Evaluation for speech therapy tomorrow - how to prepare?

amother

Tue, May 10 2011, 10:53 am

My three year old son has a really bad stutter (which I posted about on another thread), and I have an appointment tomorrow for him to get an evaluation for therapy. They're having a speech therapist, OT, PT, and I think one more coming - it's just standard. The problem is, he often clams up around other people, especially people he's never met before. I'mnervous that they won't even see him stutter! Or that they'll think he's delayed in other ways (he talks a ton, and uses lots of vocab, so I'm not worried about that, and I think he's fine in terms of other skills).

So I'm trying to think about how to prepare him beforehand. It's a home visit, and it will be me, him, and my just-turned-one baby, who will only be there for the first half hour of the visit (and then will be napping). I thought about introducing it as "some friends will be coming over to play!" or as "some people are coming over to see all of the big kid things you can do and all of the baby things that [baby's name] can do." I might ask dh to stay home for that extra hour in the morning to help out, because he has a great rapport with my son and may be able to help him open up more.

But what else can I do? Should I buy some cheap new toys? They'll keep him happy, but he might be so busy playing that he won't talk much. And what is the eval like anyway?

Any help from moms who have been there? Please? Advice, or just personal stories of that first evaluation?

amother

Tue, May 10 2011, 11:28 am

OP here.

Yes, they're all coming at once. It's through a government agency, completely free (we live in Baltimore, maybe it's specific to there?). We have an apartment and it's going to be pretty cramped with five or six adults and two kids in here. I don't know whether I'm going to be able to get him to act normally, even if it's just me playing with him.

He also freezes up a bit in front of the video camera. Hm. I'm going to try that though. The lady in the office there suggested that as well.

But what's it like? Do they bring toys to play with him? Do they ask him questions? Do they just watch him play?

imasinger

Tue, May 10 2011, 3:12 pm

When we had evaluators coming to the house, they brought toys if they were interacting with the child, and didn't if they were just interviewing the parents.

We just said that a grownup was coming over to play with us (never had 4 descend en masse, though!).

amother

Tue, May 10 2011, 3:12 pm

Anyone? Please? I'm sure someone has had this done before that can give me some chizzuk/advice. I'm most worried about how ds will feel about the whole thing, and about making sure that he actually talks (and stutters) during the evaluation.

But even just someone saying "I've been there, here's what it was like for me" would be nice. Anyone??

amother

Tue, May 10 2011, 3:15 pm

To the two previous posters - Thank you!!! I posted at about the same time as you, so I didn't see your posts. I'm sorry...

I really hope they bring toys.

Do you think it would be good to have dh there? Especially if my one year old (who is pretty well behaved most of the time, but still) is there? He doesn't really want to stay home, but will if I need.

imasinger

Tue, May 10 2011, 3:18 pm

IME, the more DH was a part of the process, the more he understands what is going on today. If your DH can, it's helpful to the family, but by no means necessary. About the general experience -- remember, the therapists are used to going into people's homes and interacting with family. It will be their job to make everyone as comfortable as possible so that they can get a real and fair evaluation of your DS's strengths and challenges. And the weaker your DS looks in the moment, the more services he will get, which is a good thing for the start. It's much easier to get more and cut back than vice versa.

amother

Tue, May 10 2011, 3:23 pm

imasinger wrote:

And the weaker your DS looks in the moment, the more services he will get, which is a good thing for the start. It's much easier to get more and cut back than vice versa.

Thanks, imasinger. It's good to remember that the therapists have done this before and should be able to do it well. As for this last part, that might be true if I really thought that he needed speech therapy. His speech is really completely perfect other than this stutter. I almost want them to just say "He's fine, this is normal at this age" (which my ped and a poster on the other thread who is a speech therapist said). But if they never see him stutter, what can they do? And if they never see him talk, so they think he has speech problems...well, he'll get services, but not the ones he needs.

imasinger

Tue, May 10 2011, 3:30 pm

amother wrote:

? And if they never see him talk, so they think he has speech problems...well, he'll get services, but not the ones he needs.

Another thing -- don't hesitate to share these concerns with them. You are an important source of information during the evaluation, and you probably will be heard.

Health is a Virture

Tue, May 10 2011, 3:40 pm

evaluators in general base a lot of their information on what the parents say...they know that a one time meeting is not an accurate picture of what is really going on.

they can give you pointers on what to do if he stutters...it can't hurt to learn those pointers and it can't hurt at this age to get any type of services.

ra_mom

Tue, May 10 2011, 8:57 pm

Prepare yourself a list of all your concerns. Bullet your points under each separate category to make it clear.
Then have it ready when they come and don't forget to mention every little point. Even if your son does not display his usual behavior at the time of the evaluation, your input can make all the difference.
Remember, the evaluators see him for about 20 minutes. That's just a tiny snippet in his life. But unless you say otherwise, they will think that that is how he behaves at all times.
Hatzlacha Rabba! May it all go well.

the world's best mom

Tue, May 10 2011, 9:27 pm

All of my kids get therapy, but I've always had one evaluator come at a time, except for once the OT and PT came together. The evaluators test the child with standard testing. They do bring the toys and materials needed for the tests. I don't see how they can all do their tests at the same time, though.

My kids have been getting therapy practically their whole lives, so I prepare them by saying that a lady named Nancy (or whatever) is going to come play with you to see if you need to play with Mary anymore. For a kid who is not used to therapy, I would say that there are people called therapists who help people talk better and some people are going to come play with you to see if they think you should have speech therapy. If he's shy though, it may be better not to prepare him at all. You can just say some people are coming to talk to you about something and don't let him know their observing him.

My son just had a speech eval. last week. He didn't sit still long enough to so much, so the main part of the eval. was her asking me questions. Then she watched him try to do a puzzle and she asked him what each peice was a picture of.

Maybe you can record your son on tape, if he doesn't talk for the video. He won't even have to know that the tape is on. Do they still make tape recorders and blank tapes nowadays?