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Any SLP's out there - need advice! Moms too - looking for opinions ...
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BabyFever10
St. Gianna Pray for us
Member since 9/09 1326 total posts
Name:
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Any SLP's out there - need advice! Moms too - looking for opinions ...
So my sons SLP did another eval which did show some more details of his issues with auditory processing of information. But like in the past when I bring up these types of issues with her, she agrees he has them but thinks we should just keep with the therapy she has been doing. Even after I complained that he hasn't shown any progress in the last 7 months - and has somewhat regressed as he is now babbling in response to questions he doesn't understand (as opposed to just not answering the questions). The other thing he does quite often is repeat things - either the question asked by someone as his response or things on tv. He repeats phrases a lot - I just saw an article on echolalia and guessing that's what this is. Why doesn't my SLP tell me these things when I talk to her about my concerns? She never brought up that word or given us any ideas of things we can do with him to help him not repeat.
I suggested the idea of trying different types of therapy to see if something else would be more helpful in making progress, but she disagreed and thought using this type of therapy was the way to go. (Basically shes giving simple instructions - trying to have him follow them then redirect if necessary - by playing games and such). It just doesn't make any sense to me to keep doing something if it hasn't produced any change in 7 months.
Now I am wondering if I should request a new SLP for my son. I don't even know if that is an option as there are only 6 weeks left? Plus we dont have his CPSE meeting for another 3 weeks. But I feel like he already wasted 7 months - and if he stays with this SLP and doesn't qualify for summer services then he has to wait until September to possible get another shot at therapy.
Are there other therapy options that could possibly help my son? His biggest issue is not being able to answer opened ended questions. He can answer yes or no questions to an extent but once he doesn't really understand the question he starts with the babble talk.
Someone on my other post mentioned that even thought he cant be diagnosed with APD he can be treated as such if that's what they suspect (even his IEP states that there is concern regarding his Auditory Processing of information presented in the absence of visual information.). So I guess im wondering what kind of treatment other SLP's might be doing to know if my son is getting the help he needs or not
Message edited 5/8/2015 1:45:42 PM.
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Posted 5/6/15 10:08 AM  |
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BabyFever10
St. Gianna Pray for us
Member since 9/09 1326 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any SLP's out there - need advice! Moms too - looking for opinions ...
bump for change of question
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| Posted 5/8/15 12:32 PM |
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SLPRunner
LIF Adult
Member since 12/13 1101 total posts
Name:
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Any SLP's out there - need advice! Moms too - looking for opinions ...
I'm an SLP. It's not really the type of therapy that is bothering me here but her responses to you. She should really explain better what she is doing, why it is good, give you suggestions on how to do carryover. And yes if you feel it isn't working then something should change. Maybe change the level of support she giving him. Answering open ended questions is difficult and children require building blocks to build that skill. I feel like it is important to explain why a particular treatment is good. I would definitely call the agency and try to request a new speech therapist. Don't be afraid to question her and ask her why she is doing it. Ask if there are evidenced based treatments, would he benefit from any supports like visuals to help him. I'm not familiar with the CPSE process as I work with school-aged children but you really need to speak up if you want change.
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| Posted 5/8/15 2:09 PM |
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BabyFever10
St. Gianna Pray for us
Member since 9/09 1326 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any SLP's out there - need advice! Moms too - looking for opinions ...
Posted by SLPRunner
I'm an SLP. It's not really the type of therapy that is bothering me here but her responses to you. She should really explain better what she is doing, why it is good, give you suggestions on how to do carryover. And yes if you feel it isn't working then something should change. Maybe change the level of support she giving him. Answering open ended questions is difficult and children require building blocks to build that skill. I feel like it is important to explain why a particular treatment is good. I would definitely call the agency and try to request a new speech therapist. Don't be afraid to question her and ask her why she is doing it. Ask if there are evidenced based treatments, would he benefit from any supports like visuals to help him. I'm not familiar with the CPSE process as I work with school-aged children but you really need to speak up if you want change.
Thanks so much for your response. I think im having the biggest problem with the idea of continuing with a therapy if no improvement has been seen. Am I wrong to think we should see some improvement after 7 months of therapy? Or is it possible that some kids, no matter what type of therapy is offered will just take longer? (im not saying reach his goals - but literally any improvement)
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| Posted 5/8/15 2:14 PM |
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SLPRunner
LIF Adult
Member since 12/13 1101 total posts
Name:
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Any SLP's out there - need advice! Moms too - looking for opinions ...
I mean every child is different. I think you should see some progress of course. I often find what my definition of progress is may different than a parent's for example. If your son is paying attention better to the therapist, participating more, and responding to her during the session that is progress. Often it is difficult for children to generalize their success in speech therapy to outside situations. You are right though for some kids no matter what type of therapy it may just take longer. I would talk to her more about what you can do to help carry over any goals and progress made during sessions. I mean she must be seeing some success in the sessions. If she isn't seeing any change, then by all means something has to change- maybe treatment type, therapist, etc.
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| Posted 5/8/15 6:26 PM |
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3girls1dog
LIF Adult
Member since 10/09 929 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any SLP's out there - need advice! Moms too - looking for opinions ...
sorry responded to wrong post
Message edited 5/8/2015 8:49:13 PM.
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| Posted 5/8/15 8:46 PM |
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Porrruss
Nya nya nya
Member since 5/05 11618 total posts
Name:
Amy
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Re: Any SLP's out there - need advice! Moms too - looking for opinions ...
Posted by BabyFever10
So my sons SLP did another eval which did show some more details of his issues with auditory processing of information. But like in the past when I bring up these types of issues with her, she agrees he has them but thinks we should just keep with the therapy she has been doing. Even after I complained that he hasn't shown any progress in the last 7 months - and has somewhat regressed as he is now babbling in response to questions he doesn't understand (as opposed to just not answering the questions). The other thing he does quite often is repeat things - either the question asked by someone as his response or things on tv. He repeats phrases a lot - I just saw an article on echolalia and guessing that's what this is. Why doesn't my SLP tell me these things when I talk to her about my concerns? She never brought up that word or given us any ideas of things we can do with him to help him not repeat.
I suggested the idea of trying different types of therapy to see if something else would be more helpful in making progress, but she disagreed and thought using this type of therapy was the way to go. (Basically shes giving simple instructions - trying to have him follow them then redirect if necessary - by playing games and such). It just doesn't make any sense to me to keep doing something if it hasn't produced any change in 7 months.
Now I am wondering if I should request a new SLP for my son. I don't even know if that is an option as there are only 6 weeks left? Plus we dont have his CPSE meeting for another 3 weeks. But I feel like he already wasted 7 months - and if he stays with this SLP and doesn't qualify for summer services then he has to wait until September to possible get another shot at therapy.
Are there other therapy options that could possibly help my son? His biggest issue is not being able to answer opened ended questions. He can answer yes or no questions to an extent but once he doesn't really understand the question he starts with the babble talk.
Someone on my other post mentioned that even thought he cant be diagnosed with APD he can be treated as such if that's what they suspect (even his IEP states that there is concern regarding his Auditory Processing of information presented in the absence of visual information.). So I guess im wondering what kind of treatment other SLP's might be doing to know if my son is getting the help he needs or not
7 months is not that long for therapy to show progress- especially if a child is suspected to have CAPD. But if he wasn't responding before, and is now responding using vocalizations, that IS progress.
I'm curious as to what testing was administered and what his scores were though. Your descriptions of his weaknesses sound like quite a few different possibilities, I'm wondering why everyone is thinking CAPD? With a diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder already, and now echolalia, has the possibility of an autism spectrum disorder been mentioned?
Auditory processing and language processing are both very different in terms of how the communication breakdown is occurring, but they look very similar. Phonological processing disorder Is another possibility. This is why it's virtually impossible to truly diagnose at such a young age.
I have experience with CAPD- but my students were all school-aged. I also have lots of experience with phonological disorder and language processing deficits. They are all treated differently in older children, but look very similar in the younger years.
It seems that you don't feel like your SLP is truly hearing you. That alone warrants a change in therapists, I feel. The MOST important part of early intervention is a really strong family-therapist relationship.
Message edited 5/8/2015 10:25:46 PM.
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| Posted 5/8/15 9:57 PM |
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BabyFever10
St. Gianna Pray for us
Member since 9/09 1326 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any SLP's out there - need advice! Moms too - looking for opinions ...
Posted by SLPRunner
I mean every child is different. I think you should see some progress of course. I often find what my definition of progress is may different than a parent's for example. If your son is paying attention better to the therapist, participating more, and responding to her during the session that is progress. Often it is difficult for children to generalize their success in speech therapy to outside situations. You are right though for some kids no matter what type of therapy it may just take longer. I would talk to her more about what you can do to help carry over any goals and progress made during sessions. I mean she must be seeing some success in the sessions. If she isn't seeing any change, then by all means something has to change- maybe treatment type, therapist, etc.
His actual speech has gotten worse. I used to be able to understand almost all of what he said. Now I am always asking him to repeat himself - his speech sounds slurry a lot. His attention to her and how he participates varies from session to session (I think this maybe more his SPD).
When I mentioned changing his goals she said they will do that for next year (he still has 6 weeks left - cant see why we cant change them now)
I will have to ask her specifically what she thinks he has improved on.
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| Posted 5/11/15 9:14 AM |
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BabyFever10
St. Gianna Pray for us
Member since 9/09 1326 total posts
Name:
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Re: Any SLP's out there - need advice! Moms too - looking for opinions ...
Posted by Porrruss
Posted by BabyFever10
So my sons SLP did another eval which did show some more details of his issues with auditory processing of information. But like in the past when I bring up these types of issues with her, she agrees he has them but thinks we should just keep with the therapy she has been doing. Even after I complained that he hasn't shown any progress in the last 7 months - and has somewhat regressed as he is now babbling in response to questions he doesn't understand (as opposed to just not answering the questions). The other thing he does quite often is repeat things - either the question asked by someone as his response or things on tv. He repeats phrases a lot - I just saw an article on echolalia and guessing that's what this is. Why doesn't my SLP tell me these things when I talk to her about my concerns? She never brought up that word or given us any ideas of things we can do with him to help him not repeat.
I suggested the idea of trying different types of therapy to see if something else would be more helpful in making progress, but she disagreed and thought using this type of therapy was the way to go. (Basically shes giving simple instructions - trying to have him follow them then redirect if necessary - by playing games and such). It just doesn't make any sense to me to keep doing something if it hasn't produced any change in 7 months.
Now I am wondering if I should request a new SLP for my son. I don't even know if that is an option as there are only 6 weeks left? Plus we dont have his CPSE meeting for another 3 weeks. But I feel like he already wasted 7 months - and if he stays with this SLP and doesn't qualify for summer services then he has to wait until September to possible get another shot at therapy.
Are there other therapy options that could possibly help my son? His biggest issue is not being able to answer opened ended questions. He can answer yes or no questions to an extent but once he doesn't really understand the question he starts with the babble talk.
Someone on my other post mentioned that even thought he cant be diagnosed with APD he can be treated as such if that's what they suspect (even his IEP states that there is concern regarding his Auditory Processing of information presented in the absence of visual information.). So I guess im wondering what kind of treatment other SLP's might be doing to know if my son is getting the help he needs or not
7 months is not that long for therapy to show progress- especially if a child is suspected to have CAPD. But if he wasn't responding before, and is now responding using vocalizations, that IS progress.
I'm curious as to what testing was administered and what his scores were though. Your descriptions of his weaknesses sound like quite a few different possibilities, I'm wondering why everyone is thinking CAPD? With a diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder already, and now echolalia, has the possibility of an autism spectrum disorder been mentioned?
Auditory processing and language processing are both very different in terms of how the communication breakdown is occurring, but they look very similar. Phonological processing disorder Is another possibility. This is why it's virtually impossible to truly diagnose at such a young age.
I have experience with CAPD- but my students were all school-aged. I also have lots of experience with phonological disorder and language processing deficits. They are all treated differently in older children, but look very similar in the younger years.
It seems that you don't feel like your SLP is truly hearing you. That alone warrants a change in therapists, I feel. The MOST important part of early intervention is a really strong family-therapist relationship.
Previously when we asked him something he didn't understand he would usually just look at us with a puzzled look or sometimes say "what" (and occasionally try to answer us what he thought we were asking) - now he is just doing a babbling type noise (he has a big vocabulary of words) - this seems like regression. His speech is a lot more slurry now than it was in the past. he used to articulate better and now we have a lot more trouble understanding him.
He was evaluated by a psychologist and Dev Ped and both said the same exact thing ... on paper everything points to ASD(OCD, SPD, repetition) but in person they just don't see it - he makes great eye contact, looks up and answers when his name is called, points to things and looks when we point, loves playing with other kids (although we definitely see a big difference with him around other kids - he gets very hyper and seems more immature than kids his own age). They said theres a small possibility that when hes older it might be more apparent because he sometimes seems socially awkward but hes only 4 so it could just be his age. Which just adds to the list of things he might be diagnosed with but have to wait until he's older.
Do you think an SLP should try different methods since we don't know what his diagnosis will be? or at this age is all therapy the same?
The one thing I know is defiantly an issue is him mishearing the words we say. He is always hearing things differently than we say and we keep trying to correct him but he doesn't always hear the differences in the sounds. Is there anything specific we or his SLP can do to help him distinguish word sounds better?
Message edited 5/11/2015 9:43:51 AM.
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| Posted 5/11/15 9:43 AM |
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Porrruss
Nya nya nya
Member since 5/05 11618 total posts
Name:
Amy
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Re: Any SLP's out there - need advice! Moms too - looking for opinions ...
Posted by BabyFever10
Posted by Porrruss
7 months is not that long for therapy to show progress- especially if a child is suspected to have CAPD. But if he wasn't responding before, and is now responding using vocalizations, that IS progress.
I'm curious as to what testing was administered and what his scores were though. Your descriptions of his weaknesses sound like quite a few different possibilities, I'm wondering why everyone is thinking CAPD? With a diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder already, and now echolalia, has the possibility of an autism spectrum disorder been mentioned?
Auditory processing and language processing are both very different in terms of how the communication breakdown is occurring, but they look very similar. Phonological processing disorder Is another possibility. This is why it's virtually impossible to truly diagnose at such a young age.
I have experience with CAPD- but my students were all school-aged. I also have lots of experience with phonological disorder and language processing deficits. They are all treated differently in older children, but look very similar in the younger years.
It seems that you don't feel like your SLP is truly hearing you. That alone warrants a change in therapists, I feel. The MOST important part of early intervention is a really strong family-therapist relationship.
Previously when we asked him something he didn't understand he would usually just look at us with a puzzled look or sometimes say "what" (and occasionally try to answer us what he thought we were asking) - now he is just doing a babbling type noise (he has a big vocabulary of words) - this seems like regression. His speech is a lot more slurry now than it was in the past. he used to articulate better and now we have a lot more trouble understanding him.
He was evaluated by a psychologist and Dev Ped and both said the same exact thing ... on paper everything points to ASD(OCD, SPD, repetition) but in person they just don't see it - he makes great eye contact, looks up and answers when his name is called, points to things and looks when we point, loves playing with other kids (although we definitely see a big difference with him around other kids - he gets very hyper and seems more immature than kids his own age).
They said theres a small possibility that when hes older it might be more apparent because he sometimes seems socially awkward but hes only 4 so it could just be his age. Which just adds to the list of things he might be diagnosed with but have to wait until he's older.
Do you think an SLP should try different methods since we don't know what his diagnosis will be? or at this age is all therapy the same?
The one thing I know is defiantly an issue is him mishearing the words we say. He is always hearing things differently than we say and we keep trying to correct him but he doesn't always hear the differences in the sounds. Is there anything specific we or his SLP can do to help him distinguish word sounds better?
At four, I'd be working on different sound and syllable sequences paired with visuals. Building phonological awareness skills using Dr. Seuss books, nursery rhymes, clapping out syllables, auditory bombardment of sounds with lots and lots of practice by verbally playing with sounds. All of this while using visuals because if there's the possibility of auditory processing deficits, the visual piece is very important. In the meantime, increasing semantic AND phonological relationships between words to help with building language processing skills in case that's where the breakdown is occurring.
Remediating CAPD involves listening training and auditory memory skills- neither of which are anything close to mature in a 4 year old. Until it is, you work on the areas of weakness by building other pathways. In the meantime, you can hit auditory memory skills by playing "echo" games, Simon Says, telephone game, etc.
Speech therapy for a four year old should be all fun and games, otherwise it's just not going to be meaningful.
ETA: does your district have the LiPS program?
Message edited 5/11/2015 10:10:10 PM.
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| Posted 5/11/15 9:50 PM |
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