OT or not to OT

[khaoskat]

Ok, we had a developmental Ped Eval...they recommended OT.

I talked to our Ped today (since it is a long wait list for OT and this eval was done over 2 months ago)...

She didn't seem interested in sending him to OT...even though he really wont get it in school. (At this point, by the time we would get in to have his IEP re-done and new evals done by the school to determine if he qualifies through them for it, we are talking about 6-9 months.)

Some of the things they recommended OT for were, sensory integration and minor fine and gross motor delays as well has had eye coordination problems.

[Linda on the move]

I'd fight for it.

[Rose-Roget]

This has been my question. I don't know what magic happens in OT for sensory integration. Around here in the schools, my ds would probably get "consult 1x per quarter" which wouldn't do anything for him...and that's IF he qualified for them.

I'm debating private, but I don't know if it's worth the money.

I'm no help. Just s .

[NightOwlwithowlet]

OT was huge for DS with his sensory issues, definitely one of the best interventions we did. While he didn't make much progress with his fine motor skills and gross motor skills at the time, it did lay the ground work for later. I'd push for it if you can. When we had to chose between PT, OT and ST, we went with OT.

[confustication]

We do PT OT and Speech, and OT is, hands down, the biggest thing in terms of both understanding DS< and helping him- it is what enables the rest in our case.

[earthmama369]

I STILL don't get exactly what magic happened, but OT has been wonderful for ds (who has SPD). He didn't sleep before we started OT. Now he sleeps most nights, and when he wakes up, instead of screaming for eons, he settles back down quickly and easily most of the time. And that's impacted all of his other issues -- frustration levels, behaviors, triggers, etc. A well-rested child has more reserves than a child who is chronically sleep deprived. We have a private OT come to our house for an hour a week. She's also worked with him on pre-literacy skills, fine motor skills, coping skills, etc. He's about ready to graduate, at least for a while, but the money and time we've invested in OT has been so worth it.

[CarrieMF]

Go & at least get an OT eval done. They will let you know whether OT is needed on a regular basis or if there's stuff you can just do at home. They can also recommend things to help out in school & at home.

We did our OT eval through the school. We had the eval 6 weeks after I talked to the EST, it may have helped that this was my 3rd kid in the school & at the time I was working casually in the school. It's a smallish school in a big division. They fit her into when the OT was coming again. Her needs are definitly there & gave a few suggestions but my dd hasn't seen the OT again. We could have done private therapy but that would have been better for when she was younger & had stronger sensory needs. Most of her issues we managed to find ways to handle without an OT, but I called them in because some of her behaviours were returning after a teacher change mid-year. If anything it confirmed that I knew what I was talking about.lol

[goobergrl6]

We do private OT for SPD. It has been HUGE (and he has only been twice, we go for #3 today). Well worth the money. I am working on getting his IEP changed so that he can get some at school too just kinda to help him in class but I will not stop the private even if that meant giving up eating out, new clothes whatever. It is MORE then worth the money we are spending on it.

Lisa

[kme]

OT has been worth it for my son. We have learned how to do many things at home that help a lot in addition to the sessions he attends at the OT office.

[LynnS6]

Another vote for OT. OT helped our ds HUGELY. Our son had all of the issues that you listed and it was tremendous. He went from not being able to tolerate dirt/go without socks to running around barefoot on the beach. He went from avoiding all art, drawing and fine motor skills to willingly coloring. He went from not being able to pedal a trike to riding a bike. He played baseball this year for the first time (2 years after ending OT) and he was not the worst player on the team!

[khaoskat]

He does have some issues with bikes/trikes - more getting started than with keeping going.

He has made progress just in his private preschool with stuff the last two years. When he started there (non iep program) he wouldn't really do art projects that required him to touch anything. You might get him to do coloring or painting with a brush. After 2 years he is now doing art, and as a matter of fact, did a huge thing for the schools art show.

The stuff I listed above (in my previous post) was what was found during the Developmental Ped Eval for OT. We now have an appt scheduled with our local place for 8/12, and I guess they will re-evaluate him.