Re: Speech Therapy - parents observe vs. parents sit outside?

[Guest guest]

,

I emailed you back on tuesday, but I may not have used the proper address.

Hope you got it,

as to observing. I always go back and sometimes observe through the window

and sometimes participate. I have a tendency to talk and ask questions which I

think can interrupt the flow. Knowing this about myself I always offer to

observe. It sometimes gives me a very different perspective as well. I am

better able to objectively see the patterns and processes used by the therapists

when I am not in the room, then imitate them at home.

brigett

<renee@...> wrote:

I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how would

you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that way " .

I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

while a therapist is " working " with their child.

Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

Thank You..

---------------------------------

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[Guest guest]

In my sons case he seems to get distracted when me or my wife are in

the room during therapy but we like to see whats happening so we can o

some of it at home. so one of us is usually in the room but stay off

to the side and dont get involved. It would be nice if there were a 2

way mirror or something that would allow us to see but not be in the

room

>

> I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

> please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how would

> you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that

way " .

>

> I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

> while a therapist is " working " with their child.

>

> Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

>

> Thank You..

>

[Guest guest]

Hi -

I used to attend all therapy sessions with my son. I felt it was

important that I knew what they were doing so that I could continue

the therapies at home. The therapists are with him for such a short

time and I'm with him all day. This worked out great for a while.

However, my son started to get needy and spent a lot of time either

sitting in my lap or laying his head in my lap. This certainly wasn't

conducive to the sessions so I started to remain outside the therapy

rooms. I've been considering trying to go back in the therapy sessions

to get more involved again. Of course, this is only if I'm not a

distraction.

I've noticed that most parents remain outside of the therapy sessions.

Personally if the child isn't distracted by the parent then I think it

is benefical for the parent to be a part of the session. I had one

therapist comment that she usually has the parents remain outside and

I simply told her that I participate in all my son's sessions and she

said that would be okay. However, most therapists I've encountered

don't have any problems with me observing.

-

>

> I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

> please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how

would

> you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that

way " .

>

> I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

> while a therapist is " working " with their child.

>

> Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

>

> Thank You..

>

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

My son's therapist highly recommends we be in with him. She

also encourages that people in his everyday life like his sister,

and grandparents come as often as they can, to see what she

and he are working on and learn also. I sit in every session.

My husband comes once a wk also.

Sue

<renee@...> wrote:

I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how would

you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that way " .

I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

while a therapist is " working " with their child.

Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

Thank You..

---------------------------------

Don't be flakey. Get for Mobile and

always stay connected to friends.

[Guest guest]

I have found that my son works harder and attends to the therapist better when I

am not in the room. If I am there he wants to come over to me or look at my

reaction to whatever he is doing, etc. Of course he is still young (just turned

3) and very cognitively delayed so an older child might be better able to stay

on task. Ideally we'd all have one way mirror/windows so we could see what our

children were really able to do when they were " on their own " with the

therapist. It would be nice to really see what they are doing so we could try

to replicate and practice during the week. I have put our video camera in once

to record a session and it's a lot more helpful to see the real thing in action

than to have them tell us what to work on and how.

<renee@...> wrote:

I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how would

you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that way " .

I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

while a therapist is " working " with their child.

Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

Thank You..

[Guest guest]

---Hi ,

Just a quick question. Why do you believe it is critical that parents

be in the room?

I know that I tried that a couple of times and it was a complete

disaster! My son acted up way more because I was in there and nothing

of value was accomplished those times:) I find it fascinating to watch

how my son reacts with other people so quite enjoy watching from the

observation room. He recently clued into the fact that there is an

observation room and now before he goes in with the slp he turns to me

and says " mommy no see " and I have to say " ok I won't watch " He's too

funny!

Of course, this being said, your therapist(in my opinion) should of

course let you into the room. Parents and therapists are, or should

be, partners in therapy and if you feel you should be included, do so.

Just the statement of " I don't work that way " raises hackles for me.

I once had an slp who constantly said " the book says " and I finally

turned to her and said that my son was not a book, he was a unique

little boy who needs someone to be flexible with him and not expect

him to conform to her little book.

So, for me, I get more out of watching from the observation room. I

sometimes write notes so I can work at home with him and be sure I'm

on the same page as the therapist.

good luck with this issue.

Sandy

mom to 7 yrs old

In , " " <renee@...> wrote:

>

> I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

> please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how

would

> you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that

way " .

>

> I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

> while a therapist is " working " with their child.

>

> Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

>

> Thank You..

>

[Guest guest]

If a parent is present during therapy, I believe it could influence a

child's response. It also might be somewhat of a distraction. I, myself,

would want my child's entire focus to be on the therapist. And building a

solid one-on-one relationship with the therapist would also be important.

Obviously, an opinion here.

On 1/12/07, <renee@...> wrote:

>

> I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

> please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how would

> you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that way " .

>

> I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

> while a therapist is " working " with their child.

>

> Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

>

> Thank You..

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

,

I don't feel it is " critical important " that a parent be IN the room.

I've been in clinics where there is a 2 way mirror to observe the

therapy session.

I do feel it is important to watch and learn- so you can effectively

carry over the skills learning with the therapist. This does provide

for a more favorable prognosis for your child. But I don't think you

have to be IN the room ALL the time to do this. And honestly, I think

being in there ALL the time, might even be somewhat " unhealthy " to a

degree. Just my opinion

Dawn in NJ

>

> I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

> please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how would

> you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that

way " .

>

> I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

> while a therapist is " working " with their child.

>

> Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

>

> Thank You..

>

[Guest guest]

,

In the beginning, I ALWAYS sat inside the room. My DS wasn't even 2

yet so I just assumed I would. I never had a therapist object. Now

(DS will be 3 in March), I only do this for his ST that is for

articulation because the SLP gives us homework and I observe her

techniques etc. However, all other sessions (OT and a pairing for

pragmatic/social speech), I can observe thru a window or one-way

mirror so I know what is going on. Also, every time we have a NEW

therapist (we were doing ST thru a college clinic so we changed every

semester), I always sit inside for the first few sessions to observe

the therapist, my DS's response to her, and also to reinforce to DS

that he is to do what the therapist says.

If I had a therapist object to any observation at all, I would run the

other way as fast as I could.!!!

That said, I think a parent needs to just observe at least at first

and NOT INTERFERE even if their child seems distressed or frustrated.

You need to see how the therapist will handle a melt-down, non-

compliance, etc. We tend to overprotect our kids a little bit,

especially after we know they have an " issue " .

Just my opinion.

(Max's Mom, 2.10 suspected oral/verbal apraxia)

>

> I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

> please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how

would

> you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that

way " .

>

> I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

> while a therapist is " working " with their child.

>

> Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

>

> Thank You..

>

[Guest guest]

Hi -

I used to attend all therapy sessions with my son. I felt it was

important that I knew what they were doing so that I could continue

the therapies at home. The therapists are with him for such a short

time and I'm with him all day. This worked out great for a while.

However, my son started to get needy and spent a lot of time either

sitting in my lap or laying his head in my lap. This certainly wasn't

conducive to the sessions so I started to remain outside the therapy

rooms. I've been considering trying to go back in the therapy sessions

to get more involved again. Of course, this is only if I'm not a

distraction.

I've noticed that most parents remain outside of the therapy sessions.

Personally if the child isn't distracted by the parent then I think it

is benefical for the parent to be a part of the session. I had one

therapist comment that she usually has the parents remain outside and

I simply told her that I participate in all my son's sessions and she

said that would be okay. However, most therapists I've encountered

don't have any problems with me observing.

-

>

> I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

> please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how

would

> you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that

way " .

>

> I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

> while a therapist is " working " with their child.

>

> Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

>

> Thank You..

>

[Guest guest]

I've observed many ABA therapy sessions (for both of my kids), and

I've also listened to them on a monitor from another room of my house.

While it is important to me to have access to the sessions until I

trust a therapist, I do not think my children do as well if I'm in the

room during therapy. My presence is a distraction and interferes with

the therapist-child relationship. While I don't think you should be

denied access to your child during therapy, I do believe that it can

detract from the quality of the therapy sessions.

>

> I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

> please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how would

> you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that way " .

>

> I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

> while a therapist is " working " with their child.

>

> Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

>

> Thank You..

>

[Guest guest]

I am an adult with Goldenhar's syndrome and am 39 years old.

Yes, I had YEARS of speech therapy, mostly between 1st and 7th grades.

I also had at least 35-40 surgeries, many of which could not be done

until my teenage years (i.e. jaw surgeries). I also had at least 1-2

years of speech therapy at around age 25 or so.

Getting to your question, I recommend that a parent, preferably

the mother, be present during at least 25% or so of the sessions. I

did not have this, and my parents were probably present at only 1% of

the sessions (or less). I feel that greater parental involvement

would give reinforcements.

In the cases of Goldenhar's syndrome, Down's syndrome, autism, or

other birth related disorders, some counseling should also be

included. In my TEENAGE years, I developed a number of medical

addictions, caused by excessive hospitalizations. Also social issues

may come into play. These can be in the form of withdrawal and/or

developing habits and such that may unknowingly cause people to shy

away even more (in ADDITION to problems with facial deformities).

If you want to learn more about me, you can check out my main

personal web site at www.nozumjam.com . You may also wish to click on

" About Goldenhar's Syndrome " in the main menu.

As for being a late talker, I was about FIVE years old before I

started talking! Moreover, for about 6 months or more, I was obsessed

with " choo choo " , as in " choo choo train " . People thought maybe I was

retarded. But this is not the case, for I have two college degrees

now, one being in computer engineering.

While it is very difficult to do, it is imperative that a child

takes speech therapy seriously. If not, the person will be limited in

the number of people that he or she can talk to. This is MUCH more of

a problem when the other person has severe nerve deafness (often

caused by excessive noise exposure and/or old age). Also, the younger

the person is when things are corrected (speech impediment, surgeries,

ect), the better of he or she will be.

From Nozum

Moundsville, WV

>

> I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

> please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how would

> you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that way " .

>

> I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

> while a therapist is " working " with their child.

>

> Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

>

> Thank You..

>

[Guest guest]

I was told they don't want the parents in the room so the child will

depend completely on the therapist instead of looking to the parent.

It took both me and my daughter a long time to feel comfortable with

this and so they let us go back together as long as we needed to. I

really wish, though, that they had it set up so there was a 2 way

mirror or a window the kids couldn't see out, but I could see in.

Luckily we have amazing resources here in St. Louis and I ended up

with a fantastic therapist- so I don't worry anymore.

>

> I hope you all will chime in on this topic. And, for you

therapists,

> please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how

would

> you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that

way " .

>

> I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

> while a therapist is " working " with their child.

>

> Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

>

> Thank You..

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My opinion with speech therapy my son does better with me viewing him from the

viewing room. He likes to depend on me too much when I 'am in the room and wants

to lay on me and doesn't pay attention to the therapist I want him to get as

much as he can during that hour .So his therapist and I agree that it works

better for that I view from the TV viewing room. But for O.T. I sit in

for that he does real good with me there and I help out more there on the mats

..We at first tryed it in O.T. with me gone and with me there it was the same

either way for O.T. but speech was different he did so much better without me

there .We'll really I'am there but he doesn't know I viewing him from the

viewing room over the TV. Just my 2 cents each kid is different and I look at

it whatever way works better for the child and that they get the most out of the

therapy.

Merci - 3 verbal apraxia

<renee@...> wrote:

I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how would

you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that way " .

I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

while a therapist is " working " with their child.

Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

Thank You..

---------------------------------

Be a PS3 game guru.

Get your game face on with the latest PS3 news and previews at Games.

[Guest guest]

I personally attend all of my son's sessions and he is not distracted by

them. If anything we actively participate and prompt him to focus when the

need arises. Often times my husband and I will attend the sessions. Our

therapists personally appreciate this as we've kept him on task by being

there. He also receives therapy at school where he is 1:1. There are

parents who do not attend with their children and I guess it's because

their children respond better without them. As with every subject on this

listserve, it all depends on the child, the parents and the therapists!

[Guest guest]

Yes, I agree completely. Part of a child's progress will come from

the parent learning how to interact with the child, and to reinforce

at home during the week what is being worked on in the therapy. My

son's ST sits him in something similar to a high chair (attached tray

to keep them sitting) but low (feet touching the ground). She sits

on the floor facing him and I sit in a chair a ways behind him. He

knows I'm there behind him, but his focus is on the ST the whole

time. This works well.

, mom to Nate, age 3

> >

> > I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you

therapists,

> > please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how

> would

> > you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that

> way " .

> >

> > I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE

ROOM

> > while a therapist is " working " with their child.

> >

> > Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

> >

> > Thank You..

> >

>

[Guest guest]

My son is 13 now, but still goes to speech and language therapy. Lots of bad

speech therapist doing the therapy for so many years, that he is still behind.

His first therapist wouldn't let me in the room. She made me wait at the

office. Now, I believe it is because she didn't want me to know what was going

on. I wonder if she was doing group therapy instead of individual, and didn't

want me to know. The 2nd therapist didn't have a problem with me being at the

far end of the room. The 3rd therapist was a man, with many cartoon character

imitations. He finally got my son to be intelligible at 4 1/2. The next

therapist didn't make any gains at all for the 5 years she had him. She didn't

know how to work with him, I believe. He had her last year and she didn't even

know how to write measurable goals and she had been working for the school

District for over 10 years, could have been more than 10 years. I think in my

school district they don't want the parents to know what exa

ctly is going on in the room, like it is a secret.

Good Luck,

Lorraine

[Guest guest]

Hi -

I had the same experience as . At 24 mos, I was actually a

benefit to therapy and my son would vocalize more if I was in the

session. But now at 28 mos, he is very distracted and wants to

engage me in play instead of paying attention to the therapist. I've

watched without him seeing me and he is much more engaged and gets a

great deal more out of therapy if he doesn't see me. Then she gives

me ideas for home to work on and tells me what they did in the

session. This is actually true now for OT and PT as well. If I'm

there he is more likely to get distracted or whiney.

So, I really think it depends on your child and where they are

currently at. The two way mirror is the best of both worlds though!

> >

> > I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you

therapists,

> > please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how

> would

> > you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that

> way " .

> >

> > I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE

ROOM

> > while a therapist is " working " with their child.

> >

> > Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

> >

> > Thank You..

> >

>

[Guest guest]

,

I observe through a two way window. When there was not a window I

stayed in the next room or hall with door open so I could see and hear

what was happening. That was always fine with my therapists. I wanted

to be able to see how they handled redirection and reinforcement so I

could better my skills in those areas at home.

[Guest guest]

,

For us to be in the room was not a possibility for behavioral reasons. My son

is MUCH less cooperative with my dh and I around. We started evals/therapy with

us in the room and it was a DISASTER!! We took a few months off, talked to a

behavioral psychologist and when we re-started we had to treat it more like

school where my ds goes off with his " teachers " , the OT & ST. However we are

able to watch/listen via a 2 way mirror and speakers. This way the OT/ST can

point out things they think are important for us during the session, in addition

to chatting after.

Martha

<renee@...> wrote:

I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how would

you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that way " .

I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

while a therapist is " working " with their child.

Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

Thank You..

---------------------------------

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Browse Top Cars by " Green Rating " at Autos' Green Center.

[Guest guest]

If a parent is present during therapy, I believe it could influence a

child's response. It also might be somewhat of a distraction. I, myself,

would want my child's entire focus to be on the therapist. And building a

solid one-on-one relationship with the therapist would also be important.

Obviously, an opinion here.

On 1/12/07, <renee@...> wrote:

>

> I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

> please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how would

> you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that way " .

>

> I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

> while a therapist is " working " with their child.

>

> Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

>

> Thank You..

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

my son therapist came to my house there were 3 of them and they sat with him in

my front room and i was in my front room all so with them and he done real good

but i was on my computer while they were here and they were real good to him to

april / mark jr 4 years old

[Guest guest]

I am an adult with Goldenhar's syndrome and am 39 years old.

Yes, I had YEARS of speech therapy, mostly between 1st and 7th grades.

I also had at least 35-40 surgeries, many of which could not be done

until my teenage years (i.e. jaw surgeries). I also had at least 1-2

years of speech therapy at around age 25 or so.

Getting to your question, I recommend that a parent, preferably

the mother, be present during at least 25% or so of the sessions. I

did not have this, and my parents were probably present at only 1% of

the sessions (or less). I feel that greater parental involvement

would give reinforcements.

In the cases of Goldenhar's syndrome, Down's syndrome, autism, or

other birth related disorders, some counseling should also be

included. In my TEENAGE years, I developed a number of medical

addictions, caused by excessive hospitalizations. Also social issues

may come into play. These can be in the form of withdrawal and/or

developing habits and such that may unknowingly cause people to shy

away even more (in ADDITION to problems with facial deformities).

If you want to learn more about me, you can check out my main

personal web site at www.nozumjam.com . You may also wish to click on

" About Goldenhar's Syndrome " in the main menu.

As for being a late talker, I was about FIVE years old before I

started talking! Moreover, for about 6 months or more, I was obsessed

with " choo choo " , as in " choo choo train " . People thought maybe I was

retarded. But this is not the case, for I have two college degrees

now, one being in computer engineering.

While it is very difficult to do, it is imperative that a child

takes speech therapy seriously. If not, the person will be limited in

the number of people that he or she can talk to. This is MUCH more of

a problem when the other person has severe nerve deafness (often

caused by excessive noise exposure and/or old age). Also, the younger

the person is when things are corrected (speech impediment, surgeries,

ect), the better of he or she will be.

From Nozum

Moundsville, WV

>

> I hope you all will chim in on this topic. And, for you therapists,

> please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how would

> you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that way " .

>

> I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

> while a therapist is " working " with their child.

>

> Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

>

> Thank You..

>

[Guest guest]

I was told the same thing. With our son I was in the room with thim

the first two times. I could see where instead of answering her

though, he would come over to me and try to get me to answer for him.

So I can see why she prefers me not to be in the room. (its a tiny

room to so there isn't a way to sit apart from whats going on)

She does come out after each session and tell me how he did and what

they worked on.

I wish there was a 2-way mirror though. That would be awesome. There

is at the head start preschool and it is so neat. We took Rhett

there for a " trial day " of preschool and we watched through the

mirror. Never in a million years would I have believed he didn't cry

the whole time after we " left " . LOL. But he didn't! It was something

I had to see to believe! LOL.

Janice

> >

> > I hope you all will chime in on this topic. And, for you

> therapists,

> > please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how

> would

> > you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that

> way " .

> >

> > I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE

ROOM

> > while a therapist is " working " with their child.

> >

> > Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

> >

> > Thank You..

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I was told they don't want the parents in the room so the child will

depend completely on the therapist instead of looking to the parent.

It took both me and my daughter a long time to feel comfortable with

this and so they let us go back together as long as we needed to. I

really wish, though, that they had it set up so there was a 2 way

mirror or a window the kids couldn't see out, but I could see in.

Luckily we have amazing resources here in St. Louis and I ended up

with a fantastic therapist- so I don't worry anymore.

>

> I hope you all will chime in on this topic. And, for you

therapists,

> please do post. I want to read your views pro and con, and how

would

> you suggest a parent confront a therapist who " doesn't work that

way " .

>

> I believe it is of critical importance that a parent be IN THE ROOM

> while a therapist is " working " with their child.

>

> Please post your opinions, observations and experiences.

>

> Thank You..

>