SALT discharge, is this common?

[saladsandwich]

ds was referred to SALT by the gp at 18months (hardly babbling, late pointing ect), he was assessed at 23months (he had a vocab of 2 words) then had 4 home visits from 2years4months and 2years 7months... he has made fantastic progress, going from 7 words to linking words together.

from september he started rythm and sound groups, he struggled if i'm honest the tasks where too hard for ds, his speech is around 9-12months behind so although he as made progress he hasn't caught up and now his pronunciation is hard to understand, i can't understand everything he says, he is trying but he is 3 and is not yet talking in sentences although he can put words together.

SALT have now discharged him? even though he is delayed they have said when he is 4years and 6months he can be re referred? so he will spend probably 2 years now without help... it seems wrong but i dont know if its worth ringing up? we have a CAF coming up and a community paed appointment, i dont know whether to raise it there?

My ds's speech is delayed by 2 years they are offering him no therapy at all just reviewing him every 6 months . I have had to go to an Independant salt I don't think I'll get anywhere with the Nhs route. It is very frustrating.

Think Leonie is right unfortunately - NHS SALT needs to be more upfront and honest with parents of ASD children about what they can and cannot do for them rather than doing pointless assessments, vague advice, maybe a leaflet and then nothing

thanks for the replies, they dont even know what is wrong with ds at the moment, they (salt) have mentioned in passing vowel disorder and sensory issues. community paed said ds's problems could be down to just language delay but he is assessing him every 6 months but they said as his language got better his behaviour would and it hasnt :(.

think i might start lookign see if i could afford a private assessment, it wont be till summer though, all spare money as just gone on a house :(

Yep, we've been referred and discharged in two separate cycles. They seem to work in a way where they have a sort of programme in mind, which they deliver (so first time round it was 1:1's when there was money available), second time round it was a two terms of a small group session.

The fact he's three makes me think as well that he'll be going to nursery, so there's a kind of shift in emphasis as to who should do stuff - kind of hard to pin down what I mean by that, but our last sign-off coincided with him starting school...

Do you have a diagnosis of any sort OP? Or is it 'just' speech delay?

Leonie

Massive x post, sorry!

If you don't have a dx and he's been signed off by SALT then I don't think you'll get far with pushing for more SALT. I did a Hanen course called More than Words, google it and worth asking if its available in your area.

he is already in a private nursery where they are trying with some rythm and sound work but they have trouble engaging ds, i feel sad saying this but the work is beyond him.

the community paed has said he is behind with language, social and self care skills with behaviour problems. they where expecting when he could talk then he would catch up, he hasnt. they have taken a wait and see approach with him. my biggest concern is if they leave him so long the gap will become wider, when he was first assessed by SALT he was 6months behind, the community paed put him 9months behind at the minute it is 12months delay.

i can't believe they just write children off leonie :( i was at a child development course the other week and speech was discussed, its rn by a lovely teacher but the "facts" she mentioned about speech delay upset me. she mentioned the prison population in relation to speech delay wtf? x

Children who are difficult to engage are hard work and take time. With limited resources these are the ones that get left.

BUT that doesn't mean they aren't engagable or rewarding to teach if you find the right strategy. Don't ever give up but do be prepared to train yourself in your child's therapy needs.

How old is he? The statementing process takes time (18 months if you allow for a tribunal) BUT I believe is well worth it long term to secure ongoing support. You can apply from nursery age and anecdotal evidence seems to say the younger you apply the easier it is to obtain one (less people to argue against it and they seem to write off older kids).

I'm still in shock that my now 7 year old has won the weekly salt sessions it's my belief he should have got at nursery via tribunal - I will now insist this support is maintained for the 5 years I think it'll take to sort his receptive issues ; )

In the meantime chase for a hanen more than words course, and use a private salt if you can (apply for dla to pay for it if you have to!).

Think short and long term strategies to get what you want.

Also spend some time thinking about what motivates your child specifically - stickers fail to light a fire under a helluva lot of kids and being able to share what REALLY rewards your individual child makes a helluva difference to the progress professionals who may only see your child infrequently can make when you do get help iyswim - otherwise 6-12 sessions while the therapist works out how to get your child engaged. Feeling included in social activities is my own child's biggest motivator and he'll bust a gut just to be able to "join in" with his peers. That's not as easy to administer as a standard reward chart but now his current school have sussed how to tap into this desire of his the progress he's made has been astounding in a kid everyone wanted to write off to a pru aged just 6.

Keep a diary to work out how/when/what your child is most engaged and motivated to learn. We are all indivduals and what works varies massively from chld to child & isn't always as obvious as the "experts" would have us believe.

As a parent you are better placed than anyone to suss what really makes a light shine in your child's eyes & a highly motivated child is one who CAN learn - it's a basic principle of the aba some on this board are so keen on, common sense that gets lost under a shedload of "theories" from experts methinks all too often. Workloads for lea/pct professionals and the needs of the other kids in the class from teachers mean they don't get the chance to ponder on engagement and motivation the way you as a Mum can. I think it it's the single biggest thing you can do to help the professionals teach your child.

Have you tried contacting your local councillor. I've found it to be very effective. Personally I take the gentle, persistent, firm approach. It doesn't get people's backs up, but they realise that you're not going to go away until you're satisfied either . I did this with OT who couldn't take DS on again as they'd already suggested all the strategies they could for his problems, but they then went into his school - he's in an autism unit - and worked with the whole class where they were able to observe him and work with him more.

Hope that helps.

Different departments have different "rules", but that sounds a bit strange to me. I would bring it up with the paediatrician, and maybe ask if they do MDAs in your area (multi-disciplinary assessment).
If you want to go the private route, you should be able to get a £500 voucher from Cerebra - no good at links but google it. Once there is a private assessment stating his needs, you'll be better placed to get the support needed.

hi thanks for all the helpful replies.

i rung SALT today and they have passed his file to the manager and they are ringing back some time after christmas, they have discharged all the children till they are 4 and half not just mine.

i should have said he can engage, but the nursery have had trouble because of the noisy environment so they have said after the new year they will take him into the other room with a few children (they dont have staff numbers to do 1-1 in the quite room) but he does engage with SALT, he liked the home visits he went straight to her bag of toys.

he liked the rhythm and sound groups by SALT they where quiet just a handful of children, ds copes with small groups, i was told they cant do much at this age for pronunciation??? ds cant have a proper conversation so thats the least of my worries, when i hear children younger than him talking it kills me it does x

ds does have CAF i think thats a MDA??? i think its odd too curly frizz ball they havent discharged him because he is imprving or his speech is ok they have actually said they are havinf a major over haul of the SALT department and if ds (and others from the rythm and sound group) still have problems then at 4 and half they can be re-referred. so ds is lookign at 18months without even being on the list then probably 6 months waiting to be seen.

i'm going to look into that cerebra thing, has anybody here used private SALT? i'm defintely going to look into it, going to wait see what community paed says in january, never even thought about dla, i didnt want to go down that route as i feel terrible even putting an application in

Have been using private salt for a year now. Tis a struggle at £40 a session (weekly) but has been well worth it.

Depends on area. Some trusts will routinely discharge after an "episode of care" and will expect someone to rerefer, some put people on a review period where if parent/school/setting doesn't contact for further input there is automatic discharge, some discharge if they think there's nothing more they can do. It's very variable and ad hoc and probably resource-led decision making.

Don't shoot the messenger!

Ds has recently been discharged. He's come along tremendously in the past couple of years but I put that down to nursery/school rather than anything SALT did. After his regular speech therapist went on maternity leave any communication from them was non-existent. I don't blame the individual workers in the slightest but it's obvious the system is massively overstretched. He was getting visits in school but these stopped as they were only going to deal with the most severe cases in school time. He's still behind most children of his age & I worry how being discharged will effect things like his statement & dla.

come summer i could probably afford the private sessions if they are £40, i think i might do some ringing around... if it was just ds's pronunciation i wouldnt be as concerned leaving him so long, it's the fact he seems stuck,he seems more confident but his speech isnt progressing into actual conversations, i knwo i should be grateful he is talking abit, maybe its me being impatient but i just want as much help for my little boy,

we have to fight for everything it seems so wrong!