I'm a bit unsettled about Nolan's speech. I talked with his therapist yesterday. Thursday I will observe. I'm not sure if I should try to have another discussion with HER, her supervisor or call the district and talk to those who did his IEP.
He's always LOVED speech - for the 2 years he's gone in AK. He is visibly upset now when he knows it's a speech day. He's tense, uptight and has even teared up when walking into the building. This is not normal. After I talked with the therapist yesterday about her method of teaching, I heard her with her supervisor. The supervisor was telling her she needs to make eye contact etc....and she was saying "but he won't look me in the eye"...this is so not like him.
My talk with her had nothing to do with him not wanting to come. She's brand new. I know that she is learning that "patient/client manner" that is so important for new docs and such to learn.
Yesterday, she told me that he CAN make all the sounds now but speaks to fast. She's teaching him to read. I told her I was doing that. She showed me the book she is having him "read". I told her that is way beyond his reading ability. She showed me that she tells him to trace the word, memorize its shape and then they close their eyes and say the word etc. and that he is learning to read. I explained that we are teaching him to read via phonics and that I didn't want her to be teaching him to "read" via the whatever this method is way. She said the only thing to help him artic is to learn to read this way. I told her that if the only thing they have to offer is to teach him to read then this is a waste of the school district's money because WE are teaching him to read and can read to him and slow him down at HOME.
In AK our speech therapist was giving him exercises to strengthen his jaw and mouth muscles...he has weak muscle tone. She was giving us things to do at home, she insisted he needed a thorough hearing exam by an audiologist...which we didn't get due to the move.....
Here they send nothing home, do no exercises, haven't said a word about the hearing test (though I requested it in November) and all she tells me each week is "we read a book". On top of this he now is visibly worried about attending speech.
Please pray with us as I try to figure out what to do and where to go from here. I certainly don't want to pull him out if they can still offer something to help....but I HAVE the ARTIC books that show which books to read for which sounds etc. I have several of the Speech Therapy books that our therapist recommend the state of AK buy for us...so really...if he can make the sounds...and they have nothing to offer but read.....maybe it is time to see about terminating therapy......but I don't want to do that if they have tools to help him further....See the quandry?
4 comments:
DeEtta,
As a former special ed teacher and a mom of a child in speech - if the therapist is teaching your son to read and that is not in his IEP, I would start with her and explain that you do not want him learning to read. Explain you want speech therapy.
If she is uncooperative or nothing changes in abouta week, then call the district spec ed office and talk to the person in charge.... John is in speech now and Madeleine was when younger and neither was taught to read... John's class plays lots of games to work on sounds.. like Go Fish, Memory etc
Another thought... I wouldn't wait for the school district to do a hearing test. Call his PCM and request a hearing test. Chances are what the doc can do is more extensive than what the school can provide.
Also as far as homework, I"ve had kids in speech in 5 different school systems and none have had homework...so that is not all that unusual
Read the paragraph in "Thursday in Review". I did basically what you suggest.
The school has done their tests but he needs to be seen by an audiologist. Our PCM has already said she'll approve it but she needs the Rehab to request it.....
I'll deal with that on Tuesday.
Wow we were lucky because our therapist in AK was GREAT to give us things to do at home. I tell them I want that and it really make progress quicker. (We had Jared and Arielle in speech too). She would give us facial exercises to strengthen his face etc....maybe its because your children didn't have the flaccid face problem? The thing is those muscles are like any other and are NOT going to make significant improvement if she works on it 5 minutes twice a week (which she hasn't even been doing)....she simply hadn't read the folder to see what was IN his IEP. sigh.
That is sad that she didn't read his IEP. That is the only way she has to know what she should be doing.
You're right about the muscles; we didn't have that issue.
Both of mine was strictly articulation.
Glad to hear that things are beginning to come together
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