I used EI for my son.  We had great therapists who showed up but I've heard horror stories.  Do you already have a placement for him for January?  Is it through EI or CPSE?  

I am an occupational therapist and work for EI in NJ.  On the initial paperwork you received,there should be a phone number for a service coordinator/case manager who is like the "customer service" rep. You should call her and let her know how many sessions have been missed.  Each state has their own rules about make up sessions, but I would think you should get some.

Good luck!

I am a special instructor (special ed. teacher) for early intervention and my son also receives EI (speech) in NY state.  What is happening to you should not be the norm at all!  We have the same thing in terms of a coordinator like Heather mentioned above- that should be your contact person to tell them the deal.  You totally deserve to have someone there when they say they'll be there- just like we want parents to be there when we make appts.  How disrepectful!  You can always take some time and come live in NY for a while- when a kiddo turns 3 services are paid for by the school- and possibly preschool if they need it cognitive/social-emotional help- but our preschool prices are way! lower.  

Hope it works out!

Tracy is correct- in NY they can receive free services after they turn three. I would look into that where you are. I work in a preschool in Queens and around here the going rate is about the same or more than what you are paying- I wonder if Tracy lives upstate or something? maybe the rates are different there. go give 'em hell!

We use both private speech therapy (that we pay for) and county-sponsored speech therapy (that the school district provides) for our daughter.  We've had no scheduling issues with the private speech, but our regular speech teacher through the school was a sub and her contract was up last month.  We've had NO luck getting a replacement that can work with our (really not excessive) schedule constraints.  So we've gone almost a month without the "free" therapy.  It shouldn't be this complicated!

I've been following Archer's progress on your other blog for awhile now. (And I love your writting, btw.)

I have four children.  My oldest son is now 3 1/2.  He did not REALLY start speaking until he was 3.  We have a similiar program here called Birth to Three.  My inlaws gave me enough grief that I finally called, we had our consultation and our first sessions, etc...we were SO not impressed with the whole organization.  We didn't go back.  And lo and behold - just one month later I think his vocab. was better than our 12 year old! :-)  

Now my youngest, who just turned 2, is in pretty much the same place.  I'm not worried one bit.  I am confident that he will start talking when he is ready.

As I'm sure Archer will too.  Sometimes you just have to have a little patience.  Good Luck!

Glad to hear you got everything fixed.  I had the same problem with a speech therapist for our middle son.  She came when she felt like it.  Do you have a choice in who you use??? We got a list of therapists and had to pick from the list.  We found out that if the therapist worked for a clinic or the like, we had someone else to talk to than if they were independent contractors so to speak.  Good luck with all of this.