing to be able to follow through. In our state, in order to qualify for a licensed therapist like PT, OT, or ST, rather than a developmental interventionist (teacher), we have to write on the IFSP what specific interventions the child needs and why only a licensed therapist can do them. Your speech therapist should be able to communicate what interventions they are providing to your child through play and how you can do the same. If the therapist is not able to communicate with you or isn't doing anything more than you would do with your child, I'd suggest asking for a different therapist.

[PeterPan]

You know what Donna is saying about parents learning so they can continue the process during the week seems good. Still resides on the therapist actually having the skills. If on the odd chance the dc has apraxia and not a developmental delay, it needs a totally different therapy. I drive 2.5 hours each way to get optimal therapy. It's highly unusual for EI to connect you to a therapist who's actually skilled in it (it can happen, someone here on the board had an EI ST who happened to have been trained in the best therapy), but that's not common. And the shame is, this is the optimal treatment window.

[Supertechmom]

You know what Donna is saying about parents learning so they can continue the process during the week seems good. Still resides on the therapist actually having the skills. If on the odd chance the dc has apraxia and not a developmental delay, it needs a totally different therapy. I drive 2.5 hours each way to get optimal therapy. It's highly unusual for EI to connect you to a therapist who's actually skilled in it (it can happen, someone here on the board had an EI ST who happened to have been trained in the best therapy), but that's not common. And the shame is, this is the optimal treatment window.

 

 

 

 

 

This board has always been so helpful.. One poster sent me a cd to help my other son with CAPD. IT is amazing how much this board provides the answers and help we need.

 

OH I Don't mean to highjack this thread! I'll pm Elizabeth.

[Momof3littles]

I work in EI and my first thought was...what state are you in that sends out 2 different therapists with the same certification 3X a week? Here in southern NJ, unless the child is on the spectrum, that is unheard of. (I am not a speech therapist but a physical therapist and I have only 2 families I see more than once a week.)

 

The philosophy here is the therapist comes out once a week and teaches you what to do to work with your child the rest of the week. It is a family training model. Each therapist may have a different style or different level of ability...but the ideal would be for the therapist to work with your child through play and use their specific training to promote speech development, talk to you throughout the session to let you know what they are doing, and leave you with a written note and activities to do throughout the week. They should have a clear understanding of speech development goals for your child and how to work to meet them. I know family teaching is the most important aspect of what I do.

 

A hands-on family is the ideal because progress tends to occur much more quickly with follow through during the week but you need to know what, exactly, they are doing to be able to follow through. In our state, in order to qualify for a licensed therapist like PT, OT, or ST, rather than a developmental interventionist (teacher), we have to write on the IFSP what specific interventions the child needs and why only a licensed therapist can do them. Your speech therapist should be able to communicate what interventions they are providing to your child through play and how you can do the same. If the therapist is not able to communicate with you or isn't doing anything more than you would do with your child, I'd suggest asking for a different therapist.

 

Agree completely. I am currently SAH, but worked in EI as a physical therapist. Parent education is pretty much a cornerstone of the entire program.

 

I will also say that therapists are often structuring the play in such a way that they are working on lots of skills, but it may not look like it to a parent who is not a therapist. The key there, however, is that the therapist should talk through it with you at the end of sessions, during sessions, or answer your questions.

 

In those first few weeks with a kid, sometimes you also have to spend a bit of time building a rapport with the child, particularly at certain ages, stages, etc. and with certain personalities. So that can involve perhaps less obvious work on skills and more play, because some kids are just getting into the routine of having to interact with the therapist, follow the therapist's directions, work with the toys the therapist would like to use, etc. Of course we try to incorporate things the child wants to do as well, but sometimes it takes time for them to realize that they have to do some things we need to do as well. In certain stages, you can only push so hard or the kid shuts down, leaves the room, clings to the parent, whatever. So sometimes we back off, try to get the child into more of a routine, look for more back and forth, try to build rapport, etc.

 

Sometimes it also takes time to tease out more about what is going on. For example, we may know there is X delay and suspect it is likely due to Y and Z, but as we spend more time with the child we see other things going on. Therapists often work on skills they think need work even if the child doesn't qualify in that domain. For example, as a PT, sometimes we have kids with milder speech delays and while we are bouncing them on a therapy ball working on core strength and muscle tone, we might be encouraging them to vocalize certain sounds.

 

Do you have a case manager or service coordinator?

 

You should feel free to ask lots of questions, let the therapists know you'd like to work on skills during the week, etc. and see if you get more info. That communication should be very open on both ends. If you try and you aren't getting communication about concerns, goals, things to work on, etc., I'd contact your case manager or service coordinator and ask what is up.

 

Every single visit I left parents with things to do over the course of the week, explained why we were working on those things, and made sure they understood what we were looking for. It might just be 1-3 things, but that parent involvement is pretty much key in early intervention.

[melmichigan]

What is in the IEP/Plan of Care? I have had two children go through EI, I envy having them coming to the house. We took each child to the therapist twice a week. DD improved and graduated EI, my DS continued with an IEP at the local elementary. All of their therapy was based on play. As things progressed I was given instruction on what to emphasize and how to best work with my DC. As they aged we were given "homework" to do between visits. DD was in therapy for two years, DS was in therapy for four years. We loved our therapists.

[Alessandra]

I work in EI and my first thought was...what state are you in that sends out 2 different therapists with the same certification 3X a week? Here in southern NJ, unless the child is on the spectrum, that is unheard of. (I am not a speech therapist but a physical therapist and I have only 2 families I see more than once a week.)

 

The philosophy here is the therapist comes out once a week and teaches you what to do to work with your child the rest of the week. It is a family training model. Each therapist may have a different style or different level of ability...but the ideal would be for the therapist to work with your child through play and use their specific training to promote speech development, talk to you throughout the session to let you know what they are doing, and leave you with a written note and activities to do throughout the week. They should have a clear understanding of speech development goals for your child and how to work to meet them. I know family teaching is the most important aspect of what I do.

 

A hands-on family is the ideal because progress tends to occur much more quickly with follow through during the week but you need to know what, exactly, they are doing to be able to follow through. In our state, in order to qualify for a licensed therapist like PT, OT, or ST, rather than a developmental interventionist (teacher), we have to write on the IFSP what specific interventions the child needs and why only a licensed therapist can do them. Your speech therapist should be able to communicate what interventions they are providing to your child through play and how you can do the same. If the therapist is not able to communicate with you or isn't doing anything more than you would do with your child, I'd suggest asking for a different therapist.

 

 

Exactly. We are in NJ too and had multiple therapists, but of different types. In northern NJ, ten or so years ago, it was close to impossible to get a ST, so my first reaction to op was a bit of jealousy, lol.

 

Agree completely. I am currently SAH, but worked in EI as a physical therapist. Parent education is pretty much a cornerstone of the entire program.

 

I will also say that therapists are often structuring the play in such a way that they are working on lots of skills, but it may not look like it to a parent who is not a therapist. The key there, however, is that the therapist should talk through it with you at the end of sessions, during sessions, or answer your questions.

 

In those first few weeks with a kid, sometimes you also have to spend a bit of time building a rapport with the child, particularly at certain ages, stages, etc. and with certain personalities. So that can involve perhaps less obvious work on skills and more play, because some kids are just getting into the routine of having to interact with the therapist, follow the therapist's directions, work with the toys the therapist would like to use, etc. Of course we try to incorporate things the child wants to do as well, but sometimes it takes time for them to realize that they have to do some things we need to do as well. In certain stages, you can only push so hard or the kid shuts down, leaves the room, clings to the parent, whatever. So sometimes we back off, try to get the child into more of a routine, look for more back and forth, try to build rapport, etc.

 

Sometimes it also takes time to tease out more about what is going on. For example, we may know there is X delay and suspect it is likely due to Y and Z, but as we spend more time with the child we see other things going on. Therapists often work on skills they think need work even if the child doesn't qualify in that domain. For example, as a PT, sometimes we have kids with milder speech delays and while we are bouncing them on a therapy ball working on core strength and muscle tone, we might be encouraging them to vocalize certain sounds.

 

Do you have a case manager or service coordinator?

 

You should feel free to ask lots of questions, let the therapists know you'd like to work on skills during the week, etc. and see if you get more info. That communication should be very open on both ends. If you try and you aren't getting communication about concerns, goals, things to work on, etc., I'd contact your case manager or service coordinator and ask what is up.

 

Every single visit I left parents with things to do over the course of the week, explained why we were working on those things, and made sure they understood what we were looking for. It might just be 1-3 things, but that parent involvement is pretty much key in early intervention.

 

 

I agree so much with what you both said. Our therapists built up a great relationship with dc -- seeing their therapists was a high point in the week for dc. And, yes, the therapists taught me too. I still remember the OT trying to teach me to break crayons in half to improve dd's grip. I hate breaking things, so the OT 'fixed' all our crayon! I know that is a rather lighthearted look at a serious subject, but, truly, our EI therapists helped in so many ways. If dc were still napping when therapists arrived, the therapists waited, but didn't cut the therapy session short. And the therapists picked up on some things that had not shown up in the initial evaluation, worked the system and got another speciality to visit & help. I have such good memories of EI.

 

I have no idea if my attitude played a role in how devoted the therapists were, but I think they knew that I not only respected them, but also liked them. I tried to have a plate of freshly baked cookies or something for them most weeks. If they recommended a particular toy, I got it. I truly believe that therapy can be extra productive when you give, as well as take. [Adding - I do understand that not all therapists are a good match for a particular family.]

[Guest sam108]

It's the therapist. When I looked into EI for my ds, the therapist around here was utterly new. So I drive to a private therapist who specializes in his problem. It is true they take time to observe the dc and get to know them, but for a therapist with experience, that doesn't really take a lot of time.

 

[Guest sam108]

Hello dear, then did you find the therapist with experience? I am looking for now for my 5 year old kid. thank you so much in advance.

[Guest sam108]

Hello dears, you have all posted so much great information. will it be ok if I get the name of your speech therapies. I am looking for an experience one for my five year old. She is not talking and says only a few two words. so I am very concern for her. I live in northern Virginia and I have no information where to go. The doctor said she needs speech therapy but did not tell me where and how, She is my first and only child. So I truly have no information. thank you so much, your kindness means a lot.

[PeterPan]

Hello dears, you have all posted so much great information. will it be ok if I get the name of your speech therapies. I am looking for an experience one for my five year old. She is not talking and says only a few two words. so I am very concern for her. I live in northern Virginia and I have no information where to go. The doctor said she needs speech therapy but did not tell me where and how, She is my first and only child. So I truly have no information. thank you so much, your kindness means a lot.

 

Use this search engine to find a therapist with training in PROMPT. PROMPT is currently the best therapy available for apraxia.

 

http://promptinstitute.com/index.php?page=find-a-prompt-slp

[tex-mex]

My dc had EI. Honestly, my first reaction is that you are lucky to get services 3x/week!

 

I would be grateful and stick with it. In my experience, therapists use games all the time to teach skills. They may be working on eye contact, turn taking, staying on topic, appropriate facial expressions, attention span, following multi-step directions, imaginative play, and a host of other skills. Doing this through games is a big plus, imo, because children look forward to their therapy.

 

I don't think most people would expect to see major improvements in three weeks, so the fact that you don't see any would not be a cause for concern, imo. Personally, I would stick with the EI; in any case, EI eligibility will end on ds's third birthday.

 

 

Plus, from an educational POV, the documentation from the visits is very helpful IF there are some legitimate Learning Disability issues down the road by grade three -- whether in public school or homeschool.