Hi, I need some help and am overwhelmed as where to go. Sorry this is so long! If any moms in similar situations can give me some good leads. I would prefer a two for one place that can handle both situations at the same place. I live in McKinney and my child was in the PALS program last year for articulation issues. It was a good program because rather than being just speech it was in a preschool setting with other kids like him. He is now eligible for K so he is no longer part of that program. I have decided to keep him out of school til next fall and will have him in a pre-K/TK class. He has always been behind in speech (thought he would just outgrow it but has not) and always cried easily. I also noticed some ocd tendencies.
I took the wait and see route and did not seek speech services until he turned 4 and then it took several months to get him tested and in the program. Through the course of 6 months this past school year it has come to the attention of the instructor that he appears to have sensory processing issues also. She stated that he appears to have a harder time sometimes paying attention. She noticed that he seems to concentrate best when he was actively doing something, rather than listening completely like the other kids he would be touching an object while sitting, etc...he also has a strong dislike for most foods and at snack time would not want to look at it. On a side note, speech-wise he did rather well and caught on quickly with the articulation part.
I have gotten him private speech lessons and we are working on that part of it. On the other hand, I was dragging my feet on the occupational therapy route (partly because insurance is not paying for any of this-speech therapy or ot). Anyway, I did see that through my husband's insurance and the mental health services there was a place with social workers that dealth with counseling and they dealt with kids with adhd, ocd, etc... Went to make an appt and my son hated the place since it was a small space and nothing to do. He did not want to look at her and paced around. Normally a child very eager to please adults, he didn't answer her questions. She called back a few days later and stated that I should take him to a psychologist for testing for possibly high functioning autism, aspergers syndrome, and adhd. She disagreed with sensory procesing disorder label. So now I have an appt set up with a psychologist in Allen who specializes in autism.
Anyway, I originally thought I had a child who was speech delayed and had a few quirks and now I am being told all this other stuff. I am hoping there are other moms who can give me some leads on places. Has anyone been to a place that does both speech and occupational therapy and liked them? This needs to be close to the McKinney area. I will be paying out of pocket for everything so I really would like to find someone who is recommended.
Thanks
Thanks to all you ladies for your input! I felt better right away once I read the responses and can see that I am not the only one. I went with Our Children's House at Baylor after I saw that they were frequently mentioned. It took a while to get the doctor to get them the paperwork and to hear back from them but I did speak with them today. Will have to wait until November for a complete evaluation with feeding, etc...but I am very hopeful after speaking with the lady on the phone today. Thanks so much!
I have heard the Saint Timothy Academy in Plano is a great school for children with different learning disabilities. Perhaps you could contact them to get advice and/or referrals. I don't have personal experience with the school, but have talked with a family whose child attended the school and they gave it rave reviews.
SS,
You can call Therapy 2000. They will be able to access your child for the proper therapies that he will need.
They will come out to his school to work with him.
Their number is ###-###-#### and they are located in Dallas.
Good Luck.
H.
My son who will be 5 in Sept. is still in the PALS program. At lest I am hoping he is. Because his birthday is after Sept. 1st he doesn't start kindergarten until next year.
There is a place called Our Children's Health at Baylor that is in Mckinney. They will do a full screening for you, and not just for speech. We ended up getting a referral through our pediatrician so I'm not sure if you need to do that. It is very close, it is right at Bethany & central. Our insurance wouldn't cover it so that is why we went with PALS (which I think is great). They do give a discount if your insurance won't pay but it is still expensive. We fought the ins. issue, even got a letter from our ped. but it didn't matter. I have a couple of friends who used Our Children's Health at Baylor and were very happy with it. One of my best friends little girls has quite a few issues that they work with her on. They worked with her on speech, sensory issues, and something else I can't remember.
Here is the link.
Hi there! I am a pediatric OT in McKinney. I want you to know that everything you are describing is just how many if not most parents discover they have children with greater needs. It almost always starts with speech. Please don't beat yourself up about not doing anything earlier or realizing that possibly more was going on. There is a wonderful clinic in Frisco called Our Children's House (part of Baylor) that offers speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and neuropsychology (which tests for autism, adhd, etc). They are located at Preston and Rolater in the Kohls shopping area. There is also an Our Children's House in Allen. Depending where you live in McKinney it may be closer. If you are interested in home health services there are plenty of agencies that offer that as well. Let me know if I can help with any questions you may have. Good Luck!!
Plano Presbyterian Outpatient Rehabilitation Dept. has a great peiatric program. There have OT, PT, an speech therapies, an all you pay is a co-pay because it is under the hospital umbrella.
R. Elkin, MOT, OTR/L, CKT
Your timing of this post couldn't be better. I was just referred to a place by my sons pediatric neurologist that does it all. I haven't been there yet but it was highly recommended and they are pediatric specialists. Our Childrens House at Baylor in Allen. You call a main number 877-820-9061 and they schedule it for the various locations so tell them Allen since that is closest. They offer physical, occupational, speech etc. I just booked appointments today (evaluations for all three of the above)and it took a while to get in for occupational so call as soon as you can. I wish you the best! Hang in there, it'll get figured out soon!
We recommend North Texas Therapy Innovations. They do speech as well as OT. They have locations in Plano, McKinney and Dallas. We did have our son assessed at Our Children's House at Baylor in Allen, but they said the long term he would only increase by 25%. We were very disappointed and kept searching. NTTI said they could get him 80-90% of where he should be. We have been with NTTI for 16 months now and he is already a different child. We have a few more months to go before he's dismissed, but it has changed our life. Their office number is ###-###-####. Good luck to you.
You may want to look into Sante Rehabilitation in Allen. They are close to Presby Hospital of Allen and they do Pediatric Speech, Occupational & Physical Therapy. They are really good with my 3 1/2 year old boy. There phone number is ###-###-####. Hope this helps.
Have you tried the school district for some help? I have a 5 year old as well. I have been working on his speech since he was about two and it has been a difficult road. He began a program at 2 1/2 and I'm sorry I cannot remember the name but they came to our home. When he turned 3 they couldn't help us b/c they stop their program at 3, okay I believe it was ECI. So we went to the school district in Round Rock, TX that is where we were living at the time. He began a program there called A.P.P.L.E.S for articulation. My husband got transfered to Dallas last June and we moved here to Allen last August. I went to the elementary school here in the neighborhood and asked about if they had any programs for speech, they took his paperwork and weren't sure about this program in RR. So they put him in PPCD (Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities). He went each afternoon from 11:55 to 2:45. he not only had speech but they have him in occupational and physical therapy. This school year he will do half a day of kindergarten and half a day of PPCD. I was signed up for a TK program at our church but felt like if he attended the elementary kindergarten the teachers could talk and let each know his progress or issues. Next fall (2009) he will attend a full day of kindergarten.
I hope this helps!! But try McKinney ISD, I'm sure they have something and then you aren't coming out of pocket.
Your son sounds a LOT like my older son. The best help we got with him was through Our Children's House Baylor (I see others have recommended them also).
I know what you are going through, we are constantly looking for help for our son (he is 6 now). If you want someone just to vent to or email to, send me a private message and I'll give you my email address (we live in McKinney also).
I have 2 of my 3 boys they wanted to label with aspersers. I would suggest that you see a child neurologist. We love Dr. So out of Plano. All of the psychologist drugged my kids up and most of the time they acted worst. Don't get me wrong I do medicate my kids because my one with OCD and hyperactivity he was so nerves in class that he was twitching so the other kids could tell there was something wrong with him. My middle son did nothing but color the backs of his papers until we put him on ADHD meds.
So, Gerald MD - Texas Child Neurology
1708 Coit Rd # 150, Plano, TX 75075
Phone: ###-###-####
My son is seeing a wonderful OT certified in Sensory Integration Dysfunction at Our Children's House at Baylor at their new location in far west Plano. The staff there is very friendly, everything is bright and clean and appealing. As of now, they have one PT, one OT, and the office manager, but they will be adding a speech therapist at the beginning of September. Their address is 7000 West Plano Parkway(at Marsh) and phone number is ###-###-####. My heart goes out to you as you are overwhelmed with where to go, what to do. Take care of yourself so you can keep up your energy and patience (& sanity!) as you love and care for your son.
