Speech therapy

[LizK]

Bit of a jumble post so bear with me

 

DS is just over 3.5yrs old, probably ASD (primary speech problem the other possible but less likely diagnosis) and has an expressive and receptive speech delay of one year. In addition his speech pattern is disordered and typical of a child with ASD. Although he has other ASD traits his speech delay is his area of major difficulty

 

We have been under a SALT since he was 20mths though she only really took an interest a year back when she confirmed he had a speech delay consistent with ASD. Since then we've had 4 monthly follow-ups but no actual speech therapy and only minimal guidance as to what to do at home. The reason we've been given is that as my son's speech continues to improve he's doesn't need actual therapy, just keeping an eye on. This may be true BUT although his speech is improving he's not catching up, infact eh gap is slowly getting bigger and the ASD speech traits are still there. I'm also aware of how poorly funded SALT service is and how locally they are trying to do consultation work where everyone else does the hands on work instead. We had a follow up with the SALT a fortnight ago, expressed our concerns forcefully and managed to get her to agree to him having a block of 4 session of speech therapy over the summer. Not ideal but it's at least a start

 

What I'm getting round to asking is are there any other aprents on here with preschoolers with speech problems? Are you getting any decent speech therapy provision or has it been a battle? Any advice for things I can do at home with my son to encourage his speech development?

 

My other question relates to speech delay and Aspergers. We've been told that if DS has ASD he is likely to be on the milder end of the spectrum/have Aspergers. This has been based upon the fact he is bright, he can learn and although he has other autistic traits but they aren't so bad (yet anyway). His speech delay almost seems out of proportion to the other traits he has. Makes me wonder whether he has got AS. I've read some stuff that says there is no speech delay in AS, other info that says there are speech problems but not to the extent of my sons. Again interested to know of any children with AS who had speech difficulties. Maybe it's all academic whether he's got AS or not as it's all on the autistic spectrum, in fact our paed prefers to use the term ASD rather than AS as he thinks it can be confusing

 

Liz x

[Helen]

Liz,

 

My son has a dx of AS, he also has a separate dx of Semantic Pragmatic Disorder, which is a difficulty with expressive and receptive language. He received the SPD dx before the AS dx. He's 13 yrs now.

 

He initially received SALT at the age of 2 ? yrs, he didn't begin speaking in sentences until he was approximately 5 yrs. I think he received 11 x ? hr sessions between 2 ? yrs and 12 yrs. We were basically given a certain amount of exercises and left to get on with it. He didn?t receive any follow up appointments. A few years ago I self-referred my son to the SALT department which has led to him receiving regular SALT input.

Maybe it's all academic whether he's got AS or not as it's all on the autistic spectrum, in fact our paed prefers to use the term ASD rather than AS as he thinks it can be confusing

Well there could be another reason why your paediatrician prefers to use the term ASD rather than AS - it's more difficult for a parent to have their child's educational needs met when their child has an ASD dx ? this is particularly evident during the statutory and statementing process.

[Helen]

this is particularly evident during the statutory and statementing process.

... should have read:

 

this is particularly evident during the statutory assessment and statementing process.

[sam5886]

My son is 4 and has a dx of aspergers and a Speech and Language Disorder with extreme expressive language difficulties.

 

He has 1hr speech and language therapy at home once a fortnight and his SaLT has recommended in her part of her report that he gets at least 1 hour a week when he starts school in Sept. If the LEA agree to this then I shall pass away in a dead faint but here's hoping.

 

Sam

x

[Zemanski]

LEAs prefer a dx of AS because the assumption is that AS kids can manage in mainstream and don't require as much support so if they wait for speech to catch up then they can avoid a dx of HFA or autism.

 

it really ought to be academic as to which diagnosis a child has - they are all forms of autism and each child should be treated as an individual and supported appropriately whatever their diagnosis - but it isn't.

 

they like to describe AS as a 'mild form of autism' too which they obviously use to justify the way they treat kids with AS as opposed to autism.

 

yet again it is all about funding

 

it is much harder to get support for AS kids, especially those who mask their difficulties in school - just getting staff to recognise they are having problems can be hard enough.

 

Zemanski

[Lesley]

wow- someone out there just like me!

James is 4, starts school in sept.

referred to SALT at 2 with no speech, noises, nothing.

Started in SEN pre-school - been there 2 years with SALT overseeing daily programme. Only 3 SALT visits per year

We went independent cos we thought there was more to it than just a language delay & wanted direct therapy. Also went to independent clinical psychologist with list of ASD behaviours as the LEA wouldn't let him see an EP.

Now got dx of Asperger's, ADHD, and Speech and Language Disorder. Expressive difficulties seem to be around sequencing - also oro-motor difficulties could be verbal dyspraxia.

Fought for a year & have an NHS appt at the Nuffield Centre in Aug. (ugly but we got there)

 

Guess what?

Had James' handover review last week -

School didn't turn up

Noneof his dx were mentioned (until I did!)

The dx didn't appear in the draft minutes (until we wrote a v. strong letter and had them amended)

The LEA kindly forwarded the DRAFT minutes to SENDIST as late evidence.

 

The LEA line is 'doesn't need a statement, language delay improving'.

Tribunal date 20 Oct (thanks to LEA delays)

Got my MP to complain but the disregard for the dx is brushed aside - Ms. so&so will be representing the LEA at tribunal.......

Just finished ombudsman complaint over the lack of regard for important information.

 

Let us know how you get on!

 

Lesley

[pim]

HI

 

My ds, 4 at the end of this month is meant to see a speech therapist. He saw a locum for 4 sessions. Then he had a new locum, who went into the nursery to advise what can be done. Her advice was the same as the pre-school autistic advisory service, like trying to get ds to sit with the group and to use symbols. I thought the SALT advice would be more specific to try and get ds to talk. He is 18-24 months behind in communication skills.

I did ask the locum that ds does need to be seen more, but their priority is to get the waiting list down. So it sounds like we're in the same boat. I don't see how they can help a child if they are seen so infrequently.

 

pim

[Elouise]

Sam screamed and screamed. I remember that more than words.

He wa given a diaognosis of severe ADHD with a query of ASD (?autistic?) which i disputed having had nathan who definatly IS autistic (kanners definition)

 

Full assesment by specialist regional language unit found his biggest problem was word finding difficulties followed by semantic pragmatic errors and that made for a very frustrated increadiably bright Aspergers kid.

 

That full in depth report got Sam a place at an ASD nursary in an autistic specific that gave him speech therphy every day instead of once a month.

 

We still had to fight for it though. Had to push for the words 'As a result of Aspergers Syndrome, Attention deficit hyperactive disorder Sam displays significant difficulties in.....' for the first section of his statement.

I MADE them do it though I refussed to accept or sign the statement without the diaognosis included.

[Emum]

We've been very lucky. E was diagnosed with ASD aged 2 and almost immediately got speech therapy from a Speech Therapist specialising in Autism. She got alternate blocks of eight sessions, one per week initially 1:1, moving on to group therapy as they introduced PECS. This Speech Therapist did a report for her Stat Assessment saying she needed both group and individual therapy so when she started special school aged 3 she had group therapy once a week, and for the last term has also had one 1:1 session per week. Our LHA puts all its ASD money into Speech Therapy, the downside is there is nothing left for other approaches such as OT.

 

In terms of what they do with her, it follows pretty closely the program set out in the Hanen book, More than Words, which they recommended to us from day one. This has lots of ideas for things that you can do at home to encourage speech, and you can order it on the internet if you do a google search for it.

 

Having said that, even with all this input, she is still non verbal, though she is going great guns with PECs

[LizK]

Thanks everyone Sorry ofr bulk reply but really need to go to bed

 

Not surprising really the different and not all positive experiences

 

Good point Zemanksi about ASD rather than AS as a diagnosis. Will store that up for the near future.

 

Thanks for the book recommendation Emum.

 

Liz x

[Jericho]

I have 2 boys with ASD. My eldest started getting SALT at 3yrs old. He got one session a month and we were given activities to do with him during the rest of the month. By the time he started school at 4yrs old he had caught up with his classmates - although he does still have some quirks.

 

My youngest is 2.5yrs old and has been having SALT for about 4 months. Again he has one session a month and activities to do inbetween. His language is improving rapidly. Luckily for us the SALT realises that although he can speak in full sentences he still understands very little. We have no SALT during school holidays but will be carrying on with it in September.