Speech Therapy (quite cross) its long but im just venting !!

[LittleBoSheep]

I made the health visitor/doctor aware that I was concerned about my sons speech when he was about 3 or 4.

After a long wait we eventually saw a therapist at our local surgery for assessment and the she confimed he had a problem forming numerous sounds eg.F, C, K & S (so effectively a lisp).

We were then put on a waiting list for approx 6 months - he eventally got a few sessions of regular therapy and that, plus the fact we were given excercises to do which he & I worked on regularly at home managed to sort our the F, C & K sounds.

On my last visit to the therapist she told me that speech therapy had been "re-organised" she had decided to concentrate on pre-school children"...the delays meant my son at this point was now in year 1 (!) and "school age children will get their therapy at school"

I should also say during this time he has now also developed a stutter the therapist tells me "this is one of the most difficult things to sort out, have a leaflet on the suject!!"

SOOOO another 6 months passes (!) during which time I get a letter telling me "you will be pleased to know your school has been allocated a therapist and he will be seen at school starting November"

Again I wait...other parents ask me what is going on so I ask the teachers what they know....NOTHING,....no therapy materialises.

So last week I contacted the speech therapy department to find out what is going on only to be told that "we thought it would be better to send speech therapy into the schools because some parents wouldnt take their children to see a therapist elsewhere"

OK so why hasnt my child seen the therapist... "I guess shes concentrating on the children who have a statement"

So the gist of it is 1. my child is losing out because he has a parent who gives a damn - I have told them I dont care WHERE he sees them just that he does and if it is only going to be sporadic I NEED to be there so see what excercises he and I can do at home.

2 he is losing out because he isnt deemed to be in dire need...despite not having many friends and me being asked on at least two occasions by children "what language does X speak" His problems CAN be sorted out I just need HELP.

He is a happy, intelligent boy but I hate to see the annoyance on his face when he is struggling to say a word (I doubt his teachers notice it but its there) he isnt the type of child to have a tantrum with frustration, he will just find another way to say what he wants but he has told me it bothers him.

I guess I just need to keep hassling them now rather than believing what they say to me...not really in my nature im generally a laid back person.

How very frustrating. As a first step - get hold of the name of the SALT and speak to her to find out what on earth is going on and ask her to send you some exercises to do with him. Then if that doesn't get you any joy - you could either a)put in a complaint to the trust about your DS's lack of treatment and/or b)go private - you can get names of people in your area on (www.helpwithtalking.com)

speak to the SENCO at school - take a copy of the SLT letter saying your child will be seen in school and this is his therapist. Ask the SENCO to arrange an assessment during school hours with this SLT. Ask for a meeting with the SLT immediately afterwards once ds has gone back to class so that you can go through her assessment and discuss the way forward.

There is a bit of a glitch between home and school based therapy, but once it is set up it should work fine - the difficulty is that the SLT will usually cover all the children within the school who require therapy and so generally make a 'block booking' of a day - and be given the list of kids to see by the SENCO etc. If school were not copied in on the letter they might not have put ds on the list - weird that they didn't recognise he needed referral, but hey ho.

do ring the named slt yoursefl to double-check. it's a pita chasing everyone round in circles, but if you are nice and stick to your guns it will all work out.

google nuffield verbal dyspraxia and you should find some exercises in the mean time.

OK this is all new to me what is a SALT and a SENCO?

The thing is I appreciate it comes down to funding and obviously the children in dire need will be seen first but despite his sunny nature and his teachers thinking he is "coping" he isnt and the more frustrated he gets about the stutter the worse it will get.

Even sporadic therapy is better than none but if thats ALL hes going to get I HAVE TO be involved to keep working on it in the interim. His last assessment was last summer so im guessing we need new excercises.

Going private isnt easily within our budget but I guess if we have to we will find a way.

SALT = speech and language therapist

Senco = special educational need co-ordinator.

btw - Madwoman is v. good at dealing with professionals etc, good at the politics of it all - do it her way and you can't go far wrong. When Ds's speech therapist has come into school, it is just for him, so I've always arranged it direct with the SALT, who has then told the school, so I've not been in the same position as you with dealing with therapy at school.

You could speed it all along quite rapidly by writing to your MP (you should be able to do this by email). A letter from them requesting an explanation tends to concentrate minds a little I have found.... probably will achieve same as you writing 10 letters...

oh, sorry!

SLT or SALT - speech and language therapist

SENCO - special educational needs co-ordinator (one of the teachers at school who keeps tabs on all things sn) - s/he would ordinarily be aware of any children within school who needed to see an outside agency for eg speech therapy, occupational therapy, physio etc

no,no,no, no need to wait - there will always be children on the waiting list whose parents are ringing up just like you - if you have a letter saying he has been allocated therapist and will be seen at school, then just chase that - he is already in the system, he has just disappeared off the radar briefly - your job is to get him back into view by contacting the school and the named SLT.

just harass both for a date when he will be assessed by the named SLT at school and ask for an appointment immediately afterwards.

x post!

it's just a glitch in the system, t'will be easy to iron out with a few phone calls - he's just disappeared between the lines is all.

Well I dont know if this will work but im sending school an e-mail - telling them what is going on and requesting an update/some action (do you think that will work)

Its a nightmare trying to nab a teacher in the playground as the fussy parents always get there first

His teachers are great but I think because hes bright and just gets on with his work much as they say hes a "joy" his problems get overlooked. Hes got so much going on in his head he just can express it.

thats "cant express it"

i wouldn't e-mail tbh - i'd ring the school secretary and ask her to book an appointment for you with the senco...

that's just me, though

face to face they can't ignore you lol.

LOL

The mail has gone - I will give it a day or so (am feeling a bit "emotional" about it at the moment so probably not the best mindset to be speaking to people)

I will get my cool head on and chase verbally if I need to in a couple of days but tbh would be surprised if im not nabbed by a teacher at pick up time as soon as they have seen it.

They know im not a parent who makes a fuss about everything - in fact this is probably the first time ive raised an issue and DC1 is in in year 3.

ask whoever nabs you 'who's the senco?' it'll work quite well - especially if you act extremely apologetically about having to make a fuss, but you've been worried for a while and need to get it all sorted out for ds's sake. just say you think there's been a breakdown of communication with the nhs lol, as they said it would be nov, but you haven't heard anything.

good luck - but be firm about needing them to make a date for the assessment. it's gone on long enough.

Yeah I think I need to put my assertive head on - I let it slide because his teacher said he was OK and hes always so sunny but now he has told me it is upsetting him ive just got to go for it.

Thanks for your help - I know his teacher really well to chat to outside school she knows Im not the sort of parent who makes a mountain out of every molehill, so hopefully that will help.

I did stress also that im not just expecting them to sort it out - it is something we need to do together.

and in reality - the school haven't done anything wrong - if they weren't aware he was on the slt's list of 'kids to see at x primary' there was no reason to haul him out of class to see her lol.
hope it goes well x

our salts are always being reorganised. when it gets near to a time when they have said ds will be given an appointment, i phone every couple of days until i get one. otherwise we'd still be waiting

A big problem is that SALT's are like a sheffield flood,very few and far between.

dd has severe speech problems and is seen probably for an hour every 3 months.

I would see if you can get in touch with the SENCO for your area.

Well I was stopped by the deputy head within 2 hours of sending the message!

Apparently a therapist came in once last term and saw the children with statements...so not my son.

This term a new therapist has been appointed - she was due in last week (again only to see the children with statements) but called in sick and has not rescheduled.

As is always the case the only way to get her is to leave a message and wait for her to call back...at this point the school are still waiting.

Can I point out that, not just on this instance but generally, as long as you are polite and smiley you can pretty much ask the teachers (or the head) anything.

I held back from any potential conflict with school for a long time, but at some point I realised that the 'fussy' parents are the ones getting their kids' needs seen to (just as the more 'bratty' kids get more attention in class.

Just be polite and remember that it doesn't matter whether the teachers 'like' you or not - you're the only one who can stand up for your child and get him what he needs, so take some lessons from the pushy crowd.

Likewise with the therapists - be a (polite) pita and they'll see to you if only to make you go away.

oh how very unsatisfactory. I would start writing in to SALT department.

Ive e-mailed the SALT department already I have asked for direct contact details for the therapist.

LOL Toxic - dont you think though if you arent a parent who makes a mountain out of a molehill you are more likely to be taken seriously - if you moan all the time they are just going to think "oh here she is again"...trust me Im going to be like a jack russel with a bone over this, they are not getting rid of me (and yes I intend to be thoroughly charming)

Starlight - youve done the right thing getting him seen early, I kept hoping it would sort itself out im now kicking myself for not making a fuss earlier.

The thing is, unless they are getting therapy elsewhere, even the children with statements have only seen the in school therapist once since last September. Last time they saw a temporary therapist for an assessment and this time ( when if it happens its a new therapist again so back to stage 1 again)

I don't know that I'd call looking out for your child's needs making a mountain of a molehill. And it sounds as if you haven't been taken seriously, in spite of not having bothered anyone.

Ime, if you let teachers or the 'system' ignore you, they will. I remember my DD being in tears age 5 because she was away the day her teacher re-arranged the seats, and ended up the only girl sat next to a boy. It turned out that one particular boy's 'needs' were being catered for - he had to sit by a particular person. I'm sure his mother didn't see that as a molehill, and it certainly didn't stop the teacher pandering to her!

I'm glad you've got the bit between your teeth - keep your dander up and you'll get there!