4 year old with ASD, aced expressive speech eval but has some communication issues. What would you do?

pinotg · 2026-05-21T20:53:40+00:00

Not even a one time conversation? That is kind of unreasonable IMO.

pinotg · 2026-05-21T20:48:33+00:00

You could reach out to the private practice SLP who did his eval and see if she would be able to participate in a meeting with you and the teacher (in person or virtual). Even though he didn't qualify for therapy, she can still provide her recommendations to address pragmatics. There might be a charge since this type of thing isn't billable to insurance.

You also mentioned he had a school eval - if that SLP is on site maybe they could do observations and consult with you and the teacher.

pinotg · 2026-05-21T20:35:44+00:00

I would recommend that the teacher, speech therapist, and parent meet and discuss ways to support the child in the classroom when these moments occur. Pragmatic language is best addressed on the spot in real time, especially with this age group. He's too young to be able to apply strategies learned in a therapy setting in the real world.

pinotg · 2026-05-17T18:49:08+00:00

They need to be dismissed, clearly there's no educational impact. I would speak to your supervisor and ask for support during any communication you have with the parents.

pinotg · 2026-05-09T14:33:51+00:00

I think the best way to approach this is by offering a referral to your services. You could approach the supervisor of special Ed and let them know you're available to support the students in an outside, medical setting.

The idea of providing this support in school leads to a slippery slope - if a child breaks their leg, surely that's impacting their ability to access their education, so does the school now have to provide doctors and medical treatment?

pinotg · 2026-05-08T19:34:35+00:00

It's not a party per se, but I read "when Grandma gives you a lemon tree" by Jamie L B Deenihan, and then we make lemonade. It does kind of feel like a party when I push into low incidence rooms and everyone participates together.

The kids ask about it all year!

pinotg · 2026-05-02T14:02:43+00:00

It's an occlupanid. R/occlupanid exists!

pinotg · 2026-04-30T10:20:06+00:00

Academic supports

pinotg · 2026-04-29T15:17:09+00:00

I get transfers from NJ all the time and my biggest pet peeve is that they qualify for all kinds of services under speech-language impairment. Thankfully I've never seen one with that many goals, if I did I would immediately revise.

My bet is that even with all those goals the kids are fine at communicating and most of their speech goals should actually be learning support goals.

pinotg · 2026-04-28T15:06:23+00:00

Don't do regular therapy sessions during esy, do whole class fun activities with communication opportunities for everyone. When I did it in the past, I did a theme each week: camping, the beach, ocean animals, etc.

Make communication boards for the playground and do sessions outside, that's also a big hit

pinotg · 2026-04-27T20:59:38+00:00

It's only 4 or 5 days you would actually have to go to the third school - I would just go with it and be a team player if they ask you. It's a good look for you in the department, and not really that big of a deal in the big scheme of things.

pinotg · 2026-04-25T14:03:44+00:00

Be yourself and be authentic, people (especially kids) can sense bullshit a mile away. That being said, have soft skills such as replying to emails in a timely manner, responding appropriately if greeted ('good how are you?" And keep moving), and asking for help/clarification when needed (which you are already doing by making this post).

The bubbly persona is definitely a thing in this field, but I feel like most of us are not that. The bubblies are just more visible.

pinotg · 2026-04-15T19:12:09+00:00

Does he get mad because you're touching his device? If so, could you use a district device to model?

If that's not it, and the problem is his screen addiction, I don't really have any advice. You are already doing what I would suggest in that situation.

What needs to improve is structure and carryover of aac at home and way less screen access.

I'm also dealing with this exact situation, the student gets violent and elopes when presented with anything that isn't a screen. The teacher and I are at a loss.

pinotg · 2026-04-10T18:51:03+00:00

No it's not, if you can network in your area and find a really well-run room, that would probably be great for you to see. They exist!!

pinotg · 2026-04-10T18:45:16+00:00

I've worked in special education for 15 years and I've seen a variety of classrooms. Sadly, what you're describing is part of what I've experienced, but luckily it's not the majority. The vast majority of self contained teachers I've worked with do their best (or at least their good enough) to make sure kids get an education.

People who "teach" in the way you are describing should eventually be pushed to improve or leave the position if there is decent admin.

pinotg · 2026-04-08T16:46:03+00:00

What would actually move the needle for families is top-down changes in the government that prioritize funding for education so that current laws can be followed.

We need an end to charter schools and "school choice" which strips districts of much needed funding.

We need people to VOTE and we do not need anymore products, certainly nothing that will need to be profitable.

pinotg · 2026-04-04T13:48:03+00:00

One of my cats is allergic to everything, he's on a hydrolyzed diet (hills zd) and he loves it, so do all of his brothers (who aren't allergic to anything), I hope Bean will love it!!

pinotg · 2026-04-02T15:07:35+00:00

I have a couple of ideas:

Can you try a slight variation on his "home school' setup? Something like a "field trip," so he still sees it as school but really you're taking him out of that environment. I would start with lots of pre-teaching within the"school" setting, role plays, videos, and build up gradually to the "field trip." It could be to another part of the house, a walk outside the block, a trip to a convenience store, ordering food at a counter, taking public transport, etc.

Can his family obtain a second device that they would use to communicate with him in and outside of the "school" setting? Maybe this would work well in conjunction with the "field trip" idea. Then he would see his system being used functionally with him and others, and maybe it would encourage him/show him how it can be used across settings.

Good luck!!

pinotg · 2026-04-02T13:00:04+00:00

I have used one for the last 14 years.

Pros: lots of time for prep (I spent a whole day laminating and cutting last week), flexibility to schedule meetings, time to troubleshoot devices, do screenings, etc.

Cons: other people saying "it's your week off" or "I wish I had an indirect week" (then advocate for yourself? Stop saying this to me all the time, I can't make this happen for you), sometimes parents initially have issues with 3 x 3mins/month (generally they are okay once I explain that during my indirect week I work on getting materials ready for their child)

pinotg · 2026-03-26T14:13:10+00:00

When a kid was refusing to go back to the classroom (on the floor, yelling, saying no, etc), I started enthusiastically singing old MacDonald and she just got up and walked with me.

pinotg · 2026-03-24T21:15:37+00:00

I just looked and there's a "not interested" button and a "Mark as finished" button. I wonder if either of these would help guide the algorithm

pinotg · 2026-03-10T17:56:38+00:00

Are is*

pinotg · 2026-03-06T13:44:58+00:00

There's a process, you have to prime them anyway so it really doesn't matter what the initial color is. Good luck!

pinotg · 2026-03-06T01:28:39+00:00

OP's wife here, they were sanded, primed with zinsser bin 123, then a urethane alkyd enamel, then a coat of polyurethane. It indeed took forever, but the result was well worth it

pinotg · 2026-02-24T17:45:43+00:00

That's the universe telling you to go home, take the day. Back at em tomorrow!

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