Re: HELP...Behavior issues disrupting speech therapy

[Guest guest]

Yes, been through this--3 apraxia experts declared they couldn't work with

her--she was so non-complaint, tantrumed, was very difficult to engage and it

was her choice or nothing--but she has always been interested in peer contact

and sought out other kids--so we at least didn't suspect ASD--though one speech

therapist who was less knowledgeable of apraxia and ASD obviously --did--and she

was an old timer at Stanford University of all places--we'd gone to her for a

second opinion being so desperate that we couldn't get her to cooperate in

speech therapy.

You'll get a lot of advice I am sure--but for us the B12 shots did it---she

immediately began babbling, repeating sounds then words, more eye contact, fewer

tantrums--has been developing an increasingly complex verbal communication

system since and we still do the B12 shots--they are vital for brain

methylation--again--that's vital for speech and other fucntions--she would Not

be mainstreamed now and only getting speech/language support--without the

biomed--especially B12 shots, fatty acids, diet, carnitine and other

supplements. Anyway--these kids really do have starving brains as the title of

that book suggests--and B12 is often a missing nutrient as are CoQ10, folate,

fatty acids of course as well as carnitine which is vital for absorption at

cellular level...it's complex, but worth the trouble and mainstream docs don't

know this so you need to go and think outside the mainstream box--or you'll end

up with harmful drugs and not much improvement in

the end since this si pretty much all mainstream doctors can offer. Good luck!

________________________________

From: Anne <annezola@...>

Sent: Wed, June 9, 2010 5:33:31 PM

Subject: [ ] HELP...Behavior issues disrupting speech therapy

Hi all!

I have been reading on this site for a few months now and can not thank you

enough for the amazing advice.

I'm having an issue and hope I'm not alone. My son has had an issue with his

behavior from the start of therapy in our home at 27 months through early

intervention (He is now 32 months old). In general he has never been frustrated

by his lack of speech (even when he only had 3 words at 26 months). But, when

speech demands are placed on him by his therapists, he flees the activity and

completely shuts down. We are now on therapist #2 who is having the same issue

with him.

In general, he is an amazingly well behaved 2 1/2 year old. The only time I

really see negative behaviors (not sharing, yelling, general non-compliance) is

during early intervention speech. I have sat through 6 months of therapy

watching my son get in trouble with minimal " therapy " getting accomplished. I

am devasted that my well behaved son is so non-compliant, but we have tried

almost everything to make this work. I know that time is so precious and that

apraxia needs to be addressed in a very specific way. I need to do what is best

for my son I just don't know what that is right now.

(PS- We just started him in out-patient therapy once a week as well which is

going slightly better.)

Just wondering if anyone has had experience dealing with this kind of situation!

Thank you!

------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

My daughter goes to an out-patient therapy for her speech twice a week, has

been for little over a year now and one of the services that they provide is

a " Social Group " for different ages of children, maybe having him around

other children his age with the same or similar delays while in a group

setting with an SPT is what he needs. I will say that my daughter at 2 and

half was VERY frustrated with not being able to communicate with us, one of

the things we did was basic sign language, not that it was going to replace

speech, because we spoke and signed at the same time, while she attended

special ed school and speech therapy weekly, but it sure did help with just

basic things.......the sign for juice or milk, shoes on, coat on, yes, no,

bath time. Hope I can be of some help, Christian

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of Anne

Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2010 5:34 PM

Subject: [ ] HELP...Behavior issues disrupting speech

therapy

Hi all!

I have been reading on this site for a few months now and can not thank you

enough for the amazing advice.

I'm having an issue and hope I'm not alone. My son has had an issue with his

behavior from the start of therapy in our home at 27 months through early

intervention (He is now 32 months old). In general he has never been

frustrated by his lack of speech (even when he only had 3 words at 26

months). But, when speech demands are placed on him by his therapists, he

flees the activity and completely shuts down. We are now on therapist #2 who

is having the same issue with him.

In general, he is an amazingly well behaved 2 1/2 year old. The only time I

really see negative behaviors (not sharing, yelling, general non-compliance)

is during early intervention speech. I have sat through 6 months of therapy

watching my son get in trouble with minimal " therapy " getting accomplished.

I am devasted that my well behaved son is so non-compliant, but we have

tried almost everything to make this work. I know that time is so precious

and that apraxia needs to be addressed in a very specific way. I need to do

what is best for my son I just don't know what that is right now.

(PS- We just started him in out-patient therapy once a week as well which is

going slightly better.)

Just wondering if anyone has had experience dealing with this kind of

situation! Thank you!

[Guest guest]

My son had the same problems. We think it was so difficult for him that it

caused the behavior problems. When the ST made it fun for him the behavior

disappeared.

Dave

Sent from my U.S. Cellular BlackBerry® smartphone

[ ] HELP...Behavior issues disrupting speech therapy

Hi all!

I have been reading on this site for a few months now and can not thank you

enough for the amazing advice.

I'm having an issue and hope I'm not alone. My son has had an issue with his

behavior from the start of therapy in our home at 27 months through early

intervention (He is now 32 months old). In general he has never been frustrated

by his lack of speech (even when he only had 3 words at 26 months). But, when

speech demands are placed on him by his therapists, he flees the activity and

completely shuts down. We are now on therapist #2 who is having the same issue

with him.

In general, he is an amazingly well behaved 2 1/2 year old. The only time I

really see negative behaviors (not sharing, yelling, general non-compliance) is

during early intervention speech. I have sat through 6 months of therapy

watching my son get in trouble with minimal " therapy " getting accomplished. I

am devasted that my well behaved son is so non-compliant, but we have tried

almost everything to make this work. I know that time is so precious and that

apraxia needs to be addressed in a very specific way. I need to do what is best

for my son I just don't know what that is right now.

(PS- We just started him in out-patient therapy once a week as well which is

going slightly better.)

Just wondering if anyone has had experience dealing with this kind of situation!

Thank you!

[Guest guest]

May be time to introduce PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System). I am

the grandmother of 6 year old twin boys. One twin started talking using

sign language. His brother is apraxic & used PECS until last year he started

with an AAC to communicate. He said his first words last week! Important to

give positive reinforcement for ANY sound!

[Guest guest]

We had similar problems with my little guy as well. First off, his therapist

incorporates games to help ease the tension. She gave him a choice between two

(preferred to start, and non-preferred once he became more comfortable), and he

would sit down to try. For example, she had a space board game (my son is a

huge space fan), that required them to roll dice, count the spaces, and had a

word or sound they were working on. She taught him turns, first by my and you,

then expanding it in length, and counting, and in order to take another turn he

had to try on the word or sound (like the Kaufman cards....titrating the sounds

up until the final word is reached. For less preferred activites, we set a

kitchen timer, and if he works until the timer rings, he gets to complete either

a preferred activity or picking a prize if it's the end of the session. As he

got better, we extended the time on the clock. Now he easily sits down for

45-minute sessions. I should note, we do 2 sessions at home, and 2 at school.

His therapist also was gentle, but at the same time if she made him try. HTH!

From: annezola@...

Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:33:31 +0000

Subject: [ ] HELP...Behavior issues disrupting speech therapy

Hi all!

I have been reading on this site for a few months now and can not thank you

enough for the amazing advice.

I'm having an issue and hope I'm not alone. My son has had an issue with his

behavior from the start of therapy in our home at 27 months through early

intervention (He is now 32 months old). In general he has never been frustrated

by his lack of speech (even when he only had 3 words at 26 months). But, when

speech demands are placed on him by his therapists, he flees the activity and

completely shuts down. We are now on therapist #2 who is having the same issue

with him.

In general, he is an amazingly well behaved 2 1/2 year old. The only time I

really see negative behaviors (not sharing, yelling, general non-compliance) is

during early intervention speech. I have sat through 6 months of therapy

watching my son get in trouble with minimal " therapy " getting accomplished. I am

devasted that my well behaved son is so non-compliant, but we have tried almost

everything to make this work. I know that time is so precious and that apraxia

needs to be addressed in a very specific way. I need to do what is best for my

son I just don't know what that is right now.

(PS- We just started him in out-patient therapy once a week as well which is

going slightly better.)

Just wondering if anyone has had experience dealing with this kind of situation!

Thank you!

_________________________________________________________________

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[Guest guest]

You are not alone! Its a very common issue with that age group. What we did in

EI when they didnt want to participate was try new things. Making it fun, using

techniques that the therapist has not used before. One EI ST always played with

the babies on the floor for therapy, but once they got into that very, very

short attention span age-group that you are in now--she did most of her session

with my daughter sitting at the kitchen table. Its much easier to keep them

focused and its a change of pace. A lot can be done and before we knew it, the

30-45 minutes was done. If it was obvious there was no bringing her back, we sat

and talked--which still counted as a session as long as she was giving me tips

and things to work on. She also has a July Bday so when they asked me about

transitioning early to start prek as a 3yr old...I jumped at the chance!! I

could have kept her in EI till that Fall but found out that because of too many

situations that you have described--we had PT OT and ST 2x a week EACH!! It was

obvious that she needed new challenges by new therapists, in a new environment.

We ended EI Memorial Day weekend of that year and took the month of June off to

relax--they were all fine with the break and knew she'd be fine. She started

special needs prek the day after July 4th that summer (She'll be 9 this summer,

so this was six years ago- OMG!!) But transitioning early was the best thing.

She was ready for a new enviroment and the whole experience of prek and all her

sessions without me watching over her trying to coax her to participate!!

I also had a son before her and a son after her who only needed speech. they

both went thru the same stage. Its just about the SLP being creative and

realizing that their attention span is very short at that age. Get done what you

can and get your homework. If the therapist is getting frustrated, get a new

therapist..most told me " dont worry, we're used to this kind of reaction when

they get used to us and too comfortable with us " .

The last tip would be shorter, more frequent sessions.

Maureen

>>

> I'm having an issue and hope I'm not alone. My son has had an issue with his

behavior from the start of therapy in our home at 27 months through early

intervention (He is now 32 months old). In general he has never been frustrated

by his lack of speech (even when he only had 3 words at 26 months). But, when

speech demands are placed on him by his therapists, he flees the activity and

completely shuts down. We are now on therapist #2 who is having the same issue

with him.

>

>

[Guest guest]

We were fortunate in that my son loved his first speech therapist, but she told

me that a good therapist knows how to work around behavioral issues but if they

can't it may just not be a good fit. Kate

> >>

> > I'm having an issue and hope I'm not alone. My son has had an issue with his

behavior from the start of therapy in our home at 27 months through early

intervention (He is now 32 months old). In general he has never been frustrated

by his lack of speech (even when he only had 3 words at 26 months). But, when

speech demands are placed on him by his therapists, he flees the activity and

completely shuts down. We are now on therapist #2 who is having the same issue

with him.

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Anne to me the answer is clear -you have now gone through 2 therapists that are

not appropriate for your child and have to continue to seek out a new therapist

until you find one that knows how to work with your son. Just curious- these 2

SLPs are not incorporating ABA therapy into the session are they? We've seen

this happen many times as you'll find in the archives when ABA is used and not

appropriate.

Below is an archive that both covers what is appropriate for a preschool child

in a nutshell -and has an original message which Sherry also clearly shows

Josh's actions from stress in another child in our group...to show you too are

not alone.

Anne I suggest you read The Late Talker and if you need help in advocating for

appropriate EI services let me know:

~~~~~~~~~~start of archive

Re: Need help AGAIN! SLP issues.

Hi ,

Before you take your child to this speech therapist again call her

and schedule and appointment with her to let her know you are

concerned about your child's therapy treatment with her and want to

know what exactly her short term and long term goals are for your

son. How many other apraxic children are in her caseload and how

are they doing today? Can she ask one of her success story parents

to call you to discuss what it is she's doing?

I'm just being nice. Really -I would just find another SLP.

Do I know what she's doing? Not a clue. Repetition is important

for apraxia. But if you are dealing with a preschool child it needs

to be done in a way that they are not aware they are working. Needs

to be fun while they are working so they aren't frustrated. And the

same sound over and over for 4 sessions? No way did that ever

happen. I am a toy inventor and couldn't keep up with the

creativity of my boy's therapy sessions each time.

None of my children's therapists would push my son in a way that

they screamed and cried. Zimet who is a member of this group

is still a special person in our lives -and was Tanner's EI

therapist from Children's Specialized Hospital in NJ. She's now

working with EI in Georgia.

Children with apraxia have a long road of therapy. As I always say

you don't want to burn your child out while he still in diapers!

There was one day that Tanner was in a bad therapy mood due to

inappropriate (behavioral) therapies he was getting in the public school at the

time (which is why we got him into out of district placement)

His therapist Ortega came over to the car to try to talk to him. She

carried some toys and talked to him very sweetly asking him if he

wanted to play with her. Tanner screamed. She looked at me

and said " Don't push it, just take him home and I'll see you next

time " Never happened again. My boys loved their therapists. Never

did they know a therapist was a " therapist " because they always considered

them their " friends "

There is a difference between behavioral therapy where the therapist

needs to be in control and a regular therapist who works with the

child and their wants and needs. Leads them at times and follows

them at times.

Main question -has your child improved at all with this therapist?

If the answer is yes -then perhaps do try to talk and give this

SLP a chance to explain.

(and if your child's on EFAs -make sure the improvement's not just from that!)

A good session? Looked like play time -but goals were set and met.

I'll check archives and add to this.

=====

[Guest guest]

Here might be the problem-

My son won't do therapy in our home. If the speech therapist comes to our

house, he will scream his head off. If the same therapist goes to his daycare,

he is fine.

He has scared off one speech therapist and a music therapist when they have come

to the house. At their office, he is fine.

He was OK for the first 2 months of in home therapy and then one day, a swich

was flipped and now he hates anyone that comes to the house. They said he as a

" king in the castle " complex (ha ha).

May be worth a try doing it somewhere else with the same therapist to see if

this is the problem.

By the way-my son is 2 1/2 too. maybe it is the age.

brenda

>

> Hi all!

>

> I have been reading on this site for a few months now and can not thank you

enough for the amazing advice.

>

> I'm having an issue and hope I'm not alone. My son has had an issue with his

behavior from the start of therapy in our home at 27 months through early

intervention (He is now 32 months old). In general he has never been frustrated

by his lack of speech (even when he only had 3 words at 26 months). But, when

speech demands are placed on him by his therapists, he flees the activity and

completely shuts down. We are now on therapist #2 who is having the same issue

with him.

>

> In general, he is an amazingly well behaved 2 1/2 year old. The only time I

really see negative behaviors (not sharing, yelling, general non-compliance) is

during early intervention speech. I have sat through 6 months of therapy

watching my son get in trouble with minimal " therapy " getting accomplished. I

am devasted that my well behaved son is so non-compliant, but we have tried

almost everything to make this work. I know that time is so precious and that

apraxia needs to be addressed in a very specific way. I need to do what is best

for my son I just don't know what that is right now.

>

> (PS- We just started him in out-patient therapy once a week as well which is

going slightly better.)

>

> Just wondering if anyone has had experience dealing with this kind of

situation! Thank you!

>