WWJ12D? (EI question)

apollonia10 · January 2014

I've posted about this before, but I've had a mixed experience with DS's physical therapy. His actual PT is very good, but the SLP has left something to be desired. Without making this super long, my main complaints have been:

She mentions getting paid - a lot. Like "They don't pay us to do the evaluation, but I'll still do it." Um, thank you? I don't get paid to grade papers either, but I do it because it's part of a JOB.
She kept assuming our scheduling went a certain way, and when she'd show up and I'd be unavailable (because she hadn't talked to me beforehand, at all), she'd be pissed. I'm 99% sure she's falsified documents to show that she actually did work with DS on those days.
She brings up issues with DS's development that she's not sure about. He wasn't stacking blocks at 15 months and she commented that he should be doing it, but his PT dismissed it and said it's an 18 month skill. And guess what, he's doing it now! Interesting!
She doesn't do therapy with DS. She's an SLP, and he's advanced in speech, so she just plays with him as a "child development specialist." Every single session I've had to tell her that DS doesn't need to play with an iPad, because she would do that for the full hour if she could.

DS will almost certainly not qualify for services after his evaluation this month, so I won't have to deal with her anymore. Should I write an email to the director of her clinic? I've talked to the case manager who says that it's "concerning" but she doesn't have any actual influence over the SLP. I don't want to get her fired or anything, but I hate to think that she's doing this kind of crap with other kids.

ThePinkSuperhero · January 2014

Yeah, I think you can say everything you said here, saying you were overall uncomfortable with her. Definitely detail the exact dates you think she showed and didn't meet with you guys, so they can review on their end.

grimesk12 · January 2014

As an SLP I think what she's doing is utterly and completely wrong. Do you know if she has ASHA certification? If she does she should have a card to prove it; it'll say CCC-SLP. As an ASHA certified SLP there are ethical standards we must adhere to and she is most definitely not being ethical. You can report her to ASHA at https://www.asha.org/practice/ethics/.

If your LO no longer qualifies for speech services he should be dismissed/graduated. As far as talking about being paid that's just rude and unprofessional. Pretty sure whatever company she is working for pays for evaluations and normally you get paid more for an evaluation.

Does she have a log that you as the parent sign when she provides services? I do in-home services as a side job and I have a log that the parents fill out and sign every time I provide services and even if its canceled its noted on the log.

It's out of her scope of practice and unethical to be commenting on motor skills without talking to the PT or OT first; if I have concerns related to motor I talk to the PT or OT before I say anything to a parent. If a parent asks me a question about something not speech related I am totally honest and state that I would need to ask or that I don't know but could refer her to____.

Also, the Ipad for an hour is really concerning. She should have hands on activities prepared and be able to tell you what goal she is targeting with every activity.

I am so sorry that your LO has been treated so poorly and I would not hesitate to email her boss or report her to ASHA. If I can answer any other questions or help in any way feel free to pm me or reply here.

Barefoot84 · January 2014

I would write an e-mail. Like you said, you didn't particularly need her services, but other babies and toddlers could be missing out on help they really need.

apollonia10 · January 2014

Thanks for the feedback, ladies! @grimesk12, my sister is an SLP and she has been pretty outraged at the specialist's behavior. I really appreciate getting a professional opinion about this. Thank goodness DS didn't need her services and only needed the PT, who has been really exceptionally kind and professional (she got him from not crawling to walking in 4 months). I just cringe to think of the kids who are assigned to this SLP for true speech delays.

I especially appreciate what you said about her comments about his motor skills. It has not been uncommon for her to hypothesize about DS's gross or fine motor skills (like if he favors his right hand, it must be because he has weakness on his left side, but she didn't know what I could do to work on that), and for me to worry about it for a week. Then the PT comes and tells me that's not a big deal and it's part of normal development. The SLP is always "Oops, my bad!" Ugh. I'm glad to know that it's not standard practice for specialists to wonder aloud to the parents.

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