“We’ll start and we’ll see” – how to choose a good speech therapist

November 14 – international day of speech therapy. As parents to understand whether the specialist they choose, and what to pay attention? Explains Olga Azova, candidate of pedagogical Sciences, associate Professor of the Department of correction MPSU, Director of the children’s neurological and rehabilitation center “Logomed Prognoz”.

Photo: Sputnik / Alexey Kudenko

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Forecast or “we’ll see”

The parents made the decision to treat a child to a speech therapist. How to realize a good is a specialist or not?

Guarantees, unfortunately, no. Is, I think, to pay attention to the following points:

  • If the specialist diploma of specialized higher education institution (preferably that at the hearing, full-time form of education) or courses?
  • Increases you skills regularly (not less than 5 years, and better every year) or does not.
  • Is there any additional specialization.
  • Does supervision only or relies on their knowledge. Is there any mentors, teachers, or only basic education. Quite often the parents of the children I say that speech therapist, who can deal with them – my student, and I don’t know this. Students do a lot, but agree that the student is exceptional.
  • Specialist for a long time working for one job or frequently change them.
  • Is there experience with a degree or not.
  • Specializiruetsya whether a particular diagnosis or can do everything.
  • If it works comprehensively, in a team or just specifically him.
  • If the forecast says “how is it going, we’ll see”.

I will allow myself one more quotation of a speech in the discussion on Facebook, regarding the last paragraph: “Never give a prediction, not a promise for a certain period to remove the problem.”

I’m so frustrated, I looked at the page, a speech therapist, experienced. So I wanted to ask: if would not give a timeframe for restoration of the function of the doctor (I understand that there may be complications and nuances in the change treatment)? When the doctor says “no forecast”, it’s very exciting. Or attorney allows for a solution a month, even with the stock, but the Outlook on the solution obtained. A measure of professionalism in many occupations and in speech therapy too.

Very well, when the specialist plans the activity. Not as scary when, after further examination, adjustments are made, well, when is watchful waiting. Worse, when the forecast is not at all.

– Can you say specifically how much time you need to put sounds or, for example, the sound [R], fix dysgraphia?

Olga Azova. Photo: Anna Danilova

– Just agree that information on children with speech disorders, and no mental retardation (mental retardation), mental retardation.

For the production of the sound [R] in the complex half, and mostly much faster.

If the child has dysarthria (impaired pronunciation and prosodic due to innervation of the vocal apparatus arising from lesions of the nervous system) many of the sounds are broken, you need to consider that more time will be spent on automation. There is very good approach – two years.

About dysgraphia. If the child to school was not a speech problems, or been diagnosed with a phonetic-phonemic violation of that year, in mixed form or two. If there was a General underdevelopment of speech and there is not only a violation of the letter, but written speech (dysorthographia), then the child is 3-4 years, that is the entire elementary school.

It should be clarified that in the subgroups of operation may be longer than individual classes. I tell parents that if the child has a “4” and “5” in mathematics (in the calculation are objective evaluation), then the correction of dysorthographia will engage in a year if you do your homework, two years – if we do with the child alone, without the help of parents.

What questions should I expect from a speech therapist, and if he didn’t ask them when meeting with a child is suspicious?

– It depends how the problem came to the child. If it is a severe violation of speech, then of course we need time to evaluate the health of the child and level of family help with homework. After a few sessions it will be clear.

Of course, children, like adults, human beings with their desires and mood, this should be considered at the first meeting. It may be that the first kind of problem the therapist did not find, but in the process the first lesson everything will fall into place.

Sometimes the advice that seems the problem a little easier or, on the contrary, a little heavier, but after a few sessions everything will be clear eventually. Needs a little work and getting used to each other.

Some features of the development can only be assessed procedure. For example, the child learns the material somewhat longer than originally planned speech therapist. During the joint work it becomes clear what a team of experts to involve, to the maximum extent possible to effectively solve the problem.

– Whether parents attend classes?

– To decide on the situation. I have a different experience. When I was a school speech therapist, was really persuaded parents to visit our frontal lessons, with a maximum of what they agreed, that once a year is an open class and parent meeting.

In individual work, and Vice versa, many parents are almost always present in the classroom to the home as do as I do. We now have in the middle of some very challenging children who are highly distracted by the presence of the parents, so, despite the fact that the ban no, wait in the hallway, but you can hear everything happening outside the door or to use the camera/recorder lesson.

“And we helped”

– When you should see the results as to understand whether or not they have? How to understand that they are not and that the case of incompetence?

– Results are always, one might say, almost from the first class. For example, the child was not able to do articulation exercise in the formulation of sound was obtained, it was not a pointing gesture is not owned verification and location of the place of the unstressed vowel in the words – learned.

You need to set intermediate goals, but to go to General.

Each class has a goal which is set by the speech therapist myself and can accordingly share with the parent. If it is done, everything goes right.

– If the speech therapist offers something extra, as to understand is really needed or not?

The speech therapist should argue. If, for example, in the course of employment it becomes clear that the material is absorbed slower than it usually occurs in children with a similar problem or found other deficiencies that are directly related to the speech, but the speech therapist that is not directly involved in, the expert offers to ask for help to colleagues – a psychologist, massage therapist, neuropsychologist.

I’m all for division of labor. It is impossible to conduct speech therapy lesson and does not develop memory or attention, but not only to do it, this is another specialist. No need to fix dysgraphia in PE, for the correction they need exercise in a notebook, but if the child there (for performing certain daily activities that require complex integration at the level of the brain between the motion patterns and basic functions), then it will be shown exercises that are directly involved in this sensory integration, kinesiology, neuropsychology, physical culture.

Today I came to the consultation the girl was silent, but now already talking, and my mother just a question – “can I manage in this phase, one speech therapist”. But I wanted to say no, as it turns out that the garden is private and there is a complete Arsenal of experts, which is comprehensively engaged with the children: massage therapist, music teacher, psychologist, trainer in the pool and the gym. The answer is the result was another fine, if it is qualitatively suited to teaching.

– When choosing a specialist always useful recommendation of friends, that’s someone he really helped?

– I think that is important. Especially if people are close, whose opinion has already been trusted in other situations, children have similar diagnoses.

If people are reliable, in this case it is not just “word of mouth”, and a good experience for people. Here we are not talking about advertising and discuss the human factor, and just excellence.

Here the child is silent for a long time and helped him to speak, he had challenging behaviour and family helped him to cope, the letter had many mistakes and the child ceased to do them, not utter a sound and a year to completely overcome the shortcomings of sound pronunciation. The series can continue.

I think that the most important is exactly what this specific experience of the child and family, not virtual recommendations abstract people.

You see the result and can appreciate it, especially if it was really a problem.

We’re even more simple questions, such as, for example, a haircut, don’t go to the first comer to master, but to the one whose results we like. But in any case, you need to understand that this is personally our experience and responsibility, so this should be treated.

Photo: Pixabay

Graduated from the Institute – specialist in the century

Parents often complain that today is very difficult to choose a good speech therapist. Why?

– Early 90-ies, in our country there were only a few special faculties for admission to which was a very serious selection of students was consistently high competition.

But today came a time when the number of diseases associated with disorders of speech, behaviour, intelligence has increased significantly.

Collapsed the classical education of speech therapists. The University takes all who come, and the student is guided by the fact that “mathematics in the training, somehow two questions will learn.”

It’s not just in nominal competition, namely a quality selection.

By the way, and the love of children, and motivation for the profession, and a desire to help, also previously considered during the interview on the professional selection, but in addition to a large component, which is not only spiritual, but also the ability to find approach to the child, important knowledge, and most importantly, the ability to help the child or adult.

There is a system of control over the work of speech therapists?

System control there is little, in many cities even dissolved methodical Association. I was in the same institution – there three years in a row was fired by a speech therapist. Worked for a year, children are not helped, all irregularities and problems as they were, a year left – got fired, got a new – and so for three years. That is, during this time, the children in this child care did not receive assistance.

Speech therapists refuse to work with children, if the problem is a little more difficult, citing a lack of experience, despite the fact that the diploma is written that it is his professional competence. Many also try, did not work – left the child without any help.

– How can you change the situation?

Professionals will save only to train and improve their skills. I write many of our colleagues are ready to learn.

I have a good colleague, a famous person, which using their basic education, in fact, mastered a new profession, took a lot of serious training, courses, fortunately now you can learn new things, even without leaving the country. The authors of original methods come to Russia.

We have no experience to increase skills through a one-time consultation from more experienced colleagues – supervision. I could be wrong, but the reasons are two – this costs money and as it is not accepted, shameful or something, especially if you already have some experience. Of course, lucky for those who were and are teachers that good relations with teachers. whom to contact for help, and those who work in the team, has the ability to peer professional dissections.

We have almost no professional associations. And if there are any, they are nominal, they do not work.

There is also no stages of growth specialist.

Graduated from the Institute, and all, you’re the expert on century. No intermediate tests, if one changes the specialty. There is no period when the young specialist works under the guidance of more experienced colleagues, and immediately goes and “tries on.” Mentorship is rather the exception.

For controlling organizations need a system of assessments, grades, independent certification. And again we are not talking about what is purchased with the certificate, just write a paper. Really want quality.

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