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Austin Babies
meeting update (long)
the meeting today went well.
the director apologized profusely, but I did go ahead and sneak it back in a few times to rub it in ;p and when I mentioned the other mom looking at me like I have 3 heads, she (the director) said that was probably meant for her b/c she made a big mistake (she being the director).
we also explained that if you are going to criticize something, you need an example, not to be vague and use things that have never happened.
for example:
director: H goes through other moms purses.
me: that's is completely incorrect. he's never done that.
therapist: what she means, is that H walked up to a mom and was looking at the toy she had and the mom was backing up and away from him. the mom was clearly uncomfortable with H walking up to her and looking at what she had.
hubs: wow, well thank you for giving an example. walking up to someone and looking at a toy is completely different than him going through a purse.
me: i'm glad to have a clear example also, I am dumbfounded another mother would shy away from an inquisitive child, and I did not see that happen. thank you for letting me know.
---ok what adult acts like that to a kid? but whatever---
apparently one of the shy children (it's like H is the only non shy kid there but whatever) doesn't like to go into the lobby is H is there b/c he comes up and says hi, and tries to interact with him.
seriously? shouldn't we work with helping the other kid be ok with people saying hi to them?
whatever. so what they want to do is have H sit on a specific spot, (we're going to make a big foam mat type thing at home for it to be his special thing) and sit there and play with a toy or whatever, but not get up and play until we're done talking (the review of what they did in therapy).
this irks the crap out of me, but whatever, I guess it's good to teach him to sit still in some situations.
still confused and frustrated over it, hubs saw how crazy the room is with so many people and kids and said he could see how it would help. I said sure, but i think you should make all the kids sit quietly then, not just single out some kids that are stuck up their mom's butt.
to me, I feel like H is getting singled out for being outgoing and inquisitive.
we might start getting there right on time so he's not in the lobby playing and for the next week or so i'll be going into the room to get the down low on how therapy went.
Once we're on summer camp schedule, we'll try doing the sit here thing.
I really love how well he's doing there and I'm excited about this Hanen thing (which is not the sit of a mat thing) so we're going to stick with it. I'm hoping once September comes and we change schedules, we can perhaps be there at a time that isn't busy and he's able to jsut play again.
so there you have it. I made sure to make her feel like crap (but done subtly). I'm glad the other gal had specific examples, bc dude, stuff she said was flat out wrong. I'm glad I spoke up. and thanks for the encouragement 
now i get to stifle my kid 3 times a week 
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Re: meeting update (long)
That really sucks you are having to deal with all this.
In my experience, the Hanen approach is a very loving, family centered approach. I could be confusing it with something else and might need to ask my mom(who's an slp) or go back through my college books(was my undergrad). I seem to remember that with the Hanen approach, you as the parent take an active role in the therapy session and you observe what your child is doing during the session so that you can implement those things in your everyday life. The idea being that your child would get therapy constantly throughout the day. It's been a few years since I worked in the field so maybe there is something new that I'm missing. It seems to me that having him sit while you talk isn't the correct way to engage him, kwim??
If they geniunely have a concern with your son's behavior then they should approach it as such instead of saying that it's bothering kids. All the therapy places that I have ever worked at were very kid friendly and had an interactive and engaging waiting area. Have you thought about touring another clinic to see if it has a better vibe to it?
Not to mention that a critical part of therapy is teaching children how to engage and play correctly with other children. imo
I'm worried I won't find a place with the same approach this one had. they didn't sit down and give him a "test" but rather interacted with him and talked with him when the evaluated him.
the director is a dork and I think she's dealing with a business that is growing too fast.
The do want to integrate how to talk/interact with other children in the speech sessions, but felt it would work best to this way.
I'm ok with giving it a shot, if I'm still uncomfortable or feel that H doesn't enjoy going anymore, than we'll re evaluate.
I really like the Hanen concepts and think things will work out well with that.
They said there are a few other children they are doing something similar with (i guess to make me not feel so weird about it) and that there is another family that has already gone from this sitting on a mat to no mat and free play again and she's sure the mom wouldn't mind chatting to me about.
she actually said that family took a break from therapy b/c they were upset about it, but they decided to come back and things have been good.
so, it's not like anyone is beating him into submission and if I'm not comfortable with it, they said we can try something else, even if that is just get a weekly update (our suggestion) or do it in the room.
I feel like the therapists are really caring and love to be around him, so it's really hard.
The biggest thing is, I'd have been open to trying this had she handled the whole thing differently. I wouldn't be in defense mode, yaddah yaddah
-i'm typing so much, I miss friends to talk about stuff with- you gals are awesome
I meant to respond to your post yesterday but didn't get a chance. Thanks for all the updates, I've been thinking about you guys! I'm glad you have a plan your comfortable with! And I'm also glad she apologized profusely, she needed too!!!
I hope the new Hanen stuff goes great and I think its awesome you spoke up!
Yeah, um, hello? These people are supposed to be used to working with kids! Everything you have described that he has done sounds totally normal to me. I'm glad he is making progress, but I would hope that they change their attitude, and fast, because that just sounds like a downright shiitty way to treat their patients and their families.
Sorry you are dealing with this.
This exactly. I hope things drastically improve.