Is it problematic to compare speech therapy to psychotherapy when discussing exiting a student due to lack of motivation?

Hi all,

Middle school SLP here. I am currently about to assess a sixth grade student for a triennial re-evaluation. This student has autism and is very defiant when it comes to therapy. I think he may come close to having ODD. Every time I work with him, he is resistant to techniques or if I ask him to say a word with his target sounds he will argue with me about why he has to do it. If I ask him to repeat he will tell me he said it right and why he has to do it again. Reasoning doesn’t work with him. It’s almost like he compulsively has to argue back. He hasn’t made much progress since I started working with him in August.

His speech is pretty bad but it’s mainly his /l/ and /r/ sounds that he struggles with. I am considering exiting him just because he seems to hate speech and his behaviors are getting in the way. I don’t know how mom would take it. I am thinking of comparing speech therapy to psychotherapy in the sense of people may need it but they have to want to participate in it for it to be effective. I think middle school students especially have more autonomy than elementary which is why I want to consider their willingness to participate as more evidence.

Would love to hear your thoughts on if that comparison is helpful or if it would be more problematic.