Connor's school report dated Nov 2011 just before we started speech therapy:
They did not write it in the report but told me that he was very disruptive in class. He would not sit still, he would walk around and keep looking to run off and play with toys. He would not follow instructions and would scream in frustration if they tried to get him to do things he didn't enjoy. They told me outright that it looked suspiciously like he had ADHD and asked if we had a family history of it. We do, his male cousins both have ADHD.
They also noted his slow language development and said he didn't say a lot in school. Boys generally are slower, they said but Connor was definitely slower than even a slow boy.
They also noted a "disturbing" trait he had. It was a pretend "Mwahahaha!" laugh he would do. Sometimes he would do it out of the blue and no one knew why. They immediately thought of the awkward social behaviour of children with autism spectrum disorder and suggested that he could have signs of it.
It was a BIG shock to me as Connor was very, very different at home.
So we started therapy with Mario. We saw him for an initial assessment not long after that school report but only started proper sessions in January or so as we went away for holidays in Dec.
Fast forward to Aug 2012 and another school report.
What a difference!
Chatterbox. Interacts well with other children and plays with them at a level appropriate for his age. Listens attentively during story time. Follows instructions. Understands and works well during his activities. No more wriggling. No more trying to walk around and play with toys while everyone else works.
They noted how he'd really blossomed after the therapy started. I asked about the "Mwahaha" laugh. Does it happen anymore? They all looked surprised for a moment, then realised that no, he hasn't done that for a long time. Yes, sometimes he bursts into laughter all by himself but when they ask, "Why are you laughing, Connor?" his answers tell them that he's laughing because he's remembering something funny that had happened. So maybe it was the same case with the "Mwahaha", just that back then, he lacked the skills to tell them.
Am I happy with the school report?
You bet.
Some of the improvement is due to his natural development. But I believe that the speech therapy helped tremendously. I saw results after only four sessions with Mario. Speech therapy accelerated the pace of Connor's development. Without Mario to guide and point me in the right direction, I probably wouldn't have known what was needed to help my son.
When I'd poured out all of Connor's problems at school to Mario at the initial session, he nodded and told me he was confident Connor's behavioural problems stemmed from his lack of understanding. He was sure that once we worked on his speech and Connor could understand what was expected of him, he would settle down. It has happened exactly as Mario said it would.
I can see my son enjoying school again. During the Sept-Nov term, he suddenly started refusing to go to school and would come home with zero enthusiasm in his eyes. Not so now.
Everything's changed for the better.
Thank you, Mario. We wouldn't have done it without you.
Marios Genethliou
KL Sports Medicine Centre
Damansara Heights
Tel: 03-2096 1033
www.klsmc.com
Showing posts with label Speech Therapy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Speech Therapy. Show all posts
Friday, August 10, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Connor's Speech Therapy: An update
Back in February, I wrote about Connor's speech delay diagnosis and speech therapy.
At last week's session with Mario, he noted that Connor has progressed amazingly well, far quicker than he thought. The problem with Connor is that he is terribly stubborn and at some sessions, he just decides he won't do anything and is very difficult. At some sessions, he's very good and will eagerly do all the work that Mario has set. Mario asked with a smile, "Is there a stubborn streak in your family?" Yes, Mario. Me. Sigh.
I was very happy when Mario estimated that Connor would have caught up with children his age before Christmas. He's planning to administer another speech test when we're all back from summer holidays so that we can see how far Connor has come and compare results from the very first session.
I have seen lots of progress myself. Even Teacher told me that Connor is now speaking in full sentences at school and just the other day, he stood in front of the class to tell a story. Mummy was SO proud of her little boy.
We do a lot of story scene cards at therapy. Connor is given a set of 5-6 cards that depict a story and asked to pick them out in the correct order and tell us what the picture shows. Story scene cards help him formulate a sense of time and narration for a story, these are important communication skills. When we first arrived, Connor could barely do that. Now he can pick out the cards in correct sequence and tell us what is happening in the picture. Sometimes this has unexpected results. He once picked up a card showing a black cat about to jump onto a sofa, it showed the cat from the back. Connor took one look at it and exclaimed, "Oh, it's the cat's shadow!" LOL
Each time we arrive for a session, I accompany him to the receptionist and let him practise speaking with them. He was shy at first but now he marches up to them and bellows out his answers as the girls all smile at him.
"What is your name?"
"My name is Connor!"
"Why are you here?"
"I've come to see Mario!"
After our last session, some of Mario's friends were at reception so Mario took Connor with him and introduced him to them. One of them asked my son, "How old are you?" and Connor replied, "I am three years old." They were so charmed and Mario beamed proudly at Connor's response and more importantly, that he had responded.
When I expressed surprise and relief at Mario's estimation of his progress, Mario explained that Connor is progressing so quickly because all he has is a developmental delay. He is otherwise developing normally and all he needed was a nudge to help his speech kickstart. Connor has a little schoolmate, whom I'll call Jack, who attends the session after us. Jack is a extremely bright 4yo who has mild Asperger's, so his speech delays were due to a disorder, not a developmental delay as in Connor's case. So Jack obviously needs more time and more help. It's important for (sometimes hysterical) parents to distinguish between the two (delay and disorder) so that they understand what needs to be done and why.
If you need any help, you can contact Mario for an appointment. I have listed 2 other contacts in my original post back in February so you can try them as well if you like.
Marios Genethliou,
KL Sports Medicine Centre
Damansara Heights
Tel: 03-2096 1033
www.klsmc.com
At last week's session with Mario, he noted that Connor has progressed amazingly well, far quicker than he thought. The problem with Connor is that he is terribly stubborn and at some sessions, he just decides he won't do anything and is very difficult. At some sessions, he's very good and will eagerly do all the work that Mario has set. Mario asked with a smile, "Is there a stubborn streak in your family?" Yes, Mario. Me. Sigh.
I was very happy when Mario estimated that Connor would have caught up with children his age before Christmas. He's planning to administer another speech test when we're all back from summer holidays so that we can see how far Connor has come and compare results from the very first session.
I have seen lots of progress myself. Even Teacher told me that Connor is now speaking in full sentences at school and just the other day, he stood in front of the class to tell a story. Mummy was SO proud of her little boy.
We do a lot of story scene cards at therapy. Connor is given a set of 5-6 cards that depict a story and asked to pick them out in the correct order and tell us what the picture shows. Story scene cards help him formulate a sense of time and narration for a story, these are important communication skills. When we first arrived, Connor could barely do that. Now he can pick out the cards in correct sequence and tell us what is happening in the picture. Sometimes this has unexpected results. He once picked up a card showing a black cat about to jump onto a sofa, it showed the cat from the back. Connor took one look at it and exclaimed, "Oh, it's the cat's shadow!" LOL
Each time we arrive for a session, I accompany him to the receptionist and let him practise speaking with them. He was shy at first but now he marches up to them and bellows out his answers as the girls all smile at him.
"What is your name?"
"My name is Connor!"
"Why are you here?"
"I've come to see Mario!"
After our last session, some of Mario's friends were at reception so Mario took Connor with him and introduced him to them. One of them asked my son, "How old are you?" and Connor replied, "I am three years old." They were so charmed and Mario beamed proudly at Connor's response and more importantly, that he had responded.
When I expressed surprise and relief at Mario's estimation of his progress, Mario explained that Connor is progressing so quickly because all he has is a developmental delay. He is otherwise developing normally and all he needed was a nudge to help his speech kickstart. Connor has a little schoolmate, whom I'll call Jack, who attends the session after us. Jack is a extremely bright 4yo who has mild Asperger's, so his speech delays were due to a disorder, not a developmental delay as in Connor's case. So Jack obviously needs more time and more help. It's important for (sometimes hysterical) parents to distinguish between the two (delay and disorder) so that they understand what needs to be done and why.
If you need any help, you can contact Mario for an appointment. I have listed 2 other contacts in my original post back in February so you can try them as well if you like.
Marios Genethliou,
KL Sports Medicine Centre
Damansara Heights
Tel: 03-2096 1033
www.klsmc.com
Monday, March 5, 2012
Connor's progress at speech therapy
At last week's session, Mario asked, "Have you noticed any improvement?"
My answer was a happy and resounding "YES!".
What have I noticed? Well, Connor's describing more things and using far more words. He's also linking more concepts together. For example, he has a shiny Ferrari. A toy Ferrari though, not the real ones. Naturally, it's Ferrari red. He was playing with it and talking about his red Ferrari and how James (from Thomas the Tank Engine) was red too.
He's answering questions with longer sentences, mainly because I won't give him what he wants unless he asks properly for it. For example, previously I would let him get away with "Juice?" or "Juice please?" Now he won't get any juice unless he says "May I have some juice please, Mummy?"
At that moment in Mario's room, Connor was on the floor playing happily with the Thomas train track. Mario's office is filled with his toys as his patients are all kids. Connor was chattering away as he played. "Stop, Thomas! The traffic light is red. Now it's green! Now you can go! Look, Mummy... Thomas stopping at train station. The passengers getting on!" Connor has a tendency to leave out "is", "are", "were", "was" etc so we're working on that.
Mario asked me, "Does he play like that at home?" I replied, "Oh yes. He'll talk to his trains like they're real and offer them juice and cookies. Or he'll pretend to be a mechanic and fix his toys." "That's good, that's good! That's what we want to see."
He sat back and smiled at me, "See? He's coming along very well. I told you not to worry!" I smiled back and shrugged my shoulders "Well... I'm his mother..."
I am happy that Mario notes progress as well. He said Connor is actually doing very well in the therapy and he's picking stuff up quickly.
My answer was a happy and resounding "YES!".
What have I noticed? Well, Connor's describing more things and using far more words. He's also linking more concepts together. For example, he has a shiny Ferrari. A toy Ferrari though, not the real ones. Naturally, it's Ferrari red. He was playing with it and talking about his red Ferrari and how James (from Thomas the Tank Engine) was red too.
He's answering questions with longer sentences, mainly because I won't give him what he wants unless he asks properly for it. For example, previously I would let him get away with "Juice?" or "Juice please?" Now he won't get any juice unless he says "May I have some juice please, Mummy?"
At that moment in Mario's room, Connor was on the floor playing happily with the Thomas train track. Mario's office is filled with his toys as his patients are all kids. Connor was chattering away as he played. "Stop, Thomas! The traffic light is red. Now it's green! Now you can go! Look, Mummy... Thomas stopping at train station. The passengers getting on!" Connor has a tendency to leave out "is", "are", "were", "was" etc so we're working on that.
Mario asked me, "Does he play like that at home?" I replied, "Oh yes. He'll talk to his trains like they're real and offer them juice and cookies. Or he'll pretend to be a mechanic and fix his toys." "That's good, that's good! That's what we want to see."
He sat back and smiled at me, "See? He's coming along very well. I told you not to worry!" I smiled back and shrugged my shoulders "Well... I'm his mother..."
I am happy that Mario notes progress as well. He said Connor is actually doing very well in the therapy and he's picking stuff up quickly.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Connor and speech delay
I'd mentioned before I thought Connor was a slow talker compared to other kids. Well meaning relatives and friends comforted me with the usual "Oh, it's just boys! Boys are slow!" and tales of their cousins/friends' sons/uncles etc etc who didn't say a word until they were four and then couldn't shut up.
But I knew deep inside something was not quite right.
End of last year, we had a school report. The school also noted Connor's speech wasn't developing as it should. They also mentioned that he showed signs of having ADHD as he's quite active at school and he won't pay attention to some things.
I immediately rang up speech therapists for a diagnostic appointment. Guess what? Most of them were booked solid for months. Fortunately for us, one of them rang back saying a patient had cancelled their appointment so he had a free slot. Would we be interested in coming over? I said yes immediately.
He administered a test which consists of flash cards and sequential story cards. He would ask Connor questions. At first they were easy ones. "Point to the monkey." They got progressively more complicated as we went along. "Point to the monkey first, then the giraffe." He was also asked to repeat what was said in a story and the phrases got longer and more complicated as the story progressed.
Results showed Connor had a moderate speech delay. When the therapist saw my alarmed expression, he said that speech delays were very common in boys. He also assured me that he could help and with practise, it can be fixed quite easily as the delay was not related to a cognitive disorder. That is, if the delay was related to say... Asperger's, then it would take longer to help him overcome the delay as there are other issues in play.
When I brought up the issue of ADHD, the speech therapist was quite annoyed. ADHD can only be diagnosed after tests and after the child has shown very specific behaviour consistently in different environments. Based on what I'd said about Connor's behaviour at home and the speech test results, it was very likely Connor was being disruptive at school because he didn't understand what was being said to him. He was annoyed the school had put the idea in my head as he could see I was worrying too much about it.
Connor now attends speech therapy once a week. During speech therapy, we work on vocabulary and concepts like before/after, first/then... stuff that Connor hasn't quite grasped but should have.
I understand why the school brought up the ADHD issue. I think their concern was if they don't highlight it and that turns out to be the case, the parent will accuse them of not spotting it and of ruining their kid's future. Better to highlight it as a possible cause and then be wrong later. I spoke to a friend who said her daughter's kindy had confided to her that she could be autistic as she kept having this spaced out look in class. What the school didn't realise is that M was advanced for her years and was looking spaced out because she was bored! M is now studying in the Aust Intl School here in KL and is a year ahead of her class.
What I really want to say is this - parents, you know your child best. If you think there is a problem, act on it. Listen to your heart, listen to what you know. I know relatives and friends mean well with their reassuring stories and I appreciate that but this is YOUR child and his future at stake. If you think he needs help, GET IT. If you are worried that people might think your child is "abnormal" or "slow", don't be. The earlier your child gets help, the better his chances will be.
I was utterly distraught the first few days when we had confirmation of Connor's speech delay. My first thought was "Oh no, what about Cambridge now!" LOL After I'd calmed down, I thought of all my blessings. Of what a loving, happy, good boy he is (apart from the usual toddler tantrums). Of the fact that he is a healthy and otherwise normal child. We knew Connor wasn't stupid. He's just not talking as he should. The therapist was confident Connor could overcome this easily with help. Why shouldn't I as well?
Lately, we've noticed something has switched on in Connor's little head and sentences are just tumbling out non-stop. We have been working on his speech, making him say more before he gets stuff he wants and it's working. He's still not quite there but I'm happy to say that he's making good progress.
I just wanted to post about my experience so that other parents can benefit from it.
Speech therapists in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor:
Marios Genethliou (we go to Mario for speech therapy, Connor adores him),
KL Sports Medicine Centre
Damansara Heights
Tel: 03-2096 1033
www.klsmc.com
Care Speech,
Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, KL
Tel: 03-2161 6618
www.carespeech.com
Jennifer/Melissa Peters,
Tel: 03-4252 7611 or 03-7981 5958
www.speakeasyconsultants.com
EDIT: Just for parents' FYI, this is what Mario charges: RM200 for initial consultation, RM165 for each one-hour session thereafter. The test he administered for Connor cost RM300
But I knew deep inside something was not quite right.
End of last year, we had a school report. The school also noted Connor's speech wasn't developing as it should. They also mentioned that he showed signs of having ADHD as he's quite active at school and he won't pay attention to some things.
I immediately rang up speech therapists for a diagnostic appointment. Guess what? Most of them were booked solid for months. Fortunately for us, one of them rang back saying a patient had cancelled their appointment so he had a free slot. Would we be interested in coming over? I said yes immediately.
He administered a test which consists of flash cards and sequential story cards. He would ask Connor questions. At first they were easy ones. "Point to the monkey." They got progressively more complicated as we went along. "Point to the monkey first, then the giraffe." He was also asked to repeat what was said in a story and the phrases got longer and more complicated as the story progressed.
Results showed Connor had a moderate speech delay. When the therapist saw my alarmed expression, he said that speech delays were very common in boys. He also assured me that he could help and with practise, it can be fixed quite easily as the delay was not related to a cognitive disorder. That is, if the delay was related to say... Asperger's, then it would take longer to help him overcome the delay as there are other issues in play.
When I brought up the issue of ADHD, the speech therapist was quite annoyed. ADHD can only be diagnosed after tests and after the child has shown very specific behaviour consistently in different environments. Based on what I'd said about Connor's behaviour at home and the speech test results, it was very likely Connor was being disruptive at school because he didn't understand what was being said to him. He was annoyed the school had put the idea in my head as he could see I was worrying too much about it.
Connor now attends speech therapy once a week. During speech therapy, we work on vocabulary and concepts like before/after, first/then... stuff that Connor hasn't quite grasped but should have.
I understand why the school brought up the ADHD issue. I think their concern was if they don't highlight it and that turns out to be the case, the parent will accuse them of not spotting it and of ruining their kid's future. Better to highlight it as a possible cause and then be wrong later. I spoke to a friend who said her daughter's kindy had confided to her that she could be autistic as she kept having this spaced out look in class. What the school didn't realise is that M was advanced for her years and was looking spaced out because she was bored! M is now studying in the Aust Intl School here in KL and is a year ahead of her class.
What I really want to say is this - parents, you know your child best. If you think there is a problem, act on it. Listen to your heart, listen to what you know. I know relatives and friends mean well with their reassuring stories and I appreciate that but this is YOUR child and his future at stake. If you think he needs help, GET IT. If you are worried that people might think your child is "abnormal" or "slow", don't be. The earlier your child gets help, the better his chances will be.
I was utterly distraught the first few days when we had confirmation of Connor's speech delay. My first thought was "Oh no, what about Cambridge now!" LOL After I'd calmed down, I thought of all my blessings. Of what a loving, happy, good boy he is (apart from the usual toddler tantrums). Of the fact that he is a healthy and otherwise normal child. We knew Connor wasn't stupid. He's just not talking as he should. The therapist was confident Connor could overcome this easily with help. Why shouldn't I as well?
Lately, we've noticed something has switched on in Connor's little head and sentences are just tumbling out non-stop. We have been working on his speech, making him say more before he gets stuff he wants and it's working. He's still not quite there but I'm happy to say that he's making good progress.
I just wanted to post about my experience so that other parents can benefit from it.
Speech therapists in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor:
Marios Genethliou (we go to Mario for speech therapy, Connor adores him),
KL Sports Medicine Centre
Damansara Heights
Tel: 03-2096 1033
www.klsmc.com
Care Speech,
Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, KL
Tel: 03-2161 6618
www.carespeech.com
Jennifer/Melissa Peters,
Tel: 03-4252 7611 or 03-7981 5958
www.speakeasyconsultants.com
EDIT: Just for parents' FYI, this is what Mario charges: RM200 for initial consultation, RM165 for each one-hour session thereafter. The test he administered for Connor cost RM300
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