Are your OTs/STs/PTs nickel and diming you?

[Anonymous]

We are good customers. We attend all appointments scheduled, unless our child is sick. It is RARE that we have cancelled an appointment due to illness. We always pay on time. We give gifts at the holidays and thank you notes. We refer friends to our child's beloved interventionists. It seems like two of the three places where we get our son therapy are implementing new policies. We (along with all their clients) have been asked to sign these lengthy agreements which state that even if our child is sick we have to pay if we don't give 24 hours notice and if we show up with a sick child we will be denied service. We are being charged for any phone calls. I don't call my child's therapists. I have emailed occasionally with questions, but I try to respect their time. Still, I don't want to be charged by the minute for calls after paying thousands over the years for services. I understand lawyers do this sort of thing, but this is the first I have heard of interventionists being this rigid. We are not wealthy. We are paying a fortune for private therapy and we do all the paperwork to try to get insurance reimbursement. I am just turned off by these rigid policies. I have been assured they have a good relationship with me and won't charge us for everything mentioned, but I am not signing something and just hoping they will go easy on us. I find it obnoxious. I know they pay to rent space and their time is valuable, but after paying a small fortune I expect that the one time my child is sick or the one time I need 10 minutes by phone I will not be bound by contract to pay a fee which according to them they can raise at any time without notice. Your thoughts??? Honestly, if I am forced to sign these things I may just go with county services. I guess these places must be struggling, but we work hard for our money too.

[Anonymous]

Wow, I haven't heard anything about such policies. I'm guessing that some parents might have "taken advantage" and now they are pushing back?

[Anonymous]

Hmmmmm. Maybe I should read the forms more carefully. I am one of those parents who sometimes signs without reading everything.

[Anonymous]

OP, I agree that these forms are draconian. But, trust me, the county services will never touch what you get in your private therapy. My DS has had services through the county for years, but that is just a supplement to what I pay for privately because the county services would not even come close to meeting all of his needs and if I had relied on them alone, my DS would have so many more issues than he has now. I agree with the PP that said that maybe some people are taking advantage. If that is the case and if this is becoming a more common practice, your long term relationship will go far in getting you good will.

[Anonymous]

OP, would you mind sharing which practices are implementing this? Mine better not try it! We've been with them for nearly 7 yrs now.

[Anonymous]

this is true. I just refused entering a new ST program because of their policies and would only go where I have some flexibilites in case my DC becomes sick on the day of the session and I have to cancel.

[Anonymous]

I'm the OP and I agree with the post that county services don't compare to private-at least from our experience. I am quite pleased with our private therapists. I don't want to post the name of the practices we go to for our child's interventions because this will automtically link when people search those practices. He has benefitted a lot from his therapies. I just don't like the new policies and I was curious if other people are getting annoyed too!! What happens if we don't sign? I was considering it.

[Anonymous]

Skillbuilders has an interesting new form. I told them I would have to keep the form and think about it. Of course we already started there. I turned down another practice because of the policies. I felt like it was enough i was paying out of pocket and had to file paperwork on my own. I'm not paying for every second of the therapist's time including the time it takes her to give me a receipt so i can file with my insurance myself.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, it does seem like places are "updating" their paperwork.

[Anonymous]

How are people handing the new forms, Are you signing?

[Anonymous]

I would also guess that it is because some people have taken advantage and that they would not charge you for the rare missed appointment or phone call. I can certainly understand the hesitation to sign though!