SLP Mommy of Apraxia

Category: Uncategorized

  • It feels like home this year: Apraxia Conference 2017

    It feels like home this year: Apraxia Conference 2017

    Wow!  This conference in San Diego has been a WHIRLWIND.

    I was greeted with palm trees upon arrival, and being a Colorado native, anytime I see palm trees my mind thinks “hello vacation.”  I had some time to kill before my room was ready, so I was able to walk over to the beach.  My “beaches” in Colorado are sandy, but are man-made; so I’m always in awe of a beach literally littered with sea shells.  I was in heaven.  I took off my shoes and ventured out into the water.  Unlike the initial crisp temps in Colorado, the water was warm and inviting.

    Perhaps though, even more inviting than the warmth of the ocean or the sway of the palm trees, was when I arrived at this location miles from my home in Colorado, I started seeing familiar faces.  Sooo many familiar faces, and I still felt like I was home.  A different kind of home of course, but a home all the same.  These are my people.  This is my tribe.  More importantly, these are Ashlynn’s people and these are her tribe.

    SLP Moms of Apraxia
    co-presenter apraxia momma bear!

    I hugged numerous faces.  As an SLP AND a parent of a kid with apraxia, each of these people I could look at and say “me too.”  We all share similar experiences.  We all share this bond.  It sounds funny, but I got to “meet” in person people I feel like I already know via facebook.  Isn’t facebook an interesting phenomenon?  The pictures below are a just a sampling of a few people I talk to frequently but had actually never “met” in person.

    I was speaking the next day, but that night was what I was most nervous about.  The founder of CASANA, Sharon Gretz, had FINALLY agreed to come to the conference if only for one night; and this meant we could all honor her and give her the recognition she deserved.  The wheels had been in motion for a month or so with numerous people who love her throughout the country mobilizing via social media to give her a gift and a night she would remember and that she in fact so duly deserved.  Since many of these people couldn’t be in San Diego, it was up to me and a few others to make sure it went as planned.

    Initially we were told Sharon wasn’t going to go.  The founder, the previous executive director, but more importantly the woman who had become the face of CASANA and made it her personal mission to reach out to all of us in a personal way and who had helped 100’s if not 1000’s of our kids, wasn’t going to be there.  It was devastating, until an email was sent out about a month and a half before the conference that said she would be there for one night, and one night only.

    That set the wheels in motion.  Through the apraxia facebook network, a video was made with numerous apraxia parents and children spread out through North America who she had personally touched and helped.  In addition, a water color painting was brainstormed, ordered, made, and framed to be her surprise gift at the conference.  The picture is of her young son Luke, her reason CASANA even exists in the first place.

    The ceremony was emotional and absolutely perfect.  It was the proper way to honor someone who has changed the lives of thousands of kids with apraxia and their families for the better.  It felt incredibly rewarding to make her feel as special as she is.

    Have you ever stopped to think, and then believe, that one person, ONE, could change the life of hundreds; if not thousands, if not millions of others?  I had not honestly until recently.  Sharon changed my life, and because of her kindness to me, I want to pay it forward as much as I can.  During this tribute to her though, I started to realize Sharon touched and inspired hundreds of others like me.  How incredible is that?  What is the ripple effect of one person?  I can’t answer that, but I can tell you this picture on the left represents two women who were helped by Sharon and now blog and have vowed to make it better for those coming after us.

    My take home message from Sharon’s life frankly is this: If you can’t change the world, that’s okay.  Change the life of ONE.  It doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you add up each day, and then each year, and then each year in your life; if you have vowed to help make even just ONE person’s life better each day, you will have touched hundreds, if not thousands, like Sharon Gretz.

    The keynote of this conference described planting a “seed.”  One seed to sow a village of support.  My takeaway, is one seed alone is small and insignificant, but planted next to others in the field, it grows a thick and abundant crop.  One seed in a forest doesn’t seem important, but that’s the wrong outlook to have.  EVERY seed in the forest is important, just as every family member in a family is important.  Only when each seed is properly nourished and supported, does one forest, or one garden flourish.  It flourishes based on the strength of each individual.

    One seed then my friends, is equally as important as the next.  I think true leaders see the value in each seed.  They see the value of each tree instead of looking at the entire forest.  Thank you for caring about this small seed in Denver, Colorado Sharon.

    With humble admiration.

    The life of just ONE.

     

  • What does “smart” mean anyway?

    What does “smart” mean anyway?

    Today was a day I have been dreading.  It was a perfectly normal day.  My 7 year old with apraxia and my 4 year old without apraxia were waiting with me outside my office for one of my clients’ mom to come and watch them.

    Jace apparently had struck up conversation with another tenant.  She was so tickled by him she had to come out and tell me their conversation.  Jace is my 5 year old son. I’m honestly not bragging when I say his language skills are well above average. It’s honestly just a fact.  Talking to him is sometimes like talking to a man in a boy’s body, and it can be very entertaining because he is actually in the less than 10th percentile for weight and height.

    This lovely woman came out to tell me how precocious he was, and relayed their conversation.  He smiled sheepishly.  Ashlynn, my daughter with apraxia, just listened.

    The lady then asked them their ages.  Jace answered for both of them.

    “I’m four and my big sister is seven,” he announced confidently.

    The woman then turned her focus onto Ashlynn.  She smiled a playful smile and asked,

    “Who is the smartest?  You are your brother?”

    Before I had time to process the question, Ashlynn pointed at Jace.  Jace just beamed. He neither acknowledged the statement, nor denied it.

    The lady stumbled, confused.  “What?? You don’t mean that!  You think your little brother is smarter?” she challenged playfully.

    Ashlynn smiled and nodded her head yes.

    I just stood there…..broken.  I was sad I couldn’t praise my son for being so smart and I was sad Ashlynn, who is almost three years older, pointed to him without a shadow of doubt.

    Shit.

    Where’s the manual?  How do I handle this one? How do I support Jace’s gifts without squashing Ashlynn’s?  Why does society care more about book smarts than people smarts?  Why are book smarts the definition of “smart?”

    My children are smart in very different ways.  Jace will nail an IQ test.  He just will.  I know he will pass with flying colors every subtest as confidently as I know Ashlynn will struggle with them.  However, Ashlynn will get along better with people.  She has an incredible emotional intelligence, and a gift for connecting to and with people; but that gift isn’t what people are asking if they ask if you are smart.

    How do I not only support BOTH my kids, but praise and challenge them for their unique skill set?  How do I do it and not squash the other’s light?

    There is no manual, as I said, so I’m just running solo.  I took them both aside separately tonight and praised them for their talents.  I told Ashlynn that school may be hard for her, but getting along with and understanding people is how she is smart.  She is one of the smartest kids in that area.  I never get much back but a smile and a nod, so I just hope she heard me.  I told her she was book smart too but she would have to work harder because of her apraxia, but that she can and will be ANYTHING she wants to be.

    I took Jace aside and told him how proud I was he was smart and also that he was humble. I was proud that he didn’t brag he was smart.  I told him I knew he was smart.  School will come easy. Sports will come easy and he is a natural.  I told him these were his talents, but that his sister has talents too.  She understands people and how to get along.  Her smarts may not be in school, but rather in relationships.

    I still feel awful.  I feel terrible Ashlynn doesn’t feel she’s smarter than her younger brother, and I feel terrible I can’t praise him and brag about him like I might do otherwise if he didn’t have an older sister with global apraxia and learning disabilities.

    So, what is a mother to do? I love them both equally.   They are both incredible humans in VERY different ways.  How do I support each one without squashing the other?  I read this blog post recently by a teacher who sought to eliminate “smart” from our vocabularies.  I absolutely love the article and she makes amazing good points in a very succinct piece.

    At any rate, we should praise our kids for what they are smart “at.”  Saying someone is smart is a compliment, but the why is pretty ambiguous.  People have told me I am smart, and they have told my husband he is smart.  He’s an engineer and is good at math and science, I’m an SLP and am good at words and language. We are both smart, but in two COMPLETELY different ways.  Comparing each other is pretty silly.  Put either of us in our weakness, and we are going to look pretty “not” smart.

    Anyway, I think I have my solution.  I’m going to tell my kids they are smart.  Both of them.  But I am going to follow it up with a description.  You are so smart because you got along with a group of people you didn’t even know and managed to have a good time.  You’re so smart because you wanted to know how something worked and you took the time and figured it out.  You’re so smart because even though writing is hard for you, you know if you keep trying you will get it.

    What do you all think?

  • She speaks for herself this 5th Apraxia Awareness Day.

    She speaks for herself this 5th Apraxia Awareness Day.

    I remember being in 1st or 2nd grade, the age Ashlynn is now.  I was always struggling to fit in.

    There was a girl in our class who had special needs.  I remember she wore this heavy, pink, furry coat and she talked with slurred speech.  She would sit outside, even on the hottest of days in that coat.  Usually, she was by herself.  I don’t remember how it came out, but my mom told me one day I should spend one recess a week with her as she must feel so lonely because she didn’t have anyone to play with.  I looked at her like she MUST be kidding.

    “Mom!!  I can’t sit with her!!!” I remember saying imploringly.  I knew she might be sad, but that would kill my chances in the “fit in” department.

    “Well, Laura” my mom would say, “I hope one day when you are lonely, the same kindness you showed will be given to you.”

    Ugghhhhhh

    There it was, the Catholic guilt, and can I just say it’s a thing and it works?

    So, there I went….every Thursday I think, and I sat under this tree she liked to sit under and we played jacks.  I remember her laughing and smiling, more than I had ever seen her; and instead of feeling good I was being kind to someone and making their whole day if not whole week, I was so consumed with worrying how I would be perceived and if the kids would thrust me to the position of outcast because I was playing with one.

    How awful is that?  I would like to remind everyone I was 7 or 8.  It’s not a memory I am  proud of, trust me.

    I think of that girl a lot since I’ve had Ashlynn.  Ashlynn ( I don’t think) has ever been an outcast.  That girl makes friends everywhere.  She has not come home crying because her feelings have been hurt.  Even when she had few words, she was one of the most social people in the classroom.

    Ashlynn though cannot stand for others to be alone.  She just simply will not have it.  She thinks nothing of needing to fit in, or worrying about how she will be perceived.  If someone is alone, it simply must not be.

    I relayed a couple months ago about the boy with autism who started her school two months ago.  I just happened to be in the lunchroom when he was sitting by himself and the girl with apraxia of speech yelled (literally) across the lunchroom and told him to come sit by her.  I just met his parents this weekend at the school carnival and they said this boy comes home daily and tells them Ashlynn is his best friend.

    Ashlynn with my Grandma Louis (her Great Grandma Louis)

    This weekend we went for Mother’s Day to visit my grandma, (Ashlynn’s Great-Grandma) in the nursing home.  A resident named Mary sat outside the activity room smiling, and literally looking longingly from the outside in.  Before I knew it, Ashlynn was out in the hallway talking to her.  My sister calls it “spreading her sunshine wherever she goes.”

    She had the woman smiling and laughing.  They read a poster together, and then Ashlynn did some OT with her and had her putting her hands in the air and out to the side.

    Ashlynn playing “OT” with the resident.

    At one point I just stared out into the hallway.  I was thinking of how when I went out of my way to be kind and offer company to a person who was lonely, I only did it because I was told to and I wanted someone to be nice to me if Karma ever bit me in the butt….and I’m looking at my own child, who I have never instructed to play with the lonely, and she seeks them out and brings them joy not because she has to or because she was told to….but because she genuinely WANTS to.  You can see, it feeds her soul.

    I will get comments that I am raising her right, but honestly, she teaches me more than I think I teach her.  I was feeling rather uninspired this #apraxiaawarenessday until I saw her at the assisted living facility and I realized….

    Though Ashlynn can now communicate with words, they are still not easy to come. I’m not sure if it is because she has apraxia, but Ashlynn speaks the language of emotion, love, and nonverbal communication.  She is most certainly a healer, seeking out the broken.  She will never make honor roll for this amazing human quality and talent, but it is most certainly a skill most people (like me) would benefit from learning, and she has it naturally.

    I used to use Apraxia Awareness Day to prove how my amazing daughter was because she couldn’t speak for herself.   This 5th Apraxia Awareness Day, I don’t need to prove who Ashlynn is to anyone.  She is quite capable of doing that now all on her own and she still doesn’t need words.  I feel blessed and often unworthy of being her mother.

    As night falls on this 5th Apraxia Awareness Day, which also happens to fall on Mother’s Day, I want the world to simply know Ashlynn is so much more than her apraxia, and I don’t have to prove it anymore.  If you are around her for 5 minutes and are really looking, you will see for yourself.  Before I knew about apraxia I quoted on facebook lyrics from Martina McBride’s song “In My Daughter’s Eyes.”   I had a different frame of reference before apraxia entered my life, but now I realize, apraxia changed nothing.  It’s all still as relevant and true as it was then as it is now.

    As I put Ashlynn and my son Jace to bed tonight I told each of them individually on this Mother’s Day, “Thank you for making me a mom.”

    Happy Mother’s Day AND Apraxia Awareness Day

    In my daughter’s eyes,
    I am a hero,
    I am strong and wise,
    And I know no fear,
    But the truth is plain to see,
    She was sent to rescue me,
    I see who I want to be,
    In my daughter’s eyes
    In my daughter’s eyes,
    Everyone is equal,
    Darkness turns to light,
    And the world is at peace,
    This miracle God gave to me,
    Gives me strength when I am weak,
    I find reason to believe,
    In my daughter’s eyes
    Everyone wore blue for Ashlynn (but Ashlynn).  She did have mismatched socks (pure Ashlynn), and one of them was blue 🙂   Thanks to all of her supporters.
    o   
  • The Rise

    The Rise

    I have Ashlynn on a new game plan.  We had to take a break from her private speech because of unforseen financial issues in our life, but now we are back and better than ever.

    She’ll be seeing her awesome private SLP again on Tuesdays (who just happens to be my mentor, friend, and speech mom), and then Wednesdays we have insurance finally paying for 20 sessions, which is not to mention the two sessions she gets at school.

    Last night my husband took her in to the new SLP and she was given language testing.  Knowing I would never be satisfied with his summary, he prudently told the SLP to call me personally.  I had already emailed, called and left messages (oops), but hey.  I need to know this stuff.

    Well, tonight she called.  She was lovely actually.  Experienced.  Moms of kids with disabilities will totally feel me when I say, “I instantly had  a good feeling in my gut about her.”

    She told me she tested Ashlynn in language. I was anxious to hear the results.

    Before I get to that.  Let me set the stage really quick.  Two years ago, Ashlynn was tested at school as part of a re-eval.  The ONLY area, and I mean the ONLY area in the average range was her articulation skills, and even then, it was barely.   Language testing was no exception.  The one area kinda close to at least low average was a the receptive vocabulary test where she was to point to pictures depicting certain vocab words.  It was STILL slightly below the average range.

    I was devastated. Despite so much work at home, Ashlynn’s expressive and receptive language skills were tested to be significantly below the average range.  Beating apraxia at that point seemed pointless.  When Ashlynn actually spoke, most people could understand her now, but her language development was so delayed she still hadn’t really found her voice.  She spoke in scripts she had been taught. Sentence formulation consisted of scripts she’d practiced in therapy. If you have any idea about apraxia, then you know how jacked up it is to wish your child *just* had apraxia, and you might have a greater appreciation of just how damn freaking hard that sweet little girl has to work.

    BUT

    Fast forward to today.  The day I talked with this new SLP.  Ashlynn scored a standard score of 90 and corresponding percentile rank of 25 on the picture vocabulary test!!  DEAD average for receptive vocabulary skills.  My heart was leaping out of my chest.

    With a sympathetic and somber voice, she told me Ashlynn had just barely squeaked in the average range for a measure of relational vocabulary, which is telling how two things are alike.  My heart started singing and I think I took her aback.  I had to hear it again. Wait, she scored in the average range for what?? Tell me again.  Well, it’s the low average range, borderline really, but yes……

    I zoned out.  I checked out and started cheering.  OMG.  I work in the schools with her school SLP and this is what they have been working on!!  It’s working!!  She’s doing it!!  We are climbing!! We are RISING!!  We are OVERCOMING!!  I texted her school SLP.

    “Private speech gave Ashlynn the TOLD and she scored in the 25th percentile for picture vocab and 16th for relational. That’s ALL you.  Thank you for working with her.  I can’t believe it!”

    Her response was golden: “I believe it!  Ashlynn needs the gift of time to develop and mature.  Her brain is working hard right now but it will get easier and better!  Proud mama time!!”

    Um…people..cue the waterworks.

    It took me some time, but I finally found Ashlynn’s village.  I can’t help her overcome on my own, but I found a village who not only believes she can, but is helping her to do it.  There are so many working parts.  There is general ed, and special ed.  There is school speech and private speech. There is private OT and school OT.  There is physical therapy, extracurricular activities, and a legion of family members praying for her.

    Most importantly though, there is Ashlynn.  She is a fighter.  She doesn’t look like one, but she is.  That face is deceiving.  She has this understated determination, this quiet ferocity, and this unceasing resilience.

    It’s good to look back and see what we have conquered.  At times though, it’s too overwhelming to look up and see what’s left ahead.  So in this present moment, we will look a few steps in front of us and as my dad always says, “just keep your head down and working,” and one day, we will reach the top.

     

     

     

  • Apraxia and the village.

    Apraxia and the village.

    I work in the schools a few days along with my private practice work.  I say I work in the schools because I like working in Ashlynn’s school, and that’s partially true.  However, I have always in my career had at least one child on my caseload with apraxia in every school in which I have worked.

    If you have a child with apraxia, you’re probably thinking, “what’s the big deal?”

    If you are an SLP, you might be thinking, “Wow!  I’ve only ever had one, or none, or….”

    Anyway, if you are in the apraxia community, you know about the “apraxia coincidences” and if you know me, you know I don’t believe in coincidences.  So part of me feels like I’m put at a school I am at because I can be of service and have a connection to a particular child, with Ashlynn’s school being no exception.

    Currently I have a 4th grader that I see and I can only say so much because of confidentiality, but I love this boy.  Actually, I wrote about him once.  You can read about it here, but it turns out, I was right.  He’s gifted.

    Ha!  As I went to link that last post, I had actually included this graphic two years ago.  How things come full circle right?

    Anyway, his nonverbal IQ is off the charts and now he’s in the gifted program.  However, he’s a fourth grader and still can’t read or write, such is the extent of his disability.  I can’t imagine being so smart, but being unable to read or write.  Such is his life.

    We have every AT tool at his fingertips.  Technology though still hasn’t totally caught up to the extent of his disability.  His grades remain sub-par, and he is unable (and many times defeated so he’s unwilling) to produce any written work.

    There are sooo many people in this boy’s life who believe in him and who want to help him.  Meeting after meeting takes place behind the scenes.  I’m serious.  If you don’t work in the schools, you have NO idea the mobilization and time occurring on behalf of our children.  I know his parents don’t.

    Anyway, after at least two major meeting of the minds with every professional expertise (OT, Speech, SPED, gen ed, ATRT specialist, TA), we finally came up with a plan we thought will help him become more independent with his school work regardless of current reading, writing, or spelling ability.

    We set a meeting date of today with ALL of these above listed professionals and the child.

    Let me take a quick digression.

    A week ago, I posted on my SLP Mommy of Apraxia/Dyspraxia Fb page that the librarian at the school stopped me to show me this book called “Fish in a Tree.”  The book is written by a woman who had dyslexia as a child, and writes a fictional novel based on real life events about her life and the people in it.

    The librarian read this one chapter to me the other week, in which the girl’s teacher listed famous minds of our past and current generation.  They all were brilliant, but as it turned out, they were all believed to have had dyslexia.  I was so inspired.  I couldn’t WAIT to read it to my 4th grader.  The librarian was going to read it aloud to the entire class during library time, but she wanted me to read it to this child first so he knew we were all thinking of him.

    Today I got the chance.  I asked him if he knew the names of the people and what they were famous for.  He didn’t disappoint.  He can’t read, but he knew most of them as I read them to him:

    Thomas Edison? – “Invented the light bulb”

    Alexander Graham Bell?  – “Invented the telephone”

    Albert Einstein? – “Really, really, really smart.” 🙂

    Walt Disney? – “Made Pluto!”

    The list went on, and as I read the pages to him, some he knew and some he didn’t, I swear I could see a spark glow in his eyes and it was everything I could do not to cry.  People, this boy is as brilliant as all these people I was reading to him.  I honestly believe that, and it’s not just me….EVERY professional who works with him feels the same way; but if  you can’t read, and you can’t write and you’re in the fourth grade, you don’t feel that way.

    I barely got through reading the entire thing without completely breaking down.  When I finished there were stars in his eyes.  I’m telling you.  Bright, bright stars, and he smiled as he said, “Wait, all those people were like me!  They couldn’t read, but they were super smart and they invented stuff BECAUSE they weren’t typical.”

    I nodded my head.  That may not be a completely accurate assessment but I sure wasn’t going to contradict it, would you?  Oh, and I should mention, his comment came after a therapy session we had a few weeks ago in which I showed him Mikey from Mikey’s Wish who was talking about “neurotypical” and “neurodiverse.”  I knew he was alluding to this because he was inspired by the idea of being “neurodiverse.” (Thanks Mikey).

    As fate or coincidence would have it (coincidences aren’t coincidences), let me take you back to the meeting of all the professionals, the village, that helps this 4th grade student.  We scheduled another meeting, this time to include him.  It just happened to be that it was right after I read him those excerpts on these brilliant minds needing to find another way to express themselves.

    I took him to class where the meeting was about to take place, and his awesome 4th grade science and math teacher, who had already prepped him (for being in such a daunting meeting by himself with so many adults) told him we are here because we believe in him, and sometimes great minds have to find another path to greatness.

    His eyes lit up.  “Like Albert Einstein, and Disney, and the guy who invented the telephone!”

    People, the tears were in full force behind my eyes, but I still didn’t let them go.

    As the entire special education and general education team piled in, I watched this incredible strong and resilient 9 year old, listen to the plan set before him.  He was surrounded by people who loved him, but still.  He was outnumbered by 1:9 and he listened to our plan on how to help him read and write using technology, and, get this….his VOICE.   Yes, his VOICE would be a huge part in his written output via voice memo, and that’s possible, because he has one.

    We are all under no illusions.  We know this will be hard for him.  We know he will be frustrated and maybe even resist.  But literally, 8/9 people at that table believe he is capable (the 1 out-liar being him), and as one of his reading specialists said, “Maybe he doesn’t believe he can do this, but hopefully he will remember all the adults who think he can and it will keep him moving forward.”

    I was so proud to be sitting there as part of his team….his village; because we all know, these kids need a village.  I was trying pretty hard to reign in my emotions.  I thought about how lucky Ashlynn is to have this village too.  I don’t need doubters in her corner, I need believers; and I really know we have that.

    Oh, and about my 4th grader.  Believe me when I tell you he has BIG ideas.  His ideas cannot be adequately explained through his reading, his writing, or even his voice. I predict one day these BIG ideas will be turn into something even bigger.  I look forward to seeing it.

     

     

  • The problem with school SLP’s.

    The problem with school SLP’s.

    I only realized after being a part of the special needs community that school SLP’s have a bad rap.  Like a really, REALLY, REALLY bad rap.  

    I’m preparing a talk next month for Colorado school SLP’s, and every time I prepare a talk for this demographic, I have to tell you they have a special place in my heart.  No, it’s not just because I started as one and work as one part time, but it’s because I have literally worked under, with, and around many, many, MANY of them. I have worked with so many of them, and I can tell you they are a jack of all trades.  They are the EXPERT in eclectic, and may be the ONLY person in the school who understand in depthly just how a student’s unique communication challenges actually affect them in school.

    In the schools, you don’t have the option to specialize.  Kids from every disability show up on your caseload and you are expected to be the expert.  It might be hard to understand as a parent, but there are soooo many different disabilities and speech and language disorders, and a parent (rightly so) expects the SLP to do right and best for their baby.

    Every single SLP I know and have met has a desire in their heart to help children.  Please, let that sink in.

    When I took Ashlynn to her first private SLP who had never worked in the schools she was asking me about qualification.  She asserted that she could never be a school SLP because she felt it was unethical to not qualify students who clearly had some sort of speech or language problem.  I had a hard time refuting her.  Aside from saying qualification is different in the private versus educational sector, I really had no excuse.  I know that funding is limited in the public sector so that obviously plays a part in qualification.  I also know if every SLP took her stance, than NO kids would be serviced in the public schools, and is that really what we are going for?

    Public school SLP’s have caseloads that are probably double if not more of the private SLP.

    Where the private SLP can see kids 1:1, school SLP’s rarely have that luxury.  With weekly caseload averages around 45 to 55 and some maxing out at 90 (Yes 90 people I’ve seen it), even the most skilled SLP will not be able to do what a private SLP can do 1:1 for 45 minutes (though they will kill themselves trying).

    The result?  Parents become outraged at the lack of progress or progress they feel the child should be making. They surmise the school SLP just isn’t as good as the private SLP and they become disillusioned and write them off.  They post memes about preparing for battle when going into an IEP meeting! This honestly breaks my heart.  I feel bad for the parent who feels the SLP doesn’t care, and I feel bad for the SLP who is trying to manage an unmanageable caseload, writing IEP’s at night, or staying up until 2 Am (true story from an SLP I just talked to last week) to write a lesson plan, only to be ravaged by a parent unsatisfied with the results.

    I’m not sure if everyone is aware of this, but ANY SLP in ANY setting is as qualified as the next SLP by basic certification standards.  What does that mean?  That means, as long as an SLP received their masters degree and the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) through ASHA they can work anywhere.  So that means, your school SLP can apply for a job at Children’s Hospital right now and probably get hired tomorrow (because in case you didn’t know there is an SLP shortage as well).  For some reason though, there is this perception that the school SLP just isn’t as good as the private SLP.  If it’s true, it probably has MORE to do with caseload and workload size than it actually has to do with the qualification of the SLP.

    I get calls and emails all the time from concerned school SLP’s desperate to meet the needs of their kids with apraxia but not knowing how.  They want to see the kid more, or see the child 1:1, but their caseload simply does not allow for it.  They cannot add more hours to the day, yet they still call, or write and wonder if there is something they have not yet thought of.  Oh, and here’s a dirty secret.  Listen close.

    Are you listening because this is VERY important.

    If an SLP feels in their heart a child needs private, supplemental speech services, they CANNOT say it.  People, they CANNOT tell you this.  Why?  Well, their license and job is on the line.  In most cases, school SLP’s are told not to recommend any sort of outside therapy.  Why do you ask? Why?

    I’ll tell you.  If a school SLP recommends outside services, the parent can sue the district and win, and potentially disbar an SLP from ever practicing again.  Are you asking why again?  I’ll tell you.  If a school SLP recommends outside services, they are essentially saying that the child can not benefit or make progress from the therapies provided by the school, and the school is required by law to show progress.  If the SLP recommends outside service thereby saying the school is inadequate, the school gets worried or they will get sued for not providing adequate services and the SLP potentially fired.

    Would you take that risk?

    I’m not saying unilaterally every school district would do this, I’m just saying, school SLP’s are told this is a possibility, and so they would find it best not to recommend outside services.

    You need to know this as a parent of a child with any disability.  Some SLP’s will risk their professional license and recommend this to you.  Let me  tell you though what they are risking.  They are risking 4 years of a bachelor degree, 2 years of a masters degree, 1 year of a clinical fellowship, and the usually 3 years of probationary status as a teacher.  That is an entire decade of work and dedication to a profession they love and believe in.  Would you take the risk then to recommend a parent pursue outside therapy?  This is where they are at!  It is truly a catch 22.

    If you are upset about your school services, you probably have every right to be!  I was VERY unhappy with Ashlynn’s preschool, in-class only, speech/language services.  However, it is important to place the blame on the right entity and in most cases I can assure you it is NOT on the school SLP’s shoulders.  In Colorado, the Colorado Department of Education mandated an inclusion model only of special education services in preschool thus making it extremely difficult for any school SLP to pull a student out into a 1:1 session.

    My message today is this: School SLP’s are some of the most phenomenal group of people I ever have the honor to speak with or to. They do not get the option to specialize, and so they pursue advanced training and expertise in every disability that may affect communication: from Apraxia to Angelman’s Syndrome, from Developmental Delay to Down Syndrome, from Cerebral Palsy to Stuttering, from Language Impairment to Nonverbal Learning Disability, from Assistive Technology to Autism, from Auditory Processing Disorder to Articulation Disorder,  school SLP’s will see it all and be expected to rise to the challenge.  They cannot “refer out” or “discharge for lack of progress” as an can be done in private speech. No, the school SLP is expected to figure it out regardless of the lack of resources, lack of funding, or lack of time.

    They will be faced with limited or no space, they will be strapped with high caseloads, and criticized by parents; yet they will persist and pursue only becoming better for it, because of their love for the children and the profession.  I personally have witnessed it time, and time, and time again!

    I can tell you firsthand, getting into graduate school for speech/language pathology is VERY difficult.  It is highly competitive, and here in Colorado, the average COLLEGE GPA was a minimum of 3.87 when I applied.  I found this graphic from 2011 but I can tell you things have not changed much.  There is a HUGE gap between the number of applicants and the number of people selected. 

    The disparity should be striking, and please remember that MANY of these applicants will be YOUR school based SLP.  If you have the mentality that “C’s get degrees” and you are certain your school based SLP fits the latter, let me correct you.  NO average C students make it to graduate school in the first place for speech/language pathology.

    Truth

    For my final thoughts I wish not to be adversarial.  I hope that this article has persuaded you, a parent OR SLP, to reach out to the other side and bring about the change you wish to see.  I have the unique perspective of being on both sides, and as such, I have the utmost RESPECT and LOVE for both sides.  I truly wish for there to be a conduit of communication, and not a  ridge of animosity and distrust; and at the the forefront, I wish to impart a spirit of solidarity between my professional and special needs relationships.

    To read more from SLPMommyofApraxia follow her on facebook, pinterest, or twitter.