5 Considerations for the Family/SLP Relationship

Speech-language pathologist Phuong Lien Palafox anticipated a delicate approach for treating her close friend Nada’s son, especially when she realized he had childhood apraxia of speech, not an area of specialty for her.  With the foundation of a trusting relationship, she rallied her resources and dove into treating him, learning valuable lessons about client relationships along the way. Nada’s Story Our speech-language treatment journey began like that of many other families. We trusted our intuition and had our 2-year-old son Sammy evaluated for a speech delay. He qualified for early intervention treatment at a speech and language clinic. After months of slow progress, our speech-language pathologist—who also happened to be a good friend of mine—sat us down for a candid conversation about a possible motor planning disorder. She diagnosed Sammy with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) soon after. This diagnosis felt heartbreaking and terrifying—especially after years of hearing people say boys talk later and our son just needed a little coaching. We experienced so many overwhelming feelings. Initially, I worried about Sammy and his feelings. Would kids mock him? How could he still make friends? Could the adult version of our sweet Sammy become confident and successful despite this uncomfortable and unfamiliar disorder? We decided to make speech-language treatment our family’s priority. Sammy and his SLP—Phuong Palafox—met three times a week. The work con...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Schools Slider Speech-Language Pathology Early Intervention Source Type: blogs