S/o school based therapists

amother

Nectarine ↓

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 10:02 pm

Just to clarify about notifying regarding maternity leave- it's technically the agencies job. The reason for this is because they are the ones who are supposed to be finding a replacement. Last time before I went on mat leave I asked the agency if I should inform the parents and they specifically said no since they were still looking for a replacement for me. In the end they never found a replacement.

I feel bad for the students, but what should I do? For my first couple babies I did go back within 2-3 months post partum, but it was such a nightmare for many different reasons. So yes, for my subsequent babies I took off 6-12 months.

I think the fact that the agency is unable to find a decent replacement for me answers all your other questions. They can sometimes get a couple flaky therapists who will work in the school for 1-2 months, then leave when they find a better paying job. And this is not because the agency is holding for the job for me! I tell them straight out, if you can find a permanent replacement for me, gesundheit! I will find a different job when I am done with my mat leave. But they never find a permanent replacement let alone a temporary replacement.

amother

↑ Brunette ↓

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 10:09 pm

amother Narcissus wrote:

It's federal law. If a student has a diagnosis and qualifies for a certain amount of therapy which they don't receive, the school (or district) will be found in violation in the event a parent decides to sue. No parent has ever sued? In my school district where I worked, a parent successfully sued once because the speech therapist didn't return a phone call once when she called regarding the results of her child's evaluation--she got a nice payout in the form of her son getting full tuition paid at a very pricy special ed school he'd otherwise never have qualified for. And that is nothing compared to a student not getting any services for x amount of weeks.

amother

Offwhite ↓

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 10:27 pm

Between my bachelors and masters I paid about 50k. I live in NJ and work privately. I see kids 3.5 hours a day - 5 days a week. I make about $120k after all is said and done (take off about 6 weeks in summer, yomim tovim, school schedule, sick days, etc.) I end up working more like 25 hours a week between preparation, notes, phone calls, reports, etc. I can take more kids but don’t want to so I don’t get burnt out. I tell parents when I’m in the 6th month but really they can see anyway, as often they’re coming to sessions. I only take off 6-8 weeks as I’m self employed and don’t get paid, but I would inform all parents of my plans. I’m so happy I did this degree and love my job. I feel so sad when I hear of all these school-based therapists making so little…do you have options to specialize and work privately?

amother

↑ Nectarine ↓

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 10:46 pm

amother Brunette wrote:

Ok sorry, I should have mentioned I live in a different country so things work a little differently here. There is no such federal law here that I am aware of.

amother

Lightpink ↓

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 10:57 pm

I am a school based therapist and I usually inform the parents in advance. My last pregnancy ended abruptly and I didn't call the parents and my note that was supposed to be sent home wasn't and I felt terrible the whole time and it was all one big mess. No it wasn't done purposely. Yes it's my fault. I rushed back at 6 weeks pp and then had a family emergency that same week so I was out another 2 weeks. I definitely plan to do things differently next time around.
And yes as a previous teacher and young mother I did choose this field for flexibility. When I was teaching and my baby had fever, it was an early morning rush to find a substitute. It was a disaster. I couldn't do it after a few more kids. Now I'm flexible so at times I need to take a whole day off for a sick child or even split the day with dh. And I love working with children. Seeing them progress is such nachas. But yes, there are times I do miss sessions because I have a family and they come first.

amother

↑ Latte ↓

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 11:11 pm

amother Offwhite wrote:

Are you a SLP, OT or PT? Whats your niche?

amother

↑ Offwhite ↓

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 11:34 pm

[quote="amother Latte"]Are you a SLP, OT or PT? Whats your niche?[/quote

SLP
Don’t want to out myself but there are several niches that people will pay good money for if you are well trained and excellent in the field.

Some examples would be

- social language
- working with hearing impaired
- reading disorders/phonemic awareness
- comprehension -critical thinking
- Floortime
- voice disorders
- apraxia
- tongue thrust

amother

↑ Brunette ↓

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 11:54 pm

amother Mintgreen wrote:

As a parent, if my kid has an IEP in preschool, no diagnosis that I know of, and the school hasn’t found anyone I can theoretically sue? (Not like I’m going to sue the school tho)

How do you get an IEP with no diagnosis? An IEP is a legal document covered under federal law. But a diagnosis is needed to qualify for an IEP and to therefore be entitled for services. Are you talking about an actual IEP with a special ed case manager who is qualified to write one, or an informal "learning plan" that a private school put together to support a child that isn't quite up to speed? Because if it's the latter, then no. And anyway, it wouldn't actually be the school itself, it would be the school system that is supposed to be providing the services.

amother

↑ Latte ↓

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 12:13 pm

[quote="amother Offwhite"]

amother Latte wrote:

Are you a SLP, OT or PT? Whats your niche?[/quote

SLP
Don’t want to out myself but there are several niches that people will pay good money for if you are well trained and excellent in the field.

Some examples would be

- social language
- working with hearing impaired
- reading disorders/phonemic awareness
- comprehension -critical thinking
- Floortime
- voice disorders
- apraxia
- tongue thrust

Ok...
How many years are you in the field?
Its really not so typical to make what youre making... most SLPS make under 60k it seems...

amother

↑ OP

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 12:16 pm

amother Mintgreen wrote:

As a parent, if my kid has an IEP in preschool, no diagnosis that I know of, and the school hasn’t found anyone I can theoretically sue? (Not like I’m going to sue the school tho)

Are they in a special Ed school that is supposed to provide services? If not, then doubtful...why is it the schools fault.

mha3484 ↓

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 12:25 pm

amother Latte wrote:

Ok...
How many years are you in the field?
Its really not so typical to make what youre making... most SLPS make under 60k it seems...

I think that poster isnt totally wrong. When my son got speech in his yeshiva I paid $100 an hour and this was a few years ago so she could have raised the price by now. My friend was quoted $100 a 45 min session from a few therapists she spoke to.

In school therapy is paid directly to the provider, agencies where I live are more limited. My son gets OT from a therapy company that provides the therapy in my boys school so the company bills your insurance or charges you and pay the therapist a salary. But for speech its all direct pay.

amother

↑ Brunette ↓

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 12:41 pm

amother OP wrote:

Are they in a special Ed school that is supposed to provide services? If not, then doubtful...why is it the schools fault.

That isn't exactly how it works. A child in a regular school can be entitled to services but they need an IEP that explicitly states what services and how many minutes per week or month they are entitled to, based on their (diagnosed) disability. An actual legal IEP will not be given to a student without a diagnosis. Some private schools have informal learning "plans" but that's not the same as an IEP. I don't understand how students are getting therapy paid for by the government if they don't have an IEP. Obviously parents can pay, or a private school might choose to hire their own provider, but that's a different situation entirely and is not covered by federal law.

I guess posters here mostly have experience with Jewish schools only, that tend to have minimal special ed students. Public schools are way more inclusive in that regard....under federal law, all students are entitled to an education in the "least restrictive environment" which usually means their neighborhood school.

cnc

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 12:44 pm

amother Brunette wrote:

This.
The school itself has no responsibility or liability. The school DISTRICT does.
And suing entails retaining an attorney for 6-10K.....and making a case...

amother

↑ Brunette ↓

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 12:54 pm

I'm kind of surprised that posters who are service providers in schools are not familiar with the basics of IEPs and how they work as well as what it entitles the students to. Are most of the students being serviced without IEPs? Is the government paying the agencies or the parents? I am guessing these agencies are geared to filling jobs in frum schools, but where is the money coming from? Just curious how it works.

amother

↑ Brunette ↓

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 12:58 pm

amother Narcissus wrote:

I don't live in the U.S. but just curious about this. Are all the frum schools part of the school district?

No but parents are entitled to get their kids evaluated and serviced through their neighborhood district even if their kids go to school elsewhere. That's how frum kids attending private schools get an IEP. Through the local public school system or department of education. I don't know of any mainstream frum.school that writes its own IEPs. Private schools usually don't.

amother

↑ Nectarine

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 1:02 pm

amother Brunette wrote:

Ok thanks for the info! What's the difference between a therapist who works directly for the DOE vs through an agency? Is the funding still from the same source, just funneled differently?