speech therapy snag

Hmm. So here's the report from the first therapy session.

The speech therapist came right after the developmental therapist - they basically just did a hand-off. The speech therapist was new to Sweets and was alone with her because they were at daycare, so I wasn't there. We expect that she's not going to take to a stranger right away - it took about a month for her to get comfortable with the other therapists. In the speech therapist's note to me, she mentioned that it took Sweets a little while to warm up, but that that's expected. Also that she didn't make very many noises for her during therapy, but it's prob b/c she didn't know her. Okay, seemed pretty normal to me. It sounded like it went as you'd expect.

Today I get a call from my early intervention coordinator saying that the speech therapist recommends that we cut the sessions from 1 hr to 45 mins b/c she doesn't think that Sweets will be able to do therapy for that long, and she also had concerns about how long it will take her to become comfortable. Which I don't get, because that's not really what her note to me conveyed. :( For one thing, she piggy-backed right after another therapy session, so if she thinks that my daughter can't do therapy for that long, I would think that the first thing to do would be to change the time so that it's not right after the other therapy (which I had told her when the other therapists come).

Anyway, the EI coordinator said that it was my choice. We can stick with the 1 hr sessions for a while and see how it goes, we can switch to 45 min sessions, or she also suggested doing two 30 minute sessions per week. I thought that two sessions per week would be better for Sweets getting used to the therapist more quickly, but I wonder if that means I will have to pay double the copay - one for each visit. The coordinator was concerned that they wouldn't get much done b/c if the session is 30 mins but it takes 20 mins for her to warm up, they won't have much time left to do much therapy. So I don't know about that. But I'd rather do the split session I think because then we still get the full 60 minutes per week, and it seems like more therapy wouldn't be a bad thing, and I think after a few weeks she will be used to the therapist anyway. Then the coordinator said that she doesn't know if we would be approved for the two 30 min sessions anyway though and that it's not what they usually do. Hello - she's the one who suggested it in the first place! Argh. So, she's going to check it out and see if that's a possibility and how it would work financially, etc.

Anyway, sorry for rambling. It's really just a vent I suppose. But now I feel like I'm already starting out on the wrong foot with this therapist.