Unhappy with speech therapist

[boohoohoo]

Does anyone know if you can change your DCs speech therapist? Im really upset and angry with the one that my son has. She has seen him when he was just two for 15 mins and then observered a session with had with a colleague of hers for half an hour the other day and has decided that he has Autism and that we need to see a peadiatric dr for diagnosis!

His background is that he was born with a cleft palate which was repaired when he was eight months old, so he has been a little delayed in talking and some of his words are coming out slightly muddled partly due to having had two bouts of glue ear already. His SALT at the cleft palate clinic was really pleased with his language at two but felt that he could do with assessing from our local SALT team just to monitor him over the next couple of years. Bearing in mind that he has seen an aray of professionals over the past two and half years and attends nursery one day a week, no one has any concerns with him at all.

She told me the other day that he ticks some boxes for autism, i.e. he dribbles - yes cos he was born with a cleft and has to re-learn how to swallow properly, he lines his cars up er yes then he drives them all over the place, he plays with all different types of toys. Hes socialble, loving, cross, good, naughty, everything you would imagine a two and a half year old to be. Oh yes, he didnt want to sit and play tea parties with her when he was just two. So she has decided to diagnose him and wont allow him to start SALT properly until he has a diagnosis!

Now, if I thought for one moment that he had even mild autism, I would fight tooth and nail for him to get all of the support he needed, just as any other parent would, but I am so pissed off for her as I cannot understand why she is so bloody adament after seeing him for such a short period. Anyway we have an appointment to see pediactrics in early sept, I dont want to go as I have no idea of what to say to them, they have sent me a questionaire to fill out with my concerns, what am I meant to do?

Thanks for bearing with me, I know its a jumble just so cross with this woman and want to pull him out altogether but my husband thinks it might be a bad idea and he said we should just go and tell them we have no concerns otherwise we could look as though we are unco-operative.

Anyone else changed their SALT?
Thanks

Well, I would say that getting SALT is like finding a needle in a haystack. You can ask but there may well be no other option for you depending how things are in your area. Probably the easiest route here would be to fill in the form with a few "minor" things on it - like ongoing dribbling presumed due to previous cleft issues and wait for the appointment where hopefully the doctor will see no issues at all related to autism and put it in black and white for you. You can then go back to the SALT and will have ticked their boxes without any awkwardness and can carry on where you left off.

No harm in going to see the paed. The SALT isn't qualified to dx Autism - only the paed is. And obviously if he doesn't have it, the paed will not find it, and will sign you off.

boohoohoo

Glue Ear or Otitis Media with Effusion, can be a method of acquiring Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), which is a listening disability, or not being able to process all that you hear.
SALT should be aware of what APD is as the UK Medical Research Council officially recognised APD in 2004, and speech and language pathologists have been part of the UK APD research program. So it would be professional neglegence on their part if they have no knowledge of APD.

So you could include this on your form

Thanks for the replies, appreciate it and maybe just needed to rant.

I know I sound very defensive but I just hated her patronising tone of ticking boxes, we have so many hospital/clinic appointments for our son and sees quite a few professionals who are really happy with his progress, and I really can't see where she's coming from. Just sounds like she's read a book.

'sigh' well we'll go along to yet another appointment so he can have his speech therapy, but I still can't stand the woman!

WHY would a SALT stop speach therapy just because she thinks a child has autism???? does that make a difference? Just curious and wondered why seeing they are to do with speach and nothing else?

And well done to your DS for coming on so well

might be worth looking at the Wikipedia Speech-Language Pathology article

On a previous thread I have described the problems that I have with DD's SALT, who wants to discharge her because she is making such slow progress with social communication skills and she feels that she has reached a plateau, and will not progress much further, due to her ASD.

I disagree and I don't consider that a diagnosis of ASD should prevent her from continuing to receive SALT!! She has a separate S&L disorder, as well as social skill difficulties, but the SALT service are so over-stretched, they are just desperate to get children off their books!

Thanks for your thoughts on this, my husband took him for his last session this morning as I've not been well. It was sold to me as a pre course to teach very young children to learn to sit, concentrate and interact with the SALT before they begin their actual therapy. This was a four week course, and last week the therapist who saw ds for his assessment sat in on it, it was her who has decided to diagnose ds with autism, this is why Ive been so upset. Ds has seen so many HCP who have got to know him well, they all agree he's has a slight speech and social delay due to speech and glue ear, but apart from a little speech therapy they all feel he'll be fine and catch up in his own time.

The blinking joke is we'll go to see peadiatrition (should be a short assessment!) as she didnt want to see ds until he had seen him (slight blackmail) but because of that we've dropped back down the SALT waiting list. So I think TTTW you've hit the nail on the head, she was looking for a reason to knock him off the books!

Incidentally the therapist my DH saw today said she couldnt see what the other woman was going on about but said she was "very enthusiastic"