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Special Needs
Need suggestions regarding therapies for DS
A little background: DS is 25 months old and is dx with ASD. We started him on therapies through EI for our state and had 1 hour DI and 1 hour OT/play therapy so far. During his last evaluation EI increased his hours to 5x/week, we are getting speech from private therapy 2x/week.
My experience with EI has not been the greatest. The coordinator is very pushy and most of the time talks and talks (very bad listener). So, I took her email address in order to maintain a 2-way communication. I sent her the new schedule for his therapies and slots open and also asked for a new therapist for ABA (Not extremely happy with the current therapist who is not even a BCBA to begin with). Cordinator called back today pushing the therapist we really are not impressed with and is telling me she can do a 2 hr. session at day care every Tuesday!? I am reluctant to sign up DS for 2 hours in a row because he has trouble focusing and also it would entirely wipe his energy out.
WDYT? Any of your LO's in therapy for 2 hours in a row and they fare well? I think I know what I should do - I shouldpush back the coordinator and ask her to find a new therapist who is BCBA and then be firm..after all we are paying full price for these sessions and are not getting any rebate from the state...I just have trouble being assertive with such a pushy coordinator.
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Re: Need suggestions regarding therapies for DS
My son is 28 months old with an ASD diagnosis. He schedule looks like this: Monday in home EI (general) 9:00 - 10:00; Tuesday private OT 8:00-9:00, intensive day treatment program 9:00-12:00; Wednesday in home EI (speech) 10:00-11:00; Thursday private OT 8:00-9:00, intensive day treatment program 9:00-12:00.
We are pushing therapies really hard. At first this was a really tough schedule for him to maintain, but he is doing great with it now. We have seen some amazing progress with this intense programming. I say give it a try and see how it goes. If after 6 weeks you still think it is too much, then maybe rearrange his schedule a bit.
In terms of the therapist, I would definitely push for a switch if you don't think she is a good fit. If she won't listen and work with you, I would go to her boss. We had to make a switch with our second case manager because she did not have a grasp of our family's goals or a good understanding of our son's needs. It was a difficult call to make, but it was by far the best choice for our family.
Good luck!
I am in the process of getting a different service coodinator. Ours seemed sorta disorganized and I wasn't "feelin' the love" so to speak. Right now the director is our service coordinator until she finds someone else for us. If your SC is not a good fit, you have every right to ask for reassignment. Believe it or not, EI wants you to have a positive experience.
It's not personal, it's business.
ETA: I get the two hour thing now......duh.
My son is 17 months and his schedule is as follows:
Monday (daycare): 11-1pm ABA
Tuesday (daycare): 9-10am speech, 11-1pm ABA
Wednesday (home): 8-9am OT, 11-1pm ABA
Thursday (daycare): 11-1pm ABA
Friday (home): 11-1pm ABA
He had a bit of trouble with 2 hours in a row when he started (15 months) but can handle it now, and we are pushing to increase hours (will be starting with 2 additional hours of ABA per day, changin hours from 8-10am and 3-5pm). DS is still really young and doesn't have the best attention span, but the therapist lets him take plenty of breaks as needed, and they still get good work done. GL!