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So, you have been through the denial and the discussions with your child’s doctor regarding his or her speech disorder and how to treat it. If you were told to find a speech pathologist, rest assured that speech pathology employment is extremely competitive, so no matter where you decide to go, you will have a quality therapist.
The first thing you need to do is stop blaming yourself. There is nothing that you did to cause this, and there is nothing you could have done to prevent it. Move on and realize that, even though it is not your fault, you can do something about it now.
The next step in the process is to check with your public school system to find out if there is an existing program that might benefit your child. These programs are expensive, so they are not advertised by the school itself, but don’t assume that they don’t exist—call and find out for sure.
If the public school route doesn’t work out for you, contact your insurance company and find out if speech therapy is covered, what percentage is covered, and what the requirements are to quality for coverage. Once you have these answers, you can move forward quickly and confidently in finding your child a speech pathologist.
Once you have found a therapist and have started moving forward in the process, be supportive of your child. Understand that he or she may be a little embarrassed by the extra attention that you will feel inclined to give. Relax and don’t overwhelm your child with encouragement or home sessions to continue practicing. Ask the speech pathologist what he or she recommends as supportive work at home and stick to that.
