Friday, July 3, 2020

Worth Your Read: Finding a Good SLP (and other support personnel)

http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/2020/05/finding-right-speech-language.html

It can be really hard to quantify what makes for a good therapist.  Most typically, I've stumbled, blindly, through finding my professional supports.  That haphazard discovery process seems all too common in families with autistic people, unfortunately.  Whether it's Medicaid assigning you people or picking blindly off a list of qualified individuals that are covered by your insurance, there's a lot of trial and error involved in finding good support for yourself and/or your kids. 

That's why people often rely so heavily on recommendations- whether that's from parents at parent support groups, or directly from autistic individuals.  If you aren't already, I strongly suggest you get hooked into the local autism community. 

It's not always possible to get those recommendations, or even if you do get them, the recommended people may not be available to serve you, or turn out to be as good as you were hoping. 

That's why I was pleased to see this guide to selecting a Speech-Language Pathologist.  While it is very specifically geared for that type of support service (and includes a guide to why an SLP is such a good investment), many of the recommendations translate effortlessly into helping you select a good therapist, home care professional, peer mentor, and even primary care practitioner. 

I can't stress how important it is to have a supportive care team that listens to your concerns and works with you.  With these criteria in hand, you can choose safe and effective professionals and support staff that will help you or your loved one be a happier, healthier, more successful version of themself, not abuse them in pursuit of some imagined standard of normalcy.  

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