Forgive me for the rambling post. It won’t be the last.
Two months ago, I wrote that we were exploring speech therapy for Baguette, based on feedback from her school and our concerns about her confidence levels.
While we were able to get an in-network referral, it wasn’t possible to get a timely appointment. And while the public school system does offer free speech therapy, Baguette isn’t old enough qualify for it, and we didn’t want to wait until she is. So we got references and decided to pursue private therapy.
For nearly two months, Mr. Sandwich has been taking her to the therapist’s office twice a week, and the therapist has made some visits to Baguette in her classroom.
I have to be honest–I don’t really understand a lot of this. To start with, I haven’t seen the speech therapist since the original evaluation. For a host of reasons, it’s easier for Mr. Sandwich to take time away from work than it is for me. And a lot of the terminology is foreign to me; I’m trying to learn it, but I think that there’s a certain amount of irony that a field that is about improving communication uses jargon that gets in the way of communication.
The therapist’s concern isn’t so much about enunciation as it is about the way Baguette uses language; she apparently uses it internally rather than externally. (If this topic is new to you, do you understand what that means, or do you need someone to explain it to you? That’s the kind of jargon I’m talking about.)
The focus is on play, encouraging Baguette to communicate in specific ways. Right now we’re working on getting her to answer questions with “Yes.”
I spoke by phone with the therapist before Christmas, and she said that Baguette is “making wonderful progress.” People around us say that they see her being much more interactive with her peers, and that she talks more freely and confidently. We see that ourselves.
So you may understand my frustration and confusion when we learned that in addition to her twice-weekly sessions (at least one of which will be paired with a music therapy session), they want to add three occupational therapy sessions each week. If Baguette’s progress is so wonderful, why are we more than doubling–possibly even tripling–her therapy? Why does she need sessions every day?
People keep coming back to the fact that she plays with sand, often lying down in it and pouring it over herself. They say that this isn’t “purposeful play.”
So, in my effort to be a good and involved parent, I set out to research “purposeful play.” And I have no idea what it is. I see the phrase used, but I can’t find a solid definition of it. And I can find nothing about why the way Baguette plays with sand is bad. In fact, all I can find is that sand play is really, really good.
Next week we go to the in-network evaluation. I’m curious to hear what they have to say, and what services will be available to us. But right now I’m very, very skeptical.