What I like about Speech Therapists

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Speech therapists are the specialists that always offer my son services we had no idea he needed.

In a world where so much fighting has to take place to get kids what they need, I find that refreshing.

My son has graduated from speech a few times, but as he ages the bar changes, and he keeps re-qualifying, usually on factors that never occurred to us.

So this year he will work in speech therapy on looking for and reading the non-verbal cues that mean, "I'm eager for you to ask me questions now" and the like. Of course we knew he was weak on that, but it had never occurred to us there was a term for it, and a measurable standard that could be used to qualify for services. It won't be a lot of hours, and it isn't all that big a deal, but it was still unexpected. And it really is always the speech therapist who comes through like that, offering us something we never thought to ask for.

Otherwise, everything in the new IEP is on track. My son has developed so well in what we had, in the past, seen as his challenge areas that we don't feel he needs much and, of course, the school agrees (why wouldn't they, right?). After years and years of seeing huge hurdles and knowing there was so much work to be done, and really needing the IEP to respond to that need, it feels so good to walk into a meeting and agree, "yep, he's doing great, hurdles crossed, moving forward!"

We are blessed that he does not have overwhelming sensory, anxiety, or mood issues. His biggest roadblock was the writing, and he is on the keyboard efficiently and effectively now. An IEP will always be needed to allow for the keyboarding, but that issue is a breeze, especially since we are no longer asking the school to provide any equipment (it gives our son more choices if we buy the equipment ourselves, and with so many long battery life netbooks on the market, he really liked that as an alternative to the Alphasmart).

Wow! That sounds so great!
Congratulations on the progress.
J.

Did you decide to stay at the project-based school?

It is actually a magnet program with a larger school but, basically, the answer is yes. Six teachers promising they will do all in their power to make sure a child does not get stressed out, while also promising the academics will be comparable, is a little hard to say no to