to ask for your SALT experiences?

[ItWasABoojum]

I've just been offered, and accepted, a place to train as a Speech and Language Therapist. After years of worry and uncertainty over what to do with my life, this is a dream come true, and I'm determined to be the best therapist I can be.

I'm sure there must be parents here who have experience of this kind of therapy, and as my eventual aim is to work with children, I'd love to know any of your experiences that could help me - anything that's annoyed you, anything you've found especially helpful, anything your children have said that could help me avoid pitfalls or just to do that little bit extra that would be appreciated and make a difference. Thank you in advance, a very excited and happy SALT-to-be!

Did you know if you put salt on a slug it morphs into a blob of slime?

I remember with a certain frisson of horror the day my son made me a cup of tea and used SALT instead of sugar because he thought it would be funny.

Took about 8 nano seconds for him to discover his mistake.

haha yes, my son does that if I ask him to make me a cuppa and he remembers whilst making it that I wouldn't let him have X, Y or Z earlier in the day

my son SALT is fantastic....just remember stickers as he looks forward to having a sticker at the end.

Back on topic....

Please don't be patronising.... my child may have social communication difficulties but he/she is not stupid.

Remember that and you'll be fabulous

If you throw it over your left shoulder it protects you from the DEVIL

Find Working9while5 and Moondog on here and make them your best friends.

Congratulations on being accepted and good luck.

By all accounts it is a tough job to get satisfaction from. But it needs bright, enthusiastic and challenging people in it with flexible thought and a willingness to be open to new ideas, research and above all suggestions and input from parents.

It melts ice too. Great for slippery paths.

Thank you so much, HappyPants, Glitter and Starlight - this really is very new to me so I really appreciate your taking the time to help me out.

And to the rest of you - thanks for reminding me not to take myself too seriously! :)

I second stickers. My son loves them at the end of his SALT session. Also dont keep changing areas. Very frustrating when you have a young child,who is shy and needs some SALT and the therepist keeps changing. Grrrrr

If you wanna see what the main frustrations parents have with SALT as well as some excellent discussions on good/bad practice and latest research etc. then hop over to the SN Children section of MN (doesn't come up in Active Convos). You can also search that section. There is LOADS of information over time.

You might even want to start a thread there as many posters don't come out here.

no experience but wanted to say well done. great career.

i wish our SALT was a little bit more pushy!

I get why they aren't, and I am sure that for most children a gently-gently approach works fine, but for my stubborn little mule I really wish they would insist on him saying the sounds before rewarding him!!
we all know he can say them if he wants to, and he refuses to practice with me and I feel like if the SALT was a little bit more firm with him he would say them for her properly instead of pissing about.

agree with starlight about being open to new ideas and listening to parental input- we hear our kids constantly and know their abilities and limitations,

aside from that, just being friendly, approachable and kind.

I am very envious. I wanted to be a speech and language therapist back in the day but they told me I needed sciences - and I'm rubbish at them. Twenty years later and redundancy from my very good career makes me wonder about returning to my original dream...

why not retrain MissM?

Maybe I should - this thread has got me thinking about it. Still not sure I could pass A level physics or chemistry though, if that's what it still requires. Need to do some research...

I'm in my second yr of training atm, pm me if you want to chat. Which uni are you planning to go to?

I'm not stupid.
My kid's not stupid.
And one size really does not fit all.

Remember that and you won't go far wrong. And congratulations, it is a job where you really can make a difference to people's lives. Pop over and see us in Special Needs as Star says, there are some incredible posters there who spend a lot of time at the cutting edge of both research and good and bad practice.

1)Listen to parents when they say what motivates their child. No point getting the bubbles out as an incentive if a child is completely disinterested.

2)parents new to SALT are likely to have unrealistic expectations (I know I did of SALT), assuming that there's a magic quick fix, rather than a long haul collaborative process between SALT/teachers/parents etc)

3)Try to individualise advice to parents in accordance with the child's needs. It's a bit frustrating to get generic advice - read to your child/talk to your child/offer them choices.

4)The SALT course is huge in scope, so a lot of learning will be on the job, post qualification.

My frustration is more that only very limited support available on nhs, none for DD (has a lisp) as she is capable of making the sound herself....

I'm an Early Years Speech and Language Therapist and wanted to say well done OP! We need more SLTs sooooooo badly!

I second what others have said about stickers and bubbles, they get you out of all sorts of trouble

'parents new to SALT are likely to have unrealistic expectations (I know I did of SALT), assuming that there's a magic quick fix, rather than a long haul collaborative process between SALT/teachers/parents etc)'

So very very true

You may decide that you want to work with adults rather than children. SLTs work with a huge range of people with communication needs. It's a very challenging but exciting course. Good luck!

ds2's SALT has gone above and beyond for him. She made his referrals for surgery, and chased them up. She constantly hunts down brilliant resources and sends loads home with us to do at home where he's more comfortable. She has constantly tailored the materials she used to suit ds2's needs. She started the statement process for us. She did sign language training with me to communicate with him better.

Her most often used phrase is 'Work now, play later' as she has a cupboard full of toys which the kids get a few minutes with at the end of each session.... some weeks the promise of playing with his favourite toys was the only reason i could drag ds2 through the door!

She's tough with him (she has to be, he's a stubborn little git!) but manages to do it in such a way that he still loves her. He was devastated at the end of our last block and last week when he started back he was so excited to tell her all his new words and show her a word book he got for christmas.

Not just with SALT, but all the professionals I have dealt with, I have found those that observe rather than interfere are those which the children respond to best. They allow the children to become comfortable and watch how they do things themselves rather than prompting and trying to direct an activity.

Stickers, and bubbles work wonders. treating each child and family individually. My dd lacks concentration alot of the time but her current SALT is calm, patient, and to a degree lets my dd choose what they do or lets her think she is at least.

YOu sound just what the profession needs by the way.