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Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

SN children

First SALT appt, what can I expect?

19 replies

miam · 19/10/2004 21:11

dd4's first appointment with the SALT is tomorrow (not bad, only a 9mth wait), and I'm a bit nervous. I have absolutely no experience of this, but only know that she absolutely refuses to attempt new sounds with me, and I'm worried she will be the same with the therapist. Could you let me know what I should expect, and what methods they use? TIA.

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miam · 19/10/2004 22:15

Anyone??

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coppertop · 19/10/2004 22:16

Is the appointment for an assessment or an actual therapy session?

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Davros · 19/10/2004 22:16

years since our first one, all I remeber is being asked questions and then the SLT following DS around trying to engage him (unsuccessfully) and she gave us a pile of documents inc exercises that I now know were crap for ASD. Don't worry about it, it'll be fine.

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miam · 19/10/2004 22:25

That's what I'm worried about Davros, she doesn't respond very well to me so I can't see her responding to a complete stranger! What were the exercises? CT - it's an assessment tomorrow, but her speech is pretty bad, so I'm sure she does need therapy. She is 3 yrs 8mths and I still find it hard to understand her.

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coppertop · 19/10/2004 22:27

Ds1's first appointment was unfortunately highly memorable. After wandering aimlessly around the room for 30 minutes he went over to the window and said "car". We were in absolute shock because he's only ever spoken about twice before. The SALT looked up and said, "Yes, . Car. Oh my god! It's on fire!" A car had caught fire just outside her window and the centre had to be evacuated. Ds1 was oblivious to the whole thing.

Yes we had lots of questions about ds1 and his development (both in the assessment and the 1st appointment). The SALT tried to engage him with toys and games but didn't have too much luck at the time. We were given a list of words to take away and had to record which ones ds1 understood, could say, or tried to say.

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coppertop · 19/10/2004 22:30

Crossed posts. For the assessment the SALT asked about ds1's general development. She observed him to see if he had any physical difficulties. She asked whether he could blow bubbles, use a straw, lick his lips etc. She assessed his comprehension level. At the time he could understand a few single words but not much else. She asked about his communication skills, eg pointing, and how he made us understand if he wanted something (he didn't!).

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miam · 19/10/2004 22:36

coppertop!! Very memorable! Thanks for your help. I'm probably worrying about nothing, but I feel partly responsible for her poor speech I suppose. She's the baby of the family, and I don't think I've given her as much encouragement as the rest to speak properly. Maybe that has nothing to do with it, but I cant help worrying. I just hope she takes to whoever it is! Thanks again.

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heartinthecountry · 19/10/2004 22:38

I think that in a first appointment the SALT will really just be trying to get an idea of your dd4's problems, so if she refuses to attempt new sounds, then in a way, I guess that is good, if it represents her. If she is good, then I imagine she will come up with strategy's to try and get over this.

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coppertop · 19/10/2004 22:40

Good luck! (Not that you'll need it, of course ). Don't worry. I think pretty much everyone starts off feeling guilty about it all. You either feel that you didn't speak to them enough for them to get the hang of it or you feel as though you spoke to them too much and they couldn't get a word in. You can't win either way.

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miam · 19/10/2004 22:51

Thanks both. I know it will be ok, and this is just last minute nerves I suppose. I do worry a bit about her, as she has been slower than the rest to develop - is still nowhere near to being dry at night for instance. But, I know that children are all different and now she is getting help which is great. You have really put my mind at rest. Thanks again.

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jakbrown · 20/10/2004 08:50

miam, well I've had two experiences- one really disappointing (2-year-old wildly autistic dd spinning round the room as SALT tried to get her to build a tower and brush dolly's hair. DD barely knew her own name at the time, let alone had any playskills). The second was absolutely fantastic. The specialist SALT in my area is a genius and literally got down on the floor and virtually stood on her head making funny noises to get dd's attention. I've never seen anybody so fantastic with my dd.
But as far as I can tell, the first session will be about asking you lots of questions. And you may be surprised- dd has done things in sessions with genius SALT that she has never done with me!

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miam · 20/10/2004 09:10

That's a real comfort Jak. I can't believe it though, she was up through the night being sick!! And dd3 has been sick this morning!!!! I'm really hoping she will be ok by this afternoon because I really dont want her to miss it, after having waited so long. Typical!

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miam · 20/10/2004 18:28

Managed to get there thank goodness! The SALT was absolutely wonderful. She assessed dd4 and has some concerns, so it's back on the waiting list for 1 - 1 sessions. dd4 really opened up to her and responded very well, which was a huge relief. What was I worrying about?? Thanks everyone for your advice and help. x

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jakbrown · 20/10/2004 19:34

Great News

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mrsforgetful · 20/10/2004 19:54

the more i hear about all your SALT assessments with kids at around the 3 yr mark....the more i desparately wish i could turn back the clocks and have Leigh assessed at age 3.....as there is NO WAY his difficulties would have been missed...but i cannot...so though for some of you it may be such a worrying thing....hopefully it will mean that you will not be having to persuade professionals years later to assess!!

MIAM....it's a shame after such a wait that you are now on ANOTHER waiting list ....but at least once you get to the top you will get the help she needs. It's a great start!

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miam · 20/10/2004 20:14

How old is Leigh Mrsforgetful? Have they only recently started providing SALTs for as young as 3 yrs old? Sorry for my ignorance, but this is the first time I've had any experience of this. It sounds like you have had a lot of stress in this area - are you getting support now?

I actually feel a bit guilty that I didn't pick up on her difficulty with speech earlier - but I think that because she is the 'baby' we have treated her like one, and she has not been encouraged in the same way that the rest were. The SALT said that there is nothing to suggest that may be the case, but I can't help feeling responsible. Still, like you've said, she will be getting the help she needs soon, which is a big relief. And she gave me great pointers on how to encourage dd4's speech (I had been going about it the wrong way, and had to give up as she and I were getting extremely stressed and upset - did more harm than good it seems!!) so hopefully by the time she is top of the list, she will have improved anyway.

Jak - it seems we may have the same SALT!! She was lovely.

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mrsforgetful · 20/10/2004 20:49

I remember that at his 3 yr check the health visitor commented on his :

LINING UP TOYS....AND ASKED IF THAT WAS SOMETHING HE DID ALOT....I ANSWERED YES.

LACK OF SPEECH..AND HE COULD NOT SAY 'SP,SL,ST,SN OR SC WORDS- spoon was soon, scoop was shoop,sky was shy etc) and she said that if he was still struggling at 4 she would refer him for SALT....but soley to help him speak.So i worked on his speech....and i helped...and we got it sorted together. at the time i was so proud of my achievement but from what i've read on mumsnet over the past that i've realised that a SALT doesn't just deal with SPEECH....its the whole communication bundle....and so many ASD kids get noticed due to their communication/social skills problems ...by a SALT..... i just feel certain if she had told me alittle more of what a SALT did...then he would have got help sooner.

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mrsforgetful · 20/10/2004 20:51

oops he is 8 on the 27th

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miam · 20/10/2004 21:55

So frustrating for you . dd4 has much the same speech problems - she cannot pronounce k or g, and misses out p/b etc in the middle of words and has trouble with sh and s words. The SALT did ask about other areas of her development too, so she did seem pretty thorough. It's awful that some children (and parents) have to suffer through not having been given the help that should be available. And ofcourse, if it is your first experience of this kind of thing, you are not sure yourself what you can expect! That's what you depend on them for!! It's great that we have this site though for getting first-hand information and experience - I have really appreciated it. Thanks again.