KristineinKS Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Is anyone here doing speech therapy on their own? If so, can you recommend any good resources or do I really simply need a professional? My twins were in speech through the school district up through December, one "graduated" & the therapist had planned to continue with the other but her supervisor forbid it (when I pulled the kids to homeschool). The therapist gave me some word lists & we've been working on them, but I'm starting to think I'm in over my head. Supposedly his only problem at this point is /r/ sounds, but I'm noticing other issues problematic sounds also. And oddly enough, many times I don't catch the mistakes he makes when we're practicing, I think because I've adjusted to his speech habits...fortunately *he* corrects himself, but that hardly seems like the way this should be going. Reading through some threads here I was reminded that his former speech therapist (prior to the last one) had wanted him tested for auditory processing issues. However, the school district simply did a standard hearing test & pronounced his hearing fine. I'm having him tested this Wednesday, but honestly am quite afraid for the results of that because I'm pretty positive there is an auditory issue involved here. If so, then I *really* won't know how to work with him. I guess I'm just looking for some guidance at this point. Am I in over my head or can this be done successfully at home? Will insurance ever cover speech therapy if I seek a professional? I just spoke with his last therapist & asked her about the auditory processing disorder & if she suspected it to be an issue. Much to my distress, she told me she didn't know...that would be a "language" issue & she'd only ever worked with him on speech, he would've had to come through "different channels for language therapy." Huh? Aren't speech & language closely related? He's frightfully behind on reading & forget about spelling! Anyway, so my initial thought is that I should have him re-evaluated by an independent party to see where we're at with everything...Now that I have the kids at home & am dealing with their behavioral issues all day long (they are VERY disruptive), in addition to the speech & him being so far behind on reading, I really feel like I need some help & am not quite sure where to turn. Money is tight right now too since I'm no longer able to work full-time and homeschool, so I'm rather limited here...part of me feels horrible for pulling him out of the school district, but I also feel like it was a good thing because no one seemed to care that he struggled with basic reading and writing skills. BTW, he's 10 now & has been receiving therapy since he was about 2 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Here's a good website for showing the sounds visually (how they're made): http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/# You could also try my free online phonics lessons and then Webster's Speller. My dyslexia page explains why syllables are important for anyone with any type of speech problems: http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/dyslexia.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julesnpebbles@suddenlink. Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 This is what I had for my son when he was going thru speech therapy: Straight Talk Check out this website: Nathhan, and / or contact them for some additional services / resources. Hope this helps. I'm sorry you feel so overwhelmed. I understand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virginia in Tx Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Sometimes insurance pays but ours never did - if you are lucky enough to be near a college, sometimes they have reduced cost or free speech therapy (training for graduate students - but supervised by professors). For auditory processing - a standard hearing test will not uncover this problem - my son has moderate CAPD and had normal hearning tests. Easter Seals does this sort of testing and has a sliding scale based on income. We had to switch speech therapist to address the CAPD issues, because ours did not have experience in it either. We did Fast ForWord for the CAPD and while it had amazing results in both reading and language, it was very expensive. At our public school they did not perform therapy for CAPD, so even if your child was at public school they may not get services for CAPD (we pulled son out in 6th grade to homeschool). I know my son went through spurts in speech, for a while nothing would happend and then suddenly he had a breakthrough. Hang in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristineinKS Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 Thank you so much for the resource suggestions - I'm slowly going through them all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnetteB Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 We never had professional help with our 4th child's strange pronunciation. We played word games at home with him and taught him all the phonics sounds with extra attention. He is 20 now and still pronounces his r's a bit differently. He has always maintained that he doesn't hear the difference. He is a great student and his spelling is terrific, so we don't worry. It is just how he speaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 If your daughter has an IEP the school is legally obligated to provide her with speech therapy even if you are homeschooling. If they don't know that, you might want to do a little research in your state and then inform them of their legal obligation in writing! Look at a website like Wrightslaw.com and see if you can find a sample letter :). You'll be amazed at how helpful schools can become when they realize that they are breaking the law and you know it. Debbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristineinKS Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 Debbie - I'm so glad you posted this! I just got off the phone with the private agency that had provided services to the boys when they were younger & they told me the same thing. It's especially helpful that we just did new IEP's the month before I withdrew them. I also found out that the district must comply if I request a complete evaluation (including the cognitive processing testing), which I did not know. So tomorrow I'll be getting in touch with the school to discuss this. My only hesitation is that the school was VERY rude to me when they learned I planned on homeschooling (the kids were very well-liked by the staff & apparently there were a lot of hurt feelings) and not cooperative about anything. Now I know that they're *required* to provide services, but since the therapist already got in a lot of trouble for offering, I'm just worried about how unpleasant the school will make things for everyone. I guess I'll find out...but at least I have this agency to back me up if I run into any issues (sadly they're in the next school district over so can't work with us directly). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Kristine The administration may be very unpleasant, but the people who love your kids and that you had good relationships with, will probably still be great to work with. It may get a little rough getting things setup, but it is probably worth it. I doubt your kids will catch any of it, just you. It will give you free services and you can feel more confident that your dc is getting what she needs. Debbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristineinKS Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) Debbie - I've already run into a brick wall. I called the State's Special Education Legal Counsel & he told me that because I'm a non-accredited private school (which is how homeschools are defined in KS), we don't qualify for any services. However, the law does not specify this - it simply refers to private schools, so now I don't really know what to believe. *Edited to add: Never mind, I find a very specific exclusion for homeschoolers: "public schools are not required to provide special education and related services to home-schooled children..." Darn. Edited January 28, 2009 by KristineinKS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Kristine, I'm in Missouri, and things are quite different here. I would suggest you go to wrightslaw.com. Its a big place and it may be hard to find what you need. You can send them email and ask as well. I don't know how much they know about homeschool, but they are experts in special ed law and public schools. Here in Missouri, if choose to move your child to a private school or homeschool, the public school still must provide services. However, you are responsible for getting your child to the public school for the services. They don't come to you or have to provide transportation. I think thats perfectly reasonable. Debbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristineinKS Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 Thank you, I'll check out Wrightslaw.com again...I've been there several times but there *is* an awful lot of information there & it's very confusing. Everything in our law here reads exactly as you said...they're required to provide services to "every child with an exceptionality" - then many pages later there's that one annoying paragraph pertaining to homeschoolers which does not even seem fair! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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