OT's, PT's, therapists...Is this how it's supposed to work?

amother

Tue, Dec 21 2010, 6:37 pm

I have a5 year old dd who gets a lot of school-based services, speech, OT, counseling, resource room, etc... She has 5 different therapists. The problem that I have is that the therapists do not keep in touch me at all!

I tell all of the therapists that my dd has a notebook in her bag for the express purpose of communicating with me and to date only one therapist uses it. I haven't even received a phone call from any of the other therapists.

I called all of them at the beginning of November to get an update and I asked them to please keep in closer touch and if it makes it easier, then please use the notebook!! I still have not heard anything from anyone other than the one who regularly uses the notebook.

My question is this: How on earth can they possibly think that they are effectively helping my child, if they do not include the parents in her therapy?! Based on my experience, it seems like more therapists think it's normal to keep the parents completely out of the loop, thnt to keep the parent up-to-date.

I'm not asking for a lot. The one therapist who keeps in touch writes literally one to two lines in the notebook maybe once a week (or sometimes once every other week). It probably takes her 30 seconds, and it lets me know exactly what she's working on so that I can supplement and reinforce it at home, or at the very least, know what is going on with my child!

If they don't want to write in her notebook, then they should take it upon themselves to call me every couple of weeks or so. Why on earth do I have to chase them down? This is their job and there is no way that they can think that are doing it effectively if they never bother conferring with the parents.

Therapists out there, please respond. Am I being unreasonable? Do you think they can be as effective while not including the parent? Is this the norm?

manhattanmom

Tue, Dec 21 2010, 6:40 pm

You are being totally and completely reasonable.
You have to demand that they remain in touch with you.
Why not contact the school--speak to the classroom teacher or reach a school social worker/case-manager, etc. and demand a parent-teacher meeting.
This is not professional at all (and it would never happen if she were in my classroom, btw...)

Sleep

Tue, Dec 21 2010, 6:51 pm

This is very reasonable, and I do try to send home little notes. I also make sure to send home a note after my first session with each child, including my telephone #, if a parent wants to discuss something. Some agencies, like Yeled V'Yalda had us contact the parent every other month or we wouldn't get paid! I will say that in some areas like lakewood-the therapists are given huge caseloads, seeing the children once a week in a group. I find when I have such a large caseload and see 3 different kids every half hr, it is hard to write 3 notes and still do therapy-in just a half hr! I don't know where you are located, but you still have the right to ask for basic communication!

PinkandYellow

Tue, Dec 21 2010, 7:05 pm

With my son every session with each therapist I'd get a carbon copy report of what they did, what they are working on, where he is improving, etc. I always found it too illegible to be useful. Maybe ask them to quickly send you an email with a few lines? with the cell phone technology that most ppl are carrying these days, this may be s/t that they can even do as they walk to their cars or wtvr. Good luck.

imasinger

Tue, Dec 21 2010, 7:46 pm

I agree that getting the whole picture is VERY important. Good for you for keeping tabs on it and not letting this slip away.

Do you have any chance to meet with the therapists? It might be helpful to ask each one what is the best way to keep in touch on a regular basis. Although you are 100% right that the notebook idea is an easy and effective way to do so, maybe they are so tightly scheduled that taking the time to find the notebook and write 2 lines would either take time away from your child, or from the next one.

I have also found that in general, it's more important to get the result than to be right. If you need to email them every week asking for an update/response, it's probably worth the time, even if it's technically not your acharayos.

amother

Tue, Dec 21 2010, 7:55 pm

I am an OT and I will say that the therapists are absolutely in the wrong. I work in a clinic, so I have the benefit of face to face contact with most parents on a regular basis. Even so, I send homework with every child after each session, so parents can easily carry over whatever we're working on. If a child is brought by a nanny, I send written notes home for the parents, and contact by phone as needed.

I can tell you exactly which parents do their part at home, because the progress their kids make in therapy is generally much quicker than that of kids whose parents think it's the therapists job to fix the kids ve zehu. My point in this long ramble is that you are a great parent for choosing to be involved in your Childs therapy. It can only benefit the child, and a therapist who is noncompliant is irresponsible, and not maximizing therapy at al.

SingALong

Tue, Dec 21 2010, 11:37 pm

almost an OT here

therapists should definitely keep you on board and be on board with each other. do you have a list of your child's goals and treatment plan methods? maybe ask your school for your son's IEP, since if he has one, that will state goals and treatment.

another idea, if its not too hard, ask the therapists if you can join the therapy session once in awhile, so that you can see how your child does in therapy. unless you think he would behave too differently with you around. see if you can go on a day with the most sessions...

ask for things to do at home and maybe ask the therapists what would be the most workable method of communication for them, since maybe the notebook doesn't work with their schedule or something.

amother

Tue, Dec 21 2010, 11:56 pm

OP here-

Thanks for replies. It's good to know that my expectations are normal. These therapists were assigned to my dd by an agency that has a contract with the district to provide services to the school my dd attends. I'm going to try to contact the school and then the agency to see if I can't get them to be in closer touch. Even if they change what they're doing, it still bothers me that 4 of the 5 therapists think that it's okay to leave the parents out and I'd prefer that those kind of therapists weren't even working with my dd, but I don't think I have much of a say in the matter.

I do know my dd's goals. Her IEP was sent directly to me (apparently the school said that I need to sign a waiver to have it sent directly to them?) and as a matter of fact, 4 of the 5 therapists still don't even have a copy of it (so go figure how they know what to work on or to write progress reports). When I spoke to them when they first began working with my dd, I asked them if they had a copy and they said no. I made 5 copies of her IEP and told each therapist that I was putting the copies in my dd's backpack. One therapist took one immediately, and the other 4 copies stayed in her bag for 3 weeks before I finally took them out.

At my dd's parent-teacher conferences, I asked the teachers if they coordinate or collaborate at all with the therapist, and they told me that (with the exception of that one therapist) the therapists never even came to talk to them once.

I'm really upset about the situation especially since my dd really needs the help and I really want to work hard with her so that she can keep up with her class. I know it's more important now to solve the problem than to be right (as someone sagely pointed out) but it really upsets me that these are the people working with my child and they don't even know how, or care, to do their jobs right!

amother

Wed, Dec 22 2010, 12:20 am

Mama Bear wrote:

thats the way it works with therapists in schools, unfortunately. They wont keep logs and things. Youre lucky if they call you once a month. Get their phone numbers and stay in touch with them.

Uch!! That really upsets me to hear! How can that be the norm in schools when it's it seems so obvious that it's not right?!

Mama Bear

Wed, Dec 22 2010, 12:37 am

When youre out of early intervention, thre is no service coordinator. and you dont get to see the therapists. so the therapists are on their own. That's the way the therapists work. If youre lucky enough that the therapist likes keeping in touch, yourelucky. My son had a SEIt for 2 years that was super involved, we spoke at least once a week, sometimes once a day. His speech therapists called me once a month and told me to share any concerns I have, etc.
If possible, go down to school once, find them, and talk to them face to face.

bnm

Wed, Dec 22 2010, 12:37 am

Mama Bear wrote:

thats the way it works with therapists in schools, unfortunately. They wont keep logs and things. Youre lucky if they call you once a month. Get their phone numbers and stay in touch with them.

from what I hear its not. my neighbor and neice always show off their therapy notebooks, one therapist did all the arts and crafts in there...

my mother is a therapist and buys each her 'kids' a notebook every year, they decorate it and she writes notes to the parents each and every time, its 2 lines or something, just to update them what they are doing and what to practice.

amother

Wed, Dec 22 2010, 1:02 am

bnm wrote:

Mama Bear wrote:

thats the way it works with therapists in schools, unfortunately. They wont keep logs and things. Youre lucky if they call you once a month. Get their phone numbers and stay in touch with them.

Maybe it makes a difference where you are. I'm in a NYC school district, so maybe they just stink!