Thanks Tancrisx3
we have decided to give the therapist a try. lets see how it goes
Hi tancrisx it's been about 4 months since we have given that home based therapist a try. I have been getting a lot of emails regarding the therapist's methods and results and frankly I have no time to reply to all. I also promised you that I would feedback to you once I have tried for a number of months. I have therefore asked the therapist's consent to share about his therapy service but not his ID or contact in the public domain.
when I asked you for his contact my child just turned 5 and has very little speech except for a few single words he mumbles from time to time, very little eye contact and he tends to sit alone and stare and shake. his reading is almost non existent except for the odd alphabet. numeracy was also near zero.
so I will sum up what I have observed and experienced of my therapist
Demeanour and personality
He is a cheerful and makes an effort to bond with the child. always calling out to my son and trying to make him laugh. He can be firm without looking unreasonable and my child will respond to the serious look the therapist gives. He is a very direct person and if you don't like that as a parent better not take him because he will tell you the truth which can be painful. overall he has the personality to interact with the child using encouragement and humour to motivate my child. sometimes he is late but he will inform us in advance.
Qualifications
He is a registered Occupational Therapist from a recognized western university and he has many years experienced working in a special school. He has shown us his degree and license
Methods of intervention and treatment
He brings his own material such as worksheet and Ipad. and sometimes he uses what we have bought for the child like toys and educational materials like flash cards puzzle etc. Initially we asked him what he can do for the child but he would only tell us when we completed an initial assessment. we had to pay for it. after the assessment he would send us a report with the results and intervention plan. it was done professionally and very clear in its stated aims and objectives.
he is creatively and he would use games and interaction to engage my child and he would interact with the therapist. also some reading and eye contact games and speech therapy was done. the sessions went well but sometimes my child would daydream and the therapist would bring him back to the session
Rates and slots available
He tells me he is quite busy but he is willing to listen to enquiries. His rates are reasonable and certainly cheaper than a therapy centre. so whoever is interested can try
Results of the intervention
the school reported that he has shown more eye contact and is more sociable and increased speech with more phrases and short sentences rather than just single words. He plays with his classmates more. he is able to recognise more words and more willing to talk. rather than looking away and daydreaming in a corner
Even my mother says he has shown all round improvement . I won't say that he is 100% good but the improvements are significant and I am satisfied.
I hope this answers the emails I get from mommyforummers.
Tancrisx, I will let the mommyforummers contact you for the therapist contact details