Seewalds 42: Trying to Stay Relevant

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

On 11/27/2019 at 9:09 AM, Mama Mia said:

Rewatching the episode, I noticed how while Henry was only at 6% on the curve - Jessa said he only said Mama and Dada a few weeks before - but now seemed to have around a dozen words total. Picking them up right before the scheduled services and testing. My hunch is he’ll probably just go from non-talker to talking within the next few months. Since the show is about 6 months behind, it would be interesting to see where he’s at now. 

My brother was like this, my parents said they were worried about his speech and also had him evaluated when he was only saying a few words here and their at around 2.5. My mom said one day he came up to her and asked her a question, she was stunned because he spoke so clearly, and in full sentences.  My brother is the type of person who won't do anything until he can do it correctly, is this why he didn't talk until he was almost 3. My Parents aren't sure if it was because he's stubborn, or because his bossy big sister (me) did all the talking for him.   

 

**Please note I'm not trying to make lite of children's speech delays or the struggles parents have in getting help for them.  This is just a silly story my mom likes to tell people about our childhood. 

[MadameOvary]

1 hour ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

My brother was like this, my parents said they were worried about his speech and also had him evaluated when he was only saying a few words here and their at around 2.5. My mom said one day he came up to her and asked her a question, she was stunned because he spoke so clearly, and in full sentences.  My brother is the type of person who won't do anything until he can do it correctly, is this why he didn't talk until he was almost 3. My Parents aren't sure if it was because he's stubborn, or because his bossy big sister (me) did all the talking for him.   

 

**Please note I'm not trying to make lite of children's speech delays or the struggles parents have in getting help for them.  This is just a silly story my mom likes to tell people about our childhood. 

Haha, this was the exact scenario in my family as well! My brother claims he just didn't have anything to say, until he did. 

My daughter struggles with a different type of speech problem and after years of SALT input I'm really full of admiration for the profession. It involves so much more than correcting some minor defects of pronunciation.

[snickerz]

3/4 of my children have received speech therapy through the school district starting at age 3 or 4. (They all speak fine now, ages 10-22, though the oldest has ASD). I distinctly remember them saying at one of my youngest's evaluation meetings that to qualify, a child had to be at 4% or lower on the scale. Henry was 6%, so he's definitely close. Of course, they can get him a private speech therapist at any level of delay, but 4% was the cut off for the free services through the school district. 

[Nikedagain?]

On 11/27/2019 at 8:09 PM, Belugaloo said:

The neurodiversity movement is a great thing and I really support autistic adults speaking out against harmful practices. Getting rid of personality traits in the name of therapy is absolutely wrong- their voices need to be heard. I know of one ABA company who has many practices that seem akin to "making an autistic person not autistic". They are not well regarded in the community I work in. Practices include things like lowering non-harmful stereotypic behaviors because of "stigma" and more than a 3 second delay in response being considered non compliance. On the flip side, every other ABA company I know of in this area doesn't support these practices, and multiple BCBA's (masters degree ABA therapists) have spoken out against them. I am so glad that the tide is turning and the harm and abuse done to some autistic adults in the name of "therapy" is being pushed back against. The ABA I know focuses mostly on increasing communication (either verbal or non verbal) and self regulation skills so that kids can communicate their needs or cope with situations that cause stress. And then there's the traditional element of ABA thats in place such as working on fine motor deficits, handwriting, etc. 

 

Disclaimer: I am an ABA therapist. I started out as a big critic of ABA as a college student, which is funny considering where ive ended up. I love my clients to pieces, and I dont want to make them "not autistic". I do want to help them communicate in healthy ways. I want my 5 year old client to say she needs a break or she wants "X" rather than screaming, falling to the floor, and banging her head. I want one of my 4 year old clients to ask for toys rather than grabbing them from her classmates hands and screaming "you CANT touch that!" (id also love if shed tolerate others touching her toys, but thats rather age appropriate  ) 

Thank you for caring about our kiddos! My non verbal autistic daughter has done years of speech, occupational therapy, ABA, therapeutic riding, etc. 

Not everyone speaks, but everyone communicates. And while she is now 15 and doesn't have spoken words, she's HAPPY and more independent and that was everyone's goal for her. 

[SassyPants]

4 hours ago, snickerz said:

3/4 of my children have received speech therapy through the school district starting at age 3 or 4. (They all speak fine now, ages 10-22, though the oldest has ASD). I distinctly remember them saying at one of my youngest's evaluation meetings that to qualify, a child had to be at 4% or lower on the scale. Henry was 6%, so he's definitely close. Of course, they can get him a private speech therapist at any level of delay, but 4% was the cut off for the free services through the school district. 

And you know what...If what Dillard said is true and JB’s LLC receives and doles the TLC monies, JB could certainly dole out an allotment for Henry, a member of the working staff, to get private speech therapy if there is such a need. These folks have the money for everything else, and do keep reproduction at peak capacity, so they need to start taking care of what really matters, the already born people!

[grandmadugger]

3 hours ago, SassyPants said:

And you know what...If what Dillard said is true and JB’s LLC receives and doles the TLC monies, JB could certainly dole out an allotment for Henry, a member of the working staff, to get private speech therapy if there is such a need. These folks have the money for everything else, and do keep reproduction at peak capacity, so they need to start taking care of what really matters, the already born people!

Maybe that’s why they filmed the appointment? Maybe JB will cover the copay if it’s on the show. 

[Belugaloo]

19 hours ago, Nikedagain? said:

Thank you for caring about our kiddos! My non verbal autistic daughter has done years of speech, occupational therapy, ABA, therapeutic riding, etc. 

Not everyone speaks, but everyone communicates. And while she is now 15 and doesn't have spoken words, she's HAPPY and more independent and that was everyone's goal for her. 

I am so happy to hear about your daughters success!!! You are absolutely right- not everyone speaks, but everyone communicates! One of the most disheartening experiences I had when I was brand new to the field of ABA was having a fellow therapists say to me, "I just have such high hopes for *clients name*. I hope with a lot of ABA he can be high functioning." 

 

We had been talking about communication. At the time, he was speaking in "one word mands" which is ABA speak for saying things such as "juice" or "tv" when he wanted those items. I had mentioned that some kids dont have a lot of language skills but become proficient with using iPad devices to communicate. She wanted him to learn how to communicate "normally" and I remember it just bothered me SO much. If you truly love this kid so much, shouldn't we love him just as he is? It sounds like your daughter is surrounded by people who love her just as she is and I'm so glad you're helping her reach her full potential! 

[Nargus]

On 11/29/2019 at 8:18 AM, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

My brother was like this, my parents said they were worried about his speech and also had him evaluated when he was only saying a few words here and their at around 2.5. My mom said one day he came up to her and asked her a question, she was stunned because he spoke so clearly, and in full sentences.  My brother is the type of person who won't do anything until he can do it correctly, is this why he didn't talk until he was almost 3. My Parents aren't sure if it was because he's stubborn, or because his bossy big sister (me) did all the talking for him.   

 

**Please note I'm not trying to make lite of children's speech delays or the struggles parents have in getting help for them.  This is just a silly story my mom likes to tell people about our childhood. 

My grandma loves to tell a story about me sitting in a corner practicing saying ‘grandpa’ to myself for Hours before going up to my grandpa and saying it to him

[Rachel333]

I literally went from completely non-verbal to speaking in complete sentences instantly. I apparently said a couple words like "duck" at 9 months, but then I completely shut up. I never babbled or did any of the normal stuff babies do when learning to speak, which concerned my mom a lot. I didn't say a word until 18 months, when I stood up in my crib and announced,"I want my daddy" (he was away on a business trip) and asked my mom to let me out of my crib. It really freaked out my mom and grandmother, who were there when it happened.

From then on, I was a normal speaker (though an odd kid in a lot of other was). My siblings all had normal language development, though the twins did get speech therapy for pronunciation issues because they were reinforcing each other's speech patterns, which I believe is common with twins.

[OyToTheVey]

On 11/27/2019 at 6:39 PM, OyHiOh said:

My son has PTSD attached to not being able to communicate.  The anxiety he still experiences when he can't get a word or concept across clearly, approaching the end of grade school, is intense and well outside the "normal" frustration tolerance for his age.  

I talked about his struggles a few pages back - that at about Henry's age, my son could speak 6 words clearly.  Every other syllable out of his mouth at that point was "gah."  He self harmed all the time - banging his head on the floor or any hard surface within reach, hard enough to cause injury.  For my son, play-based speech therapy was life saving.  We didn't get enough, early enough, to mitigate the long term impact of not being able to talk on his mental health but it's better than could have been.  A smart, bright child who can't communicate experiences real, lasting mental health consequences when they don't have the ability to communicate needs and ideas.  My son refers to the four long years when he couldn't talk as "when I was sick."  Lack of speech very much was the illness and therapy was the necessary cure.  He would not have gotten better without it.

Therapy should never be abusive.  Children with apraxia absolutely do need to repeat sounds hundreds or even thousands of times to fix the motor pathway from brain to mouth.  But toddlers and preschoolers should do the vast majority of that repetition through play.  Through dance and movement games and toys that develop sensory cues to go along with the therapy goals.

My friends son has apraxia. He had 25 hours ABA therapy from 1 to 3. I'm in an out of that house all the time. The long term effects of not being able to express themselves is awful. This kid can read on a middle school level at almost 8 but speaking has always been a problem. Therapy has been a life saver. He's still in speech but he's slowly coming out of his shelf. Therapy should never be abusive. As a former Early Intervention Therapist, I wish none of my former students thought I was abusive. Repetition is key. Even a simple made up song like "a fox a fox a fox in a box, a box a box a box with a fox" is great to get them to open up and repeat sounds.

[OyHiOh]

1 minute ago, OyToTheVey said:

My friends son has apraxia. He had 25 hours ABA therapy from 1 to 3. I'm in an out of that house all the time. The long term effects of not being able to express themselves is awful. This kid can read on a middle school level at almost 8 but speaking has always been a problem. Therapy has been a life saver. He's still in speech but he's slowly coming out of his shelf. Therapy should never be abusive. As a former Early Intervention Therapist, I wish none of my former students thought I was abusive. Repetition is key. Even a simple made up song like "a fox a fox a fox in a box, a box a box a box with a fox" is great to get them to open up and repeat sounds.

Fox in Socks was a staple of therapy for us!  Who would have ever guessed that a book of silly tongue twisters would be such an invaluable aid, right?  My kiddo got the double wammy of apraxia and dyslexia though so we have continued frustration with that.  Learning to read has been a painfully slow process - in some ways more difficult that learning to talk.

[OyToTheVey]

1 minute ago, OyHiOh said:

Fox in Socks was a staple of therapy for us!  Who would have ever guessed that a book of silly tongue twisters would be such an invaluable aid, right?  My kiddo got the double wammy of apraxia and dyslexia though so we have continued frustration with that.  Learning to read has been a painfully slow process - in some ways more difficult that learning to talk.

I loved the silly tongue twisters. I would make stuff up all the time because it was silly the kids would pay attention. He got pretty severe apraxia. I was there when this kid was born and I still have trouble understanding him tbh. Even after years of working with kids. Silly word games have really helped so much. As you said, it's been a painful process.

[Ivycoveredtower]

Noticed Ben has been posting alot on insta the last month. I almost wondered ifbJessa had locked him out of instagram since he hadn't posted since the mother's day when henry was A few months old. 

 

 

[AussieKrissy]

28 minutes ago, Ivycoveredtower said:

Noticed Ben has been posting alot on insta the last month. I almost wondered ifbJessa had locked him out of instagram since he hadn't posted since the mother's day when henry was A few months old. 

 

 

I wondered why he was popping back up too. Prehaps he has allowed more than the flip phone of shame?..... 

[SweetJuly]

On ‎11‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 5:29 PM, Nargus said:

My grandma loves to tell a story about me sitting in a corner practicing saying ‘grandpa’ to myself for Hours before going up to my grandpa and saying it to him

This made me tear up. Such a sweet story.

[baldricks_turnip]

I saw a comment on reddit about Jessa's youtube video on helping toddlers establish healthy eating habits. I have a 2 year old with probably a typical level of fussiness so I checked it out in interest. The advice was reasonable and she came across as relatable.
I find Jessa's food journey quite interesting. She's obviously health conscious and has realised the diet she was raised with wasn't ideal. I know in terms of lifestyle choices its small potatoes, but I'm glad to see her shirk some part of her upbringing. I'm hoping that she has realised that choosing a mega family means survival mode and the lifestyle choices she would have to make for her family would just be about whatever keeps her head above water. Hopefully that in itself will keep her family small.

[Glasgowghirl]

13 hours ago, baldricks_turnip said:

I find Jessa's food journey quite interesting. She's obviously health conscious and has realised the diet she was raised with wasn't ideal. I know in terms of lifestyle choices its small potatoes, but I'm glad to see her shirk some part of her upbringing. I'm hoping that she has realised that choosing a mega family means survival mode and the lifestyle choices she would have to make for her family would just be about whatever keeps her head above water. Hopefully that in itself will keep her family small.

It's a small change but it is good that she is feeding her children better food. Even if she had a big family being aware that it doesn't have to be pre prepared junk food and high calorie casseroles with little to no veg in them all the time. 

[nst]

On 12/4/2019 at 2:48 PM, Ivycoveredtower said:

Noticed Ben has been posting alot on insta the last month. I almost wondered ifbJessa had locked him out of instagram since he hadn't posted since the mother's day when henry was A few months old. 

 

 

I have a strong feeling it’s Jessa who is posting for him.

gone are the days where he won’t post. He has an image to maintain and this is his ministry.

greetings from Maui where it’s 30’

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

13 hours ago, nst said:

I have a strong feeling it’s Jessa who is posting for him.

gone are the days where he won’t post. He has an image to maintain and this is his ministry.

greetings from Maui where it’s 30’

I  want to give this the Fuck you, but in a, I'm totally jealous, sarcastic kind of way. Happy Christmas in Maui to you.  

 

I think Jessa is posting for Ben as well, which is nice for me because she blocked me years ago for something or other, so I can never see what she's posted.  

[PlentyOfJesusFishInTheSea]

I am not versed in Arkansas health care laws and funding but I had the vague impression that emergency room visits might be easier/cheaper if you don't have insurance? So my unfounded theory is that Jessa avoids hospital births unless it's an emergency, otherwise she tries to save money by going with a midwife.

This logic makes more sense if you don't have a history of hemorrhaging but hey, Duggars gotta Duggar...

[HerNameIsBuffy]

3 hours ago, PlentyOfJesusFishInTheSea said:

I am not versed in Arkansas health care laws and funding but I had the vague impression that emergency room visits might be easier/cheaper if you don't have insurance? So my unfounded theory is that Jessa avoids hospital births unless it's an emergency, otherwise she tries to save money by going with a midwife.

This logic makes more sense if you don't have a history of hemorrhaging but hey, Duggars gotta Duggar...

ER can't turn you away if it's serious/life threatening...but they usually err on the side of caution and treat immediate issue without regards to insurance.

If the Duggar's are uninsured then I don't want to hear one word about being self sufficient or not taking government assistance.  I assume they have enough money from the show they'd pay after the fact, but Duggars so idk.

A lesson Gil Bates didn't learn early enough.

[RosyDaisy]

Any hospital in the U.S. that receives federal funding must provide emergency medical attention regardless of the patient's ability to pay.

Edited December 18, 2019 by RosyDaisy

[SassyPants]

So in terms of using the ER for not unforeseen medical occurrences the Duggar girls have done it 5 times. Pregnancy and child birth are known entities, but the Duggars always skew their behaviors towards being users. They don’t want to pay for 9 months of care or for hospital births, and then end up using precious emergency room resources, again and again. They are users-

And as someone who worked in hospital for decades, this just pisses me off. ERs expect and staff for emergencies and a flow of patients in and out, but for labor and delivery and surgical units, adding in patients that need immediate help can affect the care that other patients are receiving. Sure, traumas come in that need immediate surgical care, but not many women show up hugely pregnant, with ruptured membranes and in need of a c-section d/t breech presentation, failure to progress or in need of pain relief,  RIGHT NOW. They are just so irresponsible. 

[JesSky03]

On 12/18/2019 at 8:35 PM, SassyPants said:

So in terms of using the ER for not unforeseen medical occurrences the Duggar girls have done it 5 times. Pregnancy and child birth are known entities, but the Duggars always skew their behaviors towards being users. They don’t want to pay for 9 months of care or for hospital births, and then end up using precious emergency room resources, again and again. They are users-

And as someone who worked in hospital for decades, this just pisses me off. ERs expect and staff for emergencies and a flow of patients in and out, but for labor and delivery and surgical units, adding in patients that need immediate help can affect the care that other patients are receiving. Sure, traumas come in that need immediate surgical care, but not many women show up hugely pregnant, with ruptured membranes and in need of a c-section d/t breech presentation, failure to progress or in need of pain relief,  RIGHT NOW. They are just so irresponsible. 

I've been doing the medical coding for 3 area ERs for about 3 years now and in that time I think I've only coded an unexpected ER delivery all of two times. Most women who come in with labor are able to be transferred to their preferred hospitals or up the OB floor if the hospital has one. I do however see women come in with bleeding or UTIs or abdominal pain mid-way or almost term who have had zero prenatal care so far. I've seen a couple lose their babies because of untreated UTIs and it breaks my heart every time. I think sometimes its just do to the area demographic- it seems some don't seek care for cultural reasons, sometimes its sadly financial reasons, sometimes because they are so young, but other times it just doesn't make sense-they just don't follow with an OB for any obvious to me reason.

It really is a drain on the system- and its obviously not just pregnant women abusing the ER. Idk how it is in other states but I don't think our state medicaid does a good job of helping patients get established with PCPs. Many of our frequent fliers are MA recipients and they often are coming in with simple things like runny noses, mild fevers, sore throats- stuff that would be more appropriately treated by their PCP or even urgent care. But anyway, the Duggars do not or should not have any of the above barriers to seeking proper medical care- they really are so irresponsible and I'm sure not well liked by the staff at the hospital. 

[patsymae]

11 hours ago, JesSky03 said:

I've been doing the medical coding for 3 area ERs for about 3 years now and in that time I think I've only coded an unexpected ER delivery all of two times. Most women who come in with labor are able to be transferred to their preferred hospitals or up the OB floor if the hospital has one. I do however see women come in with bleeding or UTIs or abdominal pain mid-way or almost term who have had zero prenatal care so far. I've seen a couple lose their babies because of untreated UTIs and it breaks my heart every time. I think sometimes its just do to the area demographic- it seems some don't seek care for cultural reasons, sometimes its sadly financial reasons, sometimes because they are so young, but other times it just doesn't make sense-they just don't follow with an OB for any obvious to me reason.

It really is a drain on the system- and its obviously not just pregnant women abusing the ER. Idk how it is in other states but I don't think our state medicaid does a good job of helping patients get established with PCPs. Many of our frequent fliers are MA recipients and they often are coming in with simple things like runny noses, mild fevers, sore throats- stuff that would be more appropriately treated by their PCP or even urgent care. But anyway, the Duggars do not or should not have any of the above barriers to seeking proper medical care- they really are so irresponsible and I'm sure not well liked by the staff at the hospital. 

I agree the system is screwed up and a huge drain on ER and public resources. One difference between poor people on Medicaid, or who don't qualify, and the Duggars is that in many places few doctors accept Medicaid, or the ones that do have very restricted hours or are where people cannot get to, and there are few to no public clinics. The Duggars have millions. For them it is a choice. And I'm sure that they are savvy enough with manipulating money that when the state comes calling with a bill, the person in question has no actual money in their name.