Yesterday at speech therapy Boo was in a mood. Not a bad mood, but a mood. She didn't really want to participate in speech. She wanted to move around. Thankfully our speech therapist "C" is awesome and quickly tuned in the best way to make the 45 minutes productive.
They moved to the floor, where Boo could lay/flop/jump/sit on C's lap. Was Boo really focused on speech? Nope. But C was patient and demanded that Boo not only interact but follow thru in using her words to request.
Of course it got me thinking.
Her other therapists don't do that. We went from speech to occupational. Where the therapist worked wtih Boo but didnt' make her use her words. Then onto physical where again, the therapist worked with Boo but didn't make her use her skills from OT or SPT. And in reviewing the afternoon, "C" didn't make Boo use her OT skills (unless trying to eat the playdough counts as OT skill).
I'm not short-changing any of the therapists. I adore them all and am always so thankful for the love and attention they show Boo. But....
Wouldn't it be more effective if the insurance company would allow them to co-treat? Instead of spending 3 hours in therapy (after spending 8 hours in school) working on different skills, wouldn't it make more sense to have the therapist work together?
We did get authorization for one co-treat a couple of months ago. While it was for PT/SPT and OT was neglected, it was awesome because we got to see how many missed opportunities we had to encourage Boo's language development.
I think it would also help us at home. By the time we finish 3 hours of therapy, we forget to integrate everything in the home.
If only I ran the Insurance world!
The life and times of Boo. A girl without a diagnosis but with unlimited possibilities!
That's tricky. We sometimes run into something similar with doctors. We see so many different specialists that sometimes the big picture gets lost. Our hospital actually has a complex care department for kids like mine, so that someone is looking at the big picture!
ReplyDeletewe do the 3 hours of therapy in one day as well and i totally agree it might be better if they cotreat. now with that being said my daughter's pt and ot make her use her words or makes her sign if she wants something so i guess its kinda working together.
ReplyDeleteHow bizarre I was just talking about this issue today! It makes total sense being that the child is a whole person! ;) therapy forever overwhelms me right now though.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like an intelligent idea! Maybe you can try to bring up the subject again and explain it with a few examples?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds so obvious and sometimes (often!) companies miss the obvious and need good thinking like this.
ReplyDeleteI think this is why its so important that children receive these services in a school setting. Its great if they get reinforcement sessions outside of school, but if all of the therapist were in contact with your child's special education teacher, they could draft one cohesive set of goals to be working across contexts. Ideally, your child's special education teacher should act as the case manager/ coordinator for all other services.
ReplyDeleteare your providers in separate locations? seems like they could "idea" or "technique" share without getting the blessing of your insurance. if all else fails, tell them what you think will work best for Boo. have them all be consistent in expecting the same, basic set of skills. you'd think they would all want her to use her words, at the very least!
ReplyDeleteand, omg, you guys are champs if you're doing three ours of therapy in one day after school! seriously, my heroes!
Yeah, that sounds very tiring for you and Boo. Until insurance gets smarter, I hope the therapy keeps on working effectively for you guys!
ReplyDelete