Private Speech Therapist

[LimboLil]

Hi, just wondered, have any of you lovely ladies with children with ASD used the services of a private speech therapist and has it been of benefit. My son is 5.5 and recently diagnosed with ASD and learning difficulties. He is increasingly verbal and I feel his understanding and awareness of conversations going on around him is increasing too. He has been under SALT since he was 3. In that time he has had 5 1:1 sessions, many observations and some input at school from SALT through his TA. We are currently going through statement process and I am reluctant to pay for private at the moment until the terms of his statement have been agreed, in case it jeopardises things. Is this wise? If you can tell me any of your experiences of private SALT I would be grateful :-)

Hi, my daughter has a severe expressive language delay (4 words at age 2.5) but not asd. I felt the salt support we were getting (one session every few months) wasn't sufficient and we now have private salt once a fortnight. We've only had a few sessions but already she is making more sounds and I'm feeling more empowered to help her. I wish we had started earlier and am now looking at moving from fortnightly to weekly sessions. It sounds like the nhs input you are having is also pitifully low. I would do it - though I have no idea how it will affect statementing I would hope it wouldn't. We are still getting the same nhs provision as well as private - and if anything I think our nhs therapist has picked up a burble someone else is working with dd too! Good luck.

i had a private report done as part of the tribunal process. no SALt report had been done for 4 years and one wasnt even done as part of the statementing process. It can vack that he had huge difficulties and recommended therapy every week. we used this report to enable the therapy weekly to be written into his statement which is now has been. the LA post tribunal have referred him to the NHS SALT but we have yet to even recieve a date for him to be seen not that it matters as its now in his statement and he will receive the therapy via the independent school.

i found that the private report was very detailed. it was also my cheapest report at £150

DS had been having private salt weekly for 2 years it didn't have a negative impact on his statement