EP has recommended SALT - is it worth going private? what can I do at home?

[cheminotte]

DS2 is in Reception and has had behavioural issues since starting. The Senco organised an Ed Psych assessment and she in turn has recommended an assessment by a speech and language therapist. There is no problem with his vocabulary, in fact he uses quite complex phrases, but his actual level of understanding, social cues, use of appropriate language is in the very low percentiles on the tests she carried out. This means he hasn't got any friends in his class and doesn't know how to make them.
School are completing the paperwork for a referral, which I will sign as well, but they said its about 10 weeks waiting time. He is already getting some additional support and they will work with him on specific phrases to use in play etc.
Is there any benefit in me trying to find a private practioner in the meantime? Where do I start? What can I do at home?

[adrianna22]

Yes, Polter is right. There are loads of things you can do by yourself. Though having a private speech therapist did give me a direction of what I could be working on with DS.

This site is really good: www.teachmetotalk.com, loads of advice on communication and speech and language.

[Bilberry]

I'm sorry to say it but if you can afford to go private with SALT then if your area is anything like mine you probably should. I found we got a minimal amount of input from NHS SALT and they barely had time to get to know my ds let alone assess him. So people do get lucky with them though.

[cheminotte]

Thanks for the links Polter . I thought speech and language was for lisps etc so am having to understand different areas covered.
Yes Bilberry I'm lucky that we can afford just not sure where to start as presumably they will have different specialists?

[cheminotte]

Thanks as well Adriana , a bit of direction tailored to him is what I need.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

Those fact files are good Polter - I've seen a fair amount of that sort of stuff before but never all in one document, very useful.

[cheminotte]

I've had a look at the fact files now. Really detailed, thanks. Also starting to look for an independent salt. It looks like I need a specialist in autism as problems with pragmatic language are common with autism. Hadn't looked at prices until now - from £120 for initial session, £60 per session after that.
Does that sound about right? I'm in the Midlands.

[IsabellaofFrance]

We are in the midlands too (East) and I pay £60 a session as a block booking. In our area SALT stops at 6 so we felt we had no choice, plus even the stuff we had was ineffectual and scrappy.

Our ST comes to visit DS at school, she has worked on his conversational skills, mainly on 'wh' questions. I can really see a difference. Its not a miracle progression, but he is definitely improving and you can now have a basic conversation with him.