Att therapists who go down to the morahs

amother

DarkYellow

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 7:07 pm

When I am seeing children in a school setting, I always invite the parent to join any session they’d like. OP, I strongly recommend you join at least once every two weeks.
(Not regarding OP, but I can’t understand a parent who wants feedback every session or two but can’t make time to frequently join. I do feel this goes both ways)

amother

Bottlebrush

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 7:22 pm

amother Daylily wrote:

Uh no we don't. At least I don't. Ei therapist In NJ. That being said I usually text mom every other week or more if she wants that.

But EI does have parent training legally which makes it different from school based. In the school based model, you get progress reports 3-4 times a year, plus an annual meeting with your child’s entire IEP team. I give out my email for questions but not my phone number.

amother

Bottlebrush

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 7:24 pm

amother Wandflower wrote:

No one said therapists don't work hard. Therapy is not a classroom, each student has goals to work on & it doesn't matter to me as a parent how many students you have. My child was mandated therapy due to xyz issue & I have a right to know what's going on every month- 6 weeks- whatever you can manage. Otherwise how would I even know you're putting in the required time/ effort? It's not a free for all. If you can't manage 25 students then maybe it's not a reasonable caseload.

That’s fine, so reach out to your child’s therapist. You don’t have to wait for them to come to you.

mommy100

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 7:34 pm

Ny Ei therapist here
We DONOT get any paid travel time I wish we did. Part of the daily session note is how you communicated with caregiver but that could be a text a notebook or whatever works for you and mom. We also have every three month a progress report which gets discussed with mom when she signs it. So there must be communication with mom it might not be every single session especially when I have children who have three or four times a week and I have nothing to report to mom.

amother

Geranium

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 8:03 pm

amother Wandflower wrote:

We have parent orientation, 2 pta's, several phone calls, & all the daily work being sent home with a weekly schedule of materials to be covered. If there is any concern parents are welcome to call at any time.

You are more than welcome to call the therapist whenever you please. But don't be surprised when your child is the last to get picked up the next year.

amother

Forsythia

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 9:31 pm

bsy wrote:

I use the last minute/walking time to enter a session note. If the child brings their notebook, I write a sentence or 2. If it doesn't come to school, I cannot write notes. I am allowed to maintain a professional boundary and not text parents every session or 2. They all get my number in the beginning of the year. And receive calls or texts from me every 8 weeks. If they need more, either send the notebook or text me for an update. Parents aren't paying for my services. The sense of entitlement is pretty annoying. I work back to back and do as much as I can. If parents can't be bothered to use the notebook (which I provide btw), then how far do I need to go to get in touch? I make it clear the notebook is for communication.

Interesting, the way the preschool director presented it to me is that the therapists and the agencies ARE working for ME and I am their client.
(She wanted me to push for something and said she was trying but it would get more clout coming from me because they work for me...)
One of us has the wrong idea, either you or me, and based on the paperwork I just reviewed from the board of Ed, it seems the therapists do need to communicate to the parents.

amother

Geranium

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 9:34 pm

amother Forsythia wrote:

Since you feel the therapist is working for you, if you aren't happy with the services they are giving you, why don't you terminate them and find a different one?

amother

Forsythia

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 9:37 pm

amother Wandflower wrote:

This!
Especially when I get a letter in the summer from the DOE stating that my child missed so many sessions they were eligible for "makeup sessions"
Guess who didn't know their child wasn't getting services?!

Yes, I speak to the morahs, rebbeim, seits once a month.
The ot and speech therapist were not responsive.

amother

Dimgray

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 9:38 pm

amother OP wrote:

My kids morahs send home a report daily or weekly (depends on the morah) of what they did that day/week with sometimes added comments pertaining to my child specifically. Why can't the therapists do the same thing?

I’m a therapist and I have over 20 kids on my caseload and I text the mom after each session how it went and if she doesn’t have texting, I call and or leave a voicemail. They appreciate it so much. I understand how it’s very hard for a therapist to take the time to do this but it means so much to the parents and their carryover is so much better when they feel involved so it’s worth it for me and it’s also great for the child’s progress. Totally understand though if a therapist can’t do this.

amother

Forsythia

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 9:42 pm

amother Geranium wrote:

Since you feel the therapist is working for you, if you aren't happy with the services they are giving you, why don't you terminate them and find a different one?

I did!
It's a new year!
But I had to learn this. At who's expense? My child, who has an IEP for a reason.
The preschool director pushed for me to get one a different therapist.
She didn't feel the therapist was providing properly and wasn't getting enough guidance and supervision from the agency.

amother

Geranium

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 9:42 pm

amother Forsythia wrote:

Just because they were eligible for makeups doesn't mean they weren't getting services. A child is eligible if they miss a certain amount of sessions (sometimes as low as 8), which could happen from therapy starting a bit late in the year, the therapist taking some sick days, or even from the many vacation days throughout the year.

bsy

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 9:52 pm

amother Forsythia wrote:

Did I say there should be no communication?

amother

Freesia

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 9:56 pm

amother Geranium wrote:

Or the days the therapist is in school but no one told her about the birthday party or the siyum or the play or the assembly etc etc and her meticulously arranged schedule falls to pieces. Trust me, as a therapist I would far rather get to see kids than show up to school and not get all my sessions in.

amother

Melon

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 10:25 pm

I’m an OT and I see all my students twice a week. I have 30 students on my caseload. I send a note home every week that summarizes what we worked on. Parents must sign it and have the option to write comments as well. When I speak with parents at the beginning of the year I am very emphatic that they can call me if they have any new concerns and they are welcome to join a session. So parents, the ball is in your court. If the therapist isn’t calling you back, then you have what to complain about. I also call the parents every six weeks to update them on progress but the school I work for pays for this.

amother

Melon

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 10:27 pm

mommy100 wrote:

I always assumed that the reason why EI therapists get reimbursed at a higher rate is because it accounts for their travel time.

saltandvinegar

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 11:12 pm

I send home a weekly note in notebooks I provide (and am not reimbursed for). Parents must sign it and HW is always attached. I have a few students who lose their notebooks, their parents never answer my texts, or calls and I just dont try to make an effort with them anymore. Its 11:10 PM and I just got off the phone with a parent. How much more do you want me to do? I have 25 students on my caseload. Its not reasonable for you to suggest I dont do my job well enough because I dont call parents everyday after each session. I am also a wife and mother and person and once I leave school I try not to bring my work home with me. Of course when its report season I spend hours writing 25 reports (each report is usually 5 pages long). All unpaid for btw.

So before you continue to bash school based therapists, stop and think about all the time we put into your children. If I have a parent that harasses me or has high expectations like OP, I'd drop their kid in a heartbeat and get a new student. Sounds harsh, but Im not paid enough for that. I ALWAYS tell parents to call or text me with any questions. Some do, most dont. I find the notebooks help curb the phonecalls because they can physically see what we are working on in speech. Every 7 weeks or so Ill send a text with some things we have been working on. I also try to attend IEP meetings when parents ask. I am not paid for this, and I actually lose out on making money because I usually have to attend these meetings during a different child's sessions. I usually try to rearrange my schedule ahead of time so I attend the meeting during said child's slot. I can only rearrange though if Im given enough notice and not one hour notice like ive gotten before...

amother

DarkYellow

Wed, Sep 13 2023, 12:18 am

There is a big difference between working for the parent vs working for EI/ Bd of Ed.
Whom you work for determines how you communicate what you are doing with the child.
For EI/BOE- there are specific style session notes, in addition to extensive progress notes a few times a year combined with communication with the coordinator. Those are specified.
Communication with the parent is thrown on top of that, adding to an extensive workload.
When I see children privately, I have session notes of my own, but all other communication is determined by the parent, including what they would like in terms of progress reports.
For those of you saying the parent works for you- if you’re not paying, that isn’t accurate.
Communication can be less frequent than the parent would like- as long as it fits the requirements set forth by EI/ BOE
(And parents can always join the session)