what kind of support should I expect for a rather sever s&l disorder

[chocjunkie]

we got the report back from DD's first paed appointment and just finished our first block of speech therapy (group therapy which did not help at all :( ).

the paed report indicated quite clearly that paed thinks DD has a rather complex s&l disorder. after the last salt session, I had along discussion with DD's Salt and she didn't feel either that DD had made a lot of progress during the therapy sessions but said she wouldn't know what to do next and needs to talk to her supervisor .

I am now waiting for them to get back to me but wondered what kind of support I should expect as a minimum?

PS: DD is 3.3 and her s&l is at the level of about 2 years (at most).

DD aged 3 (also severe l and l disorder with associated learning difficulties although was still being called delay at that point) had a couple of six week blocks of 3 x weekly SALT. One GROUP ONE AT PLAYGROUP, 1 INDIVIDUAL SESSION AND ONE GROUP I took her to.

However that was the most she's had and now she is on an "intensive" outreach prgramme, a SALT oversees it and visits every six weeks and a SALT assisstant comes once a week. Between them and her keyworker they plan for dd to have targetted work done at playgroup and look at environment etc. At school she will have a TA one to one.

We don't have a speech and lang unit here though, not for young children anyway so it would be worth looking into whether there is one there, provision seems to vary so much. Good luck!

DS (4) has Severe verbal dyspraxia and was assessed as having a language level of 18mths. We have been really lucky with salt provision - 1 to 1 salt in clinic every 2 wks since he was 2 with a program devised by his therapist for him to follow in pre-school which meant he had 10-15 mins salt every day he was there.

Now we are fighting to have the same level of support at school - clinic will continue as every 2 weeks with school visits half termly. There is a language unit but its 1 hrs drive away so we are going ms for now. Good luck

Sorry I didn't make myself clear, was typing half asleep as usual. The three x a week blocks were the most frequent DD had SALT. Previously since age two she had had once a week. A good playgroup is key as they are the ones working with them every day (as well as stuff at home given by SALT).

Hope all is going well farming4, we are just waiting to hear about the statement but looks good so far.

oh, your DC seem to have received quite a bit support. I have been banging on about DD's problems since her 2nd birthday and have been fobbed off left right and centre :(. now a 3.3 we only 5 session of (absolutely useless) group therapy and her salt has no idea what to do next without consulting supervisor. wft...

DD just started nursery and is on EYA+. they are using the break to write up her IEP. we also did the CAF form.

chocjunkie

The easy bit is to identify the existence of a speech and language disorder, the difficult bit is to identify the underlying cause or causes of the speech and language problems.
There are a wide range of issues and when i was attempting to help edit the Wikipedia "Speech and language pathology" article last year, I listed some of the issues on a separate project page and including links to the respective Wikipeadia articles.

dolfrog, we actually suspect it might be due to auditory processing probs (your speciality, I know ;-). DD had dozens of ear infections when very little and bad glue ear. she also had grommets fitted... because of these problems, her hearing was consistently compromised until she finally got grommets (at 1.5 years).

chocjunkie

APD is a very new diagnosis in the UK, and the first UK APD clinic was at Sheffield University as part of an NHS funded Speech and Language research program. And it that was where I and two of our sons were diagnosed as having APD 2003 - 2004. The Medical Research Council's Institute of Hearing Research, based at Nottingham University, won their government funding for a 5 year APD research program in 2004, which also involved Great Ormond Street Hospital, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and many other research universities around the UK.
The easy option would have been to use the existing USA language based diagnostic tests, but there was a need for a universal APD diagnostic test which was not language dependent, and for a multi discipline (multi professional) assessment process which is considered best practice in the USA where they have been researching APD since the late 1960s.
The new MRC diagnostic tests are Sound Frequency based, and as part of the Ethics procedure, they were trialled in Greece and the UK. The next step and where we are now is to have a universal definition of APD, which means getting global agreement from the leading APD researchers and clinicians.
The new diagnsotic tests require at least one sound proof booth, but preferrably 2 or 3, to set up the battery of tests to diagnose APD, and this can be costly from regional health funding.
There are more APD diagnostic centres coming on stream, in various areas around the UK, but it is patchy. Audiologists have to be trained to use the new diagnostic tests, and how to interpret the results, Speech and Language Pathologists need to understand how APD can affect speech and language development, and psychologists need to understand how living with APD can affect an APD on a day to day basis. (the multi discipline approach).

So all is new especially to the professionals who also have to learn to work in partnership with each other.

Currently there are very few professionals in the UK who have the experience to diagnose APD prior to the age of Maturation 7 / 8 years old. But if there is a family history of APD, the inherited genetic link then APD a diagnosis may be possible. Otitis Media with Effusion (Glue Ear) is a method of acquiring APD, and rare in children there is also Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) which can result in a stroke, which in adults is part of Aphasia.

APD assessment currently requires a GP referral, the results of a recent hearing test, and possibly over 7 years old.
for more information
Medical Research Council
UK APD Steering Committee
Auditory Processing Disorder in the UK (APDUK)
and
my own Favourite APD Links web page