“The doctor said my child has… What do I do?”

Hello everyone! We are beginning to realize how difficult it is to work together while miles apart. Schedules have to be followed, new routines respected, and deadlines met. For today, we have compiled some of the common questions asked by parents regarding their child’s developmental problems that may or may not come with a definite diagnosis. I am sure these questions are not as comprehensive as one could expect and there will be other questions that need to be asked, and that is exactly what we encourage people to do. Our blog is still in its early stage but as we hopefully gain more followers (our thanks to those who already follow us!), we hope that you can find time to ask questions and engage in friendly and helpful discussions in the comments. For now, here go our questions:

1. What is developmental delay?

Developmental delay, as defined by the University of Michigan Health System, is an ongoing minor or major delay in the process of development. It happens when the child does not reach their developmental milestones at their expected times. It can occur in any of the following areas of development: gross and fine motor, language, socio-emotional, or cognitive skills. Delays in many or all of these areas can be considered as global developmental delay or GDD. This is especially the case when the multiple delays cannot be associated with other disorders such as autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, etc.

2. Why was my child diagnosed with hyperactivity?

A few years ago, the answer would have been because the child is hyperactive for his or her age, but that age is still below 7 years – the age when ADHD was usually diagnosed. Now, sources say that ADHD can be found in as early as 3 to 6 year olds. It could also be that only hyperactivity is present instead of the ADHD triad (inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity).

3. My child can talk. Why was he diagnosed with having a speech delay? 

It is possible that though the child can already say a few words and/or phrases, there may be a minor or major difference between what he or she can say AND what he or she is already expected to be able to say at his or her current age. Parents, teachers, therapists, and other individuals working closely with the child may also compare the child’s current skills with that of the language skills of the child’s siblings, cousins, or maybe parents themselves when they were at that age. These days, “speech delay” is sometimes used as an umbrella term for overall language difficulties (both in the understanding as well as the use of language) and it is advisable to seek professional help when in doubt.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has kindly provided developmental milestones expected from birth to elementary level for monolingual children (read: American English speakers), which may give parents an idea of whether or not their children are reaching these milestones on time.

If you have been advised by your child’s doctor or would like to consult a speech-language pathologist yourself in your area, the Philippine Association of Speech Pathologists’ directory can be found here. 🙂

– D & I

“What’s speech-language therapy?”

My turn!

Speech therapy, speech-language therapy, speech-language pathology, speech pathology… it’s the same banana.

Simply put, speech-language pathologists (as they are called in the Philippines) help improve a person’s communicative and swallowing abilities.

Now, I have had my fair share of being on the receiving end of perplexed looks from people who ask me, “What do you do for a living?” or “Saan ka nagtatrabaho?”. I daresay that I might have heard most, if not all, of the common, yet amusing, reactions to my response.

“Ano ho yung speech terapi? Gumagawa po ba kayo ng speech?” (“What is speech therapy? Do you make speeches?”)

NOPE. Through careful assessment, individualized goal-setting, and age-appropriate activities, we help teach people to produce sounds, words, phrases, and/or sentences (read: speech) to express their needs and wants. We don’t teach them how to accept an Oscar.

“Speech terapi? Para ho sa mga taong hindi nagsasalita yun, diba?” (“Speech therapy? That is for people who cannot talk, right?”)

YES and NO. Just because a person can repeat words or sentences (especially from cartoons or movies), does not necessarily mean that that person’s speech is functional. In addition, speech-language pathologists also help people who have little or no means to produce speech to be able to “express themselves” through alternative or augmentative modes of communication, such as the use of pictures, tablets, keyboards, pencil and paper, etc.

“Pwede ho ba magpa speech terapi para makapag English ako na parang Amerikano?” (“Can I undergo speech therapy so I can speak English like an American?”)

Er… I have not had the chance to do this, honestly, but I do not think it’s unheard of. Perhaps it is possible… Hmmm…

“Pambata lang po yun, diba?” (“It’s just for children, right?”)

I think anyone of any age who struggles with communication or swallowing to the extent that it may be hampering his or her quality of life may be referred for speech-language therapy services.

“Eh di parang English teacher po?” (“So is it like being an English teacher?”)

As in the previous post, we have tried to establish that although the output looks similar (we “teach” people how to say this particular sound or word, construct sentences, listen to stories, etc.), teachers disseminate new information or knowledge to a class or to a student while speech-language pathologists help prepare the child to be able to receive information as well as retell it when asked.

“Speech Pathology? Four year course ba yun?” (“Speech Pathology? Is it a four year course?”)

In some universities, yes. Other universities offer it as a 5 year course. Areas of study in this field are so varied and broad even after everything, there is still so much to learn. The following schools offer the course:

• University of the Philippines – Manila (Manila)
• University of Sto. Tomas (Manila)
• De La Salle Health Sciences Institute (Dasmariñas, Cavite)
• Cebu Doctors’ University (Cebu)

I will try to recall more amusing reactions and add them to this post once I do. 🙂

– D

Occupational Therapy

First off, thank you for taking the time to read our blog. We are currently in the process of starting something big and we hope that you stay with us in this tough but we know will be fulfilling journey. 

Any practitioner of Occupational Therapy or OT knows how real the struggle of defining our profession is. Do we do massage because we’re therapists? Do we help people get employed because of the occupation bit? It doesn’t help that many of us signed up for OT in college with little to no idea what it actually is. Coming up with their own accurate definition of occupational therapy is a process all OT students (and practitioners still) undergo. The way I explain OT depends on the person to whom I do the explaining. You will also find out later that I define occupational therapy by what it is not. Since different people of different backgrounds will be reading this, let me borrow the way American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) President Virginia “Ginny” Stoffel defined OT as said in this video:

“[Occupational therapy is] a vitally important profession that helps people across the lifespan participate in things they WANT and NEED to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities.”

Now that we have an idea of what occupational therapy is, let us focus on the common misconceptions as to what we OTs do. 

An Occupational Therapist DOES NOT

• Do Massage therapy. Nothing against them, it’s just that our professions and training are very different from each other.
• ONLY target Fine Motor Skills. While we do often target these skills because they are needed in so many occupations like eating, brushing and writing, occupational therapy is not limited to teaching hand skills and nothing else.
• Help you find a job. Although we do have pre-vocational and vocational programs that help adolescents and adults with special needs to integrate with the community (this includes getting a job that they can do well and keep), there are Jobstreet, classified ads, and your friend who works for this or that company to help you find a job.
• Give you grades; pass or fail you the way an educator does. Again, nothing against educators or teachers, with whom we pediatric OTs often collaborate, but the main difference between an occupational therapist and any form of educator (school teacher, special educators, etc.) is that the latter deals with information dissemination. They share information to a group of students (a class) and at times, they individualize and do tutorials with the same goal of making the student learn new knowledge. After which, they grade, pass or fail the students based on how much they were able to learn. At times, especially in the case of SPEDs, techniques and strategies also used in OT are done. There will always be an overlap between what educators and pediatric OTs do and there is nothing wrong with that. However, while teachers share knowledge, pediatric OTs (whom are also referred to as teachers, by the way) help children maximize their skills in learning the knowledge the teachers share, among their other skills in so many other areas of daily living.
• Earn their degree by taking a two-year (or less) course. At least not in the Philippines. We actually spend four or five years in college to get a BS Occupational Therapy degree. After which, we still need to take the licensure exam by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to earn that “,OTRP” name extension and thus be able to practice. Should you hear about degree programs or practitioners with less credentials than what I just mentioned, please report them to PRC or to the Occupational Therapy Association of the Philippines (OTAP).

World OT Month and the OT Picture Challenge

As it happens, April is also World Occupational Therapy Month and with it comes the OT Picture Challenge done by practitioners to promote our dear profession. I am partaking in this challenge and I post my photos in a Facebook album and on my Instagram. You may also use the hashtags #OTmonth, #OTphoto, and #occupationaltherapy to see the pictures posted by other OTs. 

Again, thank you so much for reading and have a great day!

– I

Hello there! Here’s what to expect:

Welcome to our blog!

The folks you will be interacting with at Ignite are a speech pathologist and an occupational therapist dedicated to helping parents, teachers, and other interested individuals understand typical developmental milestones as well as appreciate the little BIG things that our exceptional children achieve.

We hope that, in this day and age where everything is just a few keyboard clicks away, we can help enlighten those who have doubts and empower those who wish to do more in our own little way.

Based on the 2010 Census of Population and Housing (2010 CPH), about 1.57% of the total 92.1 million household population in the Philippines has some degree of disability, and the CPH also stated that for every five persons with disability (PWD), one (18.9%) was aged between 0 to 14 years old.

On a positive note, parental and community awareness and action, as well as engaging in early intervention programs and activities, can do a world of wonders. 🙂

This blog aims to raise awareness about speech therapy and occupational therapy in the Philippines (and other nations, too!). We, the writers, will also be giving some tips, links, and resources for enriching and improving speech and language development, behavior, fine motor skills, school readiness, and social skills in children and adolescents, as well as (try our very best to) give sound answers to parents and teachers who may have some questions.

Do enjoy your stay and watch out for our next posts! 🙂

– D & I