1. Choosing specialist services for your child

2. Administration of Intelligence (IQ) tests in Spore 

Date : 22nd June 2000

CHOOSING SPECIALIST SERVICES FOR YOUR CHILD

Choosing a Speech Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist or Educational Support Teacher for your child is a difficult task. This is especially so now that there is an increasing amount of people and centres offering these services within Singapore.

It is possible to obtain a list of Local Support Services for children with special needs. These can be sort from a variety of specialist centres and schools depending on the area of special needs that your child has. For example, the Autism Resource Centre has a list of professionals that work specifically with children with autism. Also, if you speak to the staff at these centres they will generally be able to give you verbal recommendations as to who would be most suitable to teach your child. Additionally, the local special needs schools and some International schools, such as the Singapore American School, have their own list of professionals that they refer their children to.

HOW CAN YOU FIND OUT WHICH THERAPY IS MOST SUITABLE FOR YOUR CHILD ?

SPEECH THERAPY

A Speech Therapist helps to assist in the following areas:

	Language difficulties/disorders: encoding/decoding, dysphasia/aphasia, delayed or deviant language development, etc.
	Articulation disorders: substitution, distortion or omission of sounds (phoneme) or addition of extra sounds, etc.
	Fluency disorders: irregular rate, continuity and muscular effort when speaking, etc.
	Voice disorders: atypical pitch, intensity, quality, etc.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Occupational Therapy is the treatment given to help a child towards greater independence. They address areas such as:

	Activities of Daily Living: feeding, dressing, toiletting, bathing, play/leisure skills and vocational skills, etc.
	Gross Motor Skills: postural stability, balancing issues and coordination, etc.
	Fine Motor Skills: manipulation and dexterity, pencil and scissor control, handwriting skills, hand-eye coordination and bilateral skills, etc.
	Social and Emotional Skills: self esteem, interactional skills, management of feelings, etc.
	Visual-Perceptual Skills: spatial awareness, visual discrimination, memory skills, etc.
	Sensory Skills: tactile defensiveness, sensory processing difficulties, etc.

 

PHYSIOTHERAPY

Physiotherapists often work closely with Occupational Therapists. They also address similar areas although are based more on gross motor skills such as: muscle strength and endurance, joint motion, posture, balance, body mechanics and the function of the heart and lungs. They concentrate on how to perform daily tasks and recreational activities, etc.

EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT

An Educational Support Teacher works on all academic and social areas in need of development. This includes language/communication, writing/pre-writing, mathematics/cognition, fine and gross motor skills, social interaction and play skills. They should work independently or along side the schools individual educational programme, if applicable.

A good therapist is someone who:

is willing to help you as well as your child.

is willing to listen and do more than just the hourly session with your child.

is willing to become more involved in your child’s schooling and to liaise with the teachers and other therapists, where applicable.

is willing to give you feed back on each session and give you ideas for future goals.

is happy to listen to your own ideas and take them seriously.

 

Choosing a therapist by their price rate does not dictate how good they are. For example, by going to the most expensive does not mean that you will get the best. Similarly, by going to the cheapest does not mean that you will get the worst; it also might not mean, however, that you will be getting the best value for money. It is therefore important to enquire about other issues such as qualifications and experience first, before letting the price sway you.

The rate for individual Speech, Occupational, Physiotherapy and Educational Support can range from $80 to $130 per hour.

It is, of course, imperative that whoever you choose to teach your child must have appropriate qualifications and experience in their field. Here are some guidelines:

Speech Therapists (S.T.’s) should have a degree in Speech Therapy. This should either be an Honors or Bachelors degree. In America the minimum requirement is a Masters degree. It is also important that they are a member of a variety of speech associations. For example, if they are belong to the Speech and Hearing Association of Singapore (SHAS) that means that they have fulfilled a specific criteria and have therefore a wide range of experience. Additional memberships can include Speech Pathology Australia (SPA), American Speech, Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy (RCSLT).

Occupational Therapists (O.T.’s) should similarly have a degree in Occupational Therapy. It is also important that they have pediatric experience and any other experience that is relevant to your child’s needs, e.g. Sensory Integration Therapy, Neuro Developmental Treatment/Therapy, etc. The more current courses and experience that are relevant to your child’s needs the better.

Physiotherapists (P.T.’s) must again have a degree in Physiotherapy. It is also important that they have pediatric experience and any other specialised experience and training. Again, Sensory Integration Therapy and Neuro Developmental Treatment/Therapy is beneficial. Make sure, however, that the therapist’s specialisms are relevant to your child’s needs as not all treatments will be applicable to your child.

Educational Support Teachers should have a degree and teaching qualification. They should also have a Diploma in Special Educational Needs (DPSE) or any other relevant qualification in this area. It is also important to find out if they have a specialism and whether it is applicable to your child’s difficulties, e.g. autism, dyslexia, etc. Relevant courses are also important, as well as finding out what style or method of teaching they follow, if any. For example, ‘Picture Exchange Communication System’ (PECS), ‘Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children’ (TEACCH) or ‘Applied Behaviour Analysis’ (ABA), etc.

It is also important to find out if the therapist will supply a report on your child and whether this is at an additional cost. Reports supplied can include a ‘Forecast’ involving the therapists aims and objectives for the forth coming sessions; an ‘Individual Educational Programme’ listing the child’s abilities and difficulties; or a ‘Progress Report’ listing all the skills that your child has acquired since the sessions began. Find out how often these will be supplied and whether you will have opportunity to discuss them with the therapist. Also, find out what feedback, if any, is supplied after each session.

HOME ACTIVITIES

For all therapies it is important that skills are followed up at home by yourself. Don’t leave all the work to the therapist; you must be prepared to reinforce the skills at home too. Naturally, if your child practices a skill with the therapist once a week and then experiences the same skill each day with you then the success rate will be greater than limiting it to just one session per week. Ask if your therapist will supply you with home activities to do and if they will guide you in how to teach them correctly. Again, check to see if this is at an additional cost.

LOCATION

Some therapists will travel to your home, whereas others have their own therapy centre or work from home. It is important to visit these places to see if you and your child feel comfortable in the environment. Remember, it might be more convenient for you to have a therapist visit your home but is it really a conducive learning environment? Are there many distractions? Do you have an area where the therapist can successfully achieve a 1 to 1? Will your child be able to cope with new demands being made on them in the familiar environment of their home where they are used to playing and having free time? Or, would they be more focused in a new environment, specifically set up for therapy sessions?

SHOPPING AROUND!

For your child’s benefit it is best not to shop around by trying out many therapists. Try not to book your child up for a month with one therapist and then, because you are not happy, try another one, and so on. This could be detrimental to your child's learning and emotions, especially for children with autism or for those that suffer anxiety in any way. Try to make the sessions a positive experience for them rather than a negative experience. By choosing the wrong type of therapist your child might dislike the situation so much that it could cause them to be reluctant to see other therapists in the future.

As a result you must do your homework first. Ring a number of therapists to talk to and meet with, but do not make your decision until you are fully satisfied. Most therapists are happy to meet with you and your child for an initial consultation free of charge. You are then at liberty to leave without making a decision immediately.

Most importantly, make sure your child feels happy in the environment and gains a good rapport with the therapist. Also, go with your own instincts. Choose the therapist that you felt most comfortable with and one that was willing to give you their time and attention.

GOOD LUCK !!

Elizabeth Barratt (B.A. (Hons) PGCE DPSE)

Educational Support & Behaviour Consultancy

Tel/Fax: 4656982  H/p: 97584651

Email : miles.liz@pacific.net.sg

Note from Liew Ping :

The above is an article contributed by Elizabeth Barrett who has 6 years of experience in special education. If you have any comments, do feel free to e-mail me. 

ã 2000 Yeo Liew Ping