speech people

[Gwendolyn]

diggity, I had to send you a private message. Not that it would be hard to sort out where we are and then what district that would be. Last year DS1's teacher threatened to sue for slander after I discussed concerns with the principal. Not that she had any grounds, etc. I'm a bit squeamish about posting the detail on a public board. Our town is small and has a strong older voter base. No levies ever or anytime soon. They have even done away with librarians in elementary school for next year. No art or music and PE only for 3rd grade an up and only for 1/2 of the year. The median home price is 350K, but most single family homes are around the 500K-750k mark assuming you do no have a view...and there are plenty of views here. It was interesting to move to a neighborhood with a great tax base (Boeing is here too) and see such terrible education conditions.

All of my kiddos are now at a wonderful progressive montessori school that they and we adore. We just did all of our annual Dr.s visits (dental, audiology, pedi, etc.) and everyone commented on how much DS1 has blossomed this year and how much more confident he is. It was nice to hear other people, who don't know the story and who don't really have anything invested in the compliment, notice the difference. We are investing a tremendous amount of money in making this work, but for the direness of the circumstance last year it was a no-brainer. For DS1 he would not have survived the system even with my full time advocacy. Moving schools truly changed his life and that is not an overstatement. It is overwhelming to think about those kiddos who experience a similar difficulty, but can't access a similar solution.

[diggitydot]

Apparently, that teacher doesn't realize that slander only applies if the information is a lie. What a tool.

It amazes me how even just a different teacher changes a kids' experience. DS had an AWFUL teacher for 2nd grade and most all the kids were miserable. 3rd grade came around with a new adult in the room (oddly enough, most of the same kids) and there were NO problems, whatsoever. Group dynamics are so weird.

I'm so glad your kiddo's experience has shifted so dramatically! If we were staying here, I was considering sending our little dude to the Montessori school here. It has a great reputation and I think he'd do well there.

Each kid has such different learning styles. I think that's part of the problem people experience with public schools -- they tend to have a "one-size-fits-all" approach unless a student qualifies for an IEP.

[HouseofWool]

Each kid has such different learning styles. I think that's part of the problem people experience with public schools -- they tend to have a "one-size-fits-all" approach unless a student qualifies for an IEP.

That is if they deign to actually follow it.

[Chrisada]

I'm so sad to here this. Our insurance pays for speech 100%. P goes an hour a week. And our school district is absolutely amazing when it comes to speech! They came to our house and evaluated P last year. He qualifies for speech once a week in addition to a playgroup. And.. the big one... he gets to go to pre-school for FREE five days a week starting next school year because of his speech, which to be honest is minor. He is on the borderline. Early intervention is really big around here.

And to add on to what DD said, our district is considered wealthy and has a ton of money and we pay extremely high taxes. It is also a very small community (no buses bec. everyone walks to their school). The houses range from $20 million to $60,000 within our five mile wide city. And the community is fiercely protective of the schools.

[Gwendolyn]

That is if they deign to actually follow it.

Yes!

Christada, that is fantastic. I've always hoped for that scenario, but we just haven't had it. Where you live makes a big difference...even in insurance coverage.

[moonlight]

I need a little bit of support today. Our ST just left and I've had it with her. I'm about to fire our second ST. Why does this have to be so hard? Why am I seeing things she doesn't see? How can she say DD's comprehension is getting worse? I know she is a younger ST and I'm all for that but I really feel in my gut I need someone that has been at this for a decade or more. I'm lost and I refuse to go another week being lost with her. I think I'm done.

[diggitydot]

The one thing I learned with the little dude's language issues was to trust my gut. When someone doesn't see what you see, it's time to get someone more tuned in to your kiddo. Fire as many as you need to until you find one that is a good fit.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

No advice, only hugs. This must be really, really hard and bang-your-head-into-a-wall frustrating.

[moonlight]

The one thing I learned with the little dude's language issues was to trust my gut. When someone doesn't see what you see, it's time to get someone more tuned in to your kiddo. Fire as many as you need to until you find one that is a good fit.

Before I got a chance to read this I did exactly what you said and I feel better now.

I've taken her to the doctor many many times because this ST person thinks my child has a cognitive problem. The doctors keep assuring me she is developing at a normal rate and children with problems don't develop at the rate she does, etc etc. Long covo that I couldn't begin to post. Basically they've told me she is good expect that her hearing was not good for months while she had fluid in her ears, and none of us caught it. She has made BIG improvements since getting tubes. In fact the last well check up showed that DD was in the normal range for communication!

She did a six month eval a couple weeks ago. I asked her today what the results were. She told me that DD's cognitive abilities are getting worse since before her tubes surgery last October. She also said her language has greatly improved. I agree that her language has improved she was only saying 3 words TOTAL before the surgery at the age of 2 yrs old. She understands and follows directions really well right now. We have not been on the same page for a long time.

I called our case worker person and told them to not send her back out here. All she has done for the past 3 months is work on cognitive drills; instructions, directions, do this, now do that... Hardly any work on helping her learn the things I want her to learn. Which would be expressing wants, needs, 3+ word sentences, and less babble words.

THANK YOU Diggitydot

[houseelf]

Moonlight,

Just sending you out some fellow mommy praise. This crap isn't easy. Babymoonlight is lucky to have you as her champion.

[moonlight]

Moonlight,

Just sending you out some fellow mommy praise. This crap isn't easy. Babymoonlight is lucky to have you as her champion.

Thanks for that.

In case anyone was wondering about DH in all this. I couldn't get a hold of him before I let ST go today. When he got home from work I told him the whole thing and he wished I had throw the woman out after she said the words "her cognitive abilities are getting worse."

[hanginginthere]

I think it is so important to be our kid's advocates...this is hard! It is painful to see my baby girl struggle so hard to talk...she was diagnosed with mild verbal apraxia and is in speech 2x per week- our insurance told us they will pay for a total of 40 hours a year...and no assessments...thankfully, hubby's work covers all co-pays and forgives anything that insurance won't pay...she is now talking but we have a long way to go still...hugs to all of you!

[v-girl]

Just hugs!

[diggitydot]

Thanks for that.

In case anyone was wondering about DH in all this. I couldn't get a hold of him before I let ST go today. When he got home from work I told him the whole thing and he wished I had throw the woman out after she said the words "her cognitive abilities are getting worse."

I don't know why, but some special services peeps want to see more than what is in front of them.

When DS was being screened for preschool early intervention, the school "psychologist" balked at our developmental pediatrician's insistence on a new, different IQ test. She kept trying to tell us that he was borderline mentally retarded (IQ ~70), and that another test was a waste of time because his score wasn't going to change. Except that he was already identified with speech and language delays and the test they used relied heavily on language skills. Our pediatrician ordered an IQ test that didn't rely on mastery of language and was pretty pissed that they didn't use it in the first place. The new, non-language reliant test showed his IQ in the high-normal range, which was in line with our experiences. That right there taught me to trust my gut. When someone tries to tell me something about my own kid's development that makes zero sense, I don't freak out. I get another opinion from someone with better qualifications.

[moonlight]

For anyone that has experience with this issue... Have you used any music therapy in the process of ramping up langue?

DD is still very interested in all things music. We are enrolling her in the Music Together local class and we loved the preview class last weekend. I was blown away with the level of experience from the husband and wife team. The wife is a music therapist with a masters. I wish I could hire her to work with DD, but it's out of our price range. She mentioned that some school districts employ music therapists to work with children with special needs such as langue delays. I asked our teacher about it and she said they do music during story time. I called a more experienced teacher in the program and she said music must be integrated during the day by the teacher. Each teacher decides how she will use music in the classroom.

Thoughts or experience with music therapy?