NHS - six sessions of speech therapy???? What the heck?

[mamadadawahwah]

My ds (2.4) started speech therapy today. The therapist (NHS) advised me he is only going to get six sessions!!! from her.

Is this other people's experience? My son doesnt have any words as such, just babbles still. He will be starting on the Hanen method but using teacch as well for object identification.

Any ideas on how I can get more speech therapy through NHS or do you have to fund this yourself?

Also, any ideas from anyone on the teacch method? I dont like it, a bit too environmentally structuring for my taste. Can anyone comment if it is a good place to start though??

I am so confused and frustrated with this. Something new every day on this asd roller coaster!

PECS is incredibly difficult to "just do" though. In my experience you need to be shown by people who have been properly PECS traned, and have frequent follow ups- access to advice otherwise it tends not to work.

We gave up on our local authority and went on PECS courses ourselves. They are very well run ime- very professional- with a price to match of course (although parents are half price).

PECs is so much more difficult to incorporate and use than people imagine

yes- I think the training - or a lot of support form local professionals is essential. I tired doing it myself when ds1 was 2 using stuff from the internet. Total disaster- didn't have a clue when I look back. More successful when portage helped out- but only really got going after doing the training (and insisting that dh did it as well).

RnB, that was the same with us just over a year ago. Amelia was 2.5, and although she signed very well, she had no verbal communication so to speech of. We eventually got a half hour "assessment" which basically consisted of a SALT rushing down a checklist, asking me what she could and couldn't do. She didn't spend any time at all with Amelia! She then stood up and said she had too many children on her case load, wouldn't see us again but would send out a report and some photocopies of ideas to me!! That's really what prompted us in paying privately last year!!

J is 9 and a half and has only ever had four SALT sessions due to the lack of SALT provision in our area.[angry[
Having a child who was non verbal until he reached 5-6 years old was tough with no support or advice, but we muddled through.

We are fortunate enough at last that the LHA have been able to appoint a very good SALT. She is on the ball and has given us lots of programmes to follw to help J with his language difficulties. At our last appointment she was really stumped by some of the SAL problems we are having with J. She took it upon herself to arrange for us to be referred to another SALT out of area, who specialises in working with Autistic children.

I thought we would have months and months of waiting, but the appointment has come through for next week.

OT appointment has finally come through after a 27 months wait and guess what.....its on the same day at the same blooming time as the SALT appointment!!!!

Ive finally juggled things around and have managed to rearrange OT appointment for after SALT appointment...by then J will be really ratty and horrible and will probably refuse to do anything the OT asks him to do, but I didnt fancy another 4 month wait for the OT appointment.

Its a bit like a waiting for a bus..........

and at these stories. How many children and their families have been let down by this cr@ppy lack of provision???

mmddww - we have just started structuring the environment for our son who is 9 and HFA - I too thought it was too much but ... the more structure we have put in the better - he is much calmer now that we have done this and we have also managed to help him to control his constant snacking.

My dd2 is nearly 4 and she gets 1 appt a term(if I phone and nag for one(only ever sent for 2x) but she has never cooperated yet. I get given exercises at home to do with her but she won't try much at home either.

Apparently different health authorities prioritise differently.Some for m/s some for sen , some for under6 ,so no authority has the same criteria
At the sen school I work the Salt comes for 2 full days , sees around 12 officially(usually only sees 6 ) all from ks1 and below except 1.