If your child were nonverbal would you allow him to get speech/language in class with other students for part of his time in ST or would you want all of his time in ST to be 1:1? He gets 45min per day 5 days per week
He is making little to no progress so we have asked for an increase each year. They can't deny his lack of progress. We did the classroom thing for the last couple of months of preschool and it did seem like a joke. I get the feeling the ST wanted the break because he is so hard to engage. It was basically just center time. He will be at a new school classified as a Kindergartener and will have a new ST. We have lost a lot of trust. They, in the past, have blamed him because he is inattentive and uncooperative and either overresponds to rewards or don't respond at all. I'm not sure what to do. They say he will burn out an shut down. I don't know what to do. He loves being in a group of kids but being around other children is a BIG distraction for him. I want VB but we are still working on that dispite their promise and the reccommendation of the BCBA they paid for. I feel like I am constantly fighting. Just when I think everything is set something else pops up. It seems like 45 minutes a day might be a lot to take him out of the classroom for. I used to think that 1-1 outside of the room had to be better than in the room but when I spoke with the ST she made a couple of good points. 1st is that learning in the classroom helps with generalization of the skill. So that he will be more likely to speak to his teachers and peers (not just the ST in a specific setting). Additionally, they have to justify any time that is spent outside of the classroom environment so they may avoid taking the kids out for a long period of time. BUT if your son can't concentrate in the classroom then taking him out could be the only option. Maybe they could compromise and do 3 days a week outside of the classroom and 2 days a week in the classroom. Also, if the teachers are applying the same techniques as the ST during the classroom time that is helpful. My son only has 30 mins 3x a week of one on one but since his teachers are constantly working with him he still thrives. It may be less about the ST time and more about the overall environment at the school?I would say a majority 1:1 at this point. Maybe it is different in your school, but in class ST was a joke--I observed it. My son was not responding because of the distraction of other kids and noise in the room. I am impressed at how much time your get per week. Is that a public school?I'd probably OK group time (if this is recommended) so that he could at least attempt to practice whatever form of communication he is learning to use with others. However, I'd be very, very sure that there is regular progress monitoring in place. Ask the speech therapists how frequently she intends to monitor his progress -- and HOW. IF after a couple of months, he shows no progress, call an IEP meeting to discuss what alternatives might be implemented in order to help your son MAKE progress. Getting therapies is not the goal -- making PROGRESS is. It may be worth trying out different approaches. Knowing what your child is or is NOT learning is going to help everyone figure out what to do next.