StarlightMcKenzie, are you about?

[Brownally]

I've mostly lurked on here (only posted once a while back) but would value some advice on my situation re.SALT and based on your postings, you appear to have had some success in this area. My DS1 2.10yrs old(asd) waited nearly a year to receive SALT and when she finally turned up, she said she would see him monthly until he went into nursery in september. (He's got a place at a really good SN nursery nearby....)but i've just been informed by SALT that due to staff shortages, she can only see him once every 7 weeks! She kept apologising and saying there was nothing she could do even while admitting that this was not sufficient support given the level of his needs Private SALT says i should put in a formal complaint as she's familiar with my LEA and indicated that i might get more regular sessions if i kicked up a fuss complained. Shall i? She isn't particularly great at engaging DS anyway unlike private SALT who is fab with him!But on the other hand, i can't help but think that if i don't, it might get worse..even fewer sessions offered How have you dealt with your SALT? We've probably got different LEAs but some advice would be really helpful as i'm really not sure what to do, who to write to etc. thanks

Starlight
Thank you so very much for your response. All very useful for me and i'm grateful
I have a better idea of how to approach this now. You're absolutely right re outcomes. i guess that's one of the things that's niggled away at me. I've never really understood what exactly these sessions were meant to achieve whereas with the private SALT, she did a detailed assessment and then produced a report with targets, how we work towards them day to day with DS and timelines to review etc. So this is the kind of clarity that's missing with the SALT and that's really what i need to address.

Like you said, it's pointless trying to get more appointments for a service that isn't great just for the sake of it! Based on what i read on this thread, i'm sure there's far more crucial battles ahead for us and i'm minded to reserve my strength for those!

Private SALT has been very good with providing us with techniques/ideas to develop communication with DS and we see her every 3wks or so and have phone & email access to discuss any concerns or problems.She's great! Just wish we could have a comparable service from the NHS!
Thanks again for your time. Very kind of you

You're absolutely right Starlight! I would rather make the necessary sacrifices and get him the help he needs to progress now. Belive me, it's not been easy but i think it's so important to take advantage of these early years & lay the foundations to help him achieve his full potential. I learned very early on that i'm his best chance of that happening so yes, i will keep chipping away at them and i plan to send out letters of complaint to our SALT team manager & OT & SS team, all of whom have promised support for DS which has just not come through a year later.
I've kept him at home with me and based on a mixture of techniques learned from Hanen, the private SALT and the good beginnings programme, i think he's made, and continues to make good progress. We are now considering a full time ABA programme and hopefully, if we can make that happen( so hard getting a team together!!) that will be more help & support to help DS progress. That all that matters to me really in the end. In addition, i also have a 7 month old DD2 to think about so i have enough to be getting on with without stressing out about the appalling provision by the LA! Thanks again for your advice. helped me 'organise' my thoughts about the whole thing