A Classroom Teacher Is Not a Therapist

This week was parent/ teacher conferences. I am always nervous at this time of year because I don’t know what to really expect. To ease my nerves, I prepared. I wrote a list of questions and concerns on pad of paper. My main concern is our school choice for next year (Do we go public or private?). How he is doing this year will determine the course for next year.

The conference started off well. She told us that he struggled with days of the week, had some emerging skills with puzzles and shapes, but he mastered his colors, letters/ sounds, can count to 40, and add basic numbers (YAY!). Her biggest concern however, was his speech.

She said that she was worried about him having a chewy.  It prevented him from interacting with others. She said that when he doesn’t have it, kids are more likely to seek him to play, and he does better at circle time. She wanted to see if we could do away with his chewy to see if it helped with interaction now that he is transitioning better.

She also said that she doesn’t understand him sometimes, and we might consider speech therapy (she was aware we did therapy, but not certain on which ones). When I told her we have been in speech, OT, and PT, she told us that she is not a therapist, but the only therapy that she thinks he needs is speech. She would like to see him spend more time interacting with other children and playing then in a lot of therapies.

This made me furious. She is right, she is not a therapist. Why is she trying to tell me what my child needs in therapy and how much? The OT is going to help him find other coping strategies since she doesn’t want him to have a chewy. The PT is going to help him have the core strength to sit in a chair to do his school work. I wouldn’t be spending the time taking my child to therapy if I didn’t believe he needed it. Believe me; I would rather be at a park or hanging out with the neighbors outside. I did not choose this. I am just trying to do everything I can to prepare my child to be the best he can be.

This conference has now caused questions in our course of therapy. The course that has helped us gain so much progress. I hope that all of these questions are resolved soon with the facts of the evaluations that prove a NEED despite what the teacher says. I am not saying that people should totally disregard what classroom teachers say. I think that it is important to listen to classroom teachers suggestions, but I think that it is more important to listen to the professionals in their field and look at the big picture of all the information on the child to make a decision.