So my 8 year old goes once a week to OT for fine motor delays, some very mild sensory issues and mild visual perception issues. His handwriting is pretty bad and I work with him at home with it. It seems like it is not getting any better and I feel like each week that we go they are working on something new. Not really sticking with one thing at a time more like bouncing around from one thing to another. His OT gives me some exercises to do with him at home but never tells me how long and how often he should be doing it. Also Im not sure what to be looking for as far as improvement goes. I know that sounds bad. I just feel like I'm paying a lot of money and not seeing any improvement. He gets teased at school for not running fast enough or throwing or catching a ball well. He was crying to me the other day that he can't swing like the other kids and they were teasing him. I told him we can work on that at the park. I do ask questions but I feel like they think his delays are not that bad? I guess I feel like maybe it's not worth him going and that I can work with him more. He started going in june and they want him to go for one year. Should I wait a little longer and give it some more time? I know that things don't happen overnight I just thought I would see at least a little more improvement by now. I hate seeing him so unhappy :( I just want things to be a little easier for him. TIA
Check with school.. see if they can offer OT. My son goes for that and he gets some time every week.
Also, try acupunture. It is not with needles and it has helped my sons sensory issues tremendlessly..
My son sees an OT for low muscle tone -- he has a lot of the issues you describe, with handwriting and sports. Sensory too, though that's improved a lot of late.
I'm not an OT myself, but I do know that pediatric OTs believe, "What ends at the lip begins at the hip," meaning they have to work with the whole body to produce a result in any one part of the body. It's not like physical therapy, where you just do a few motions over and over -- they're really working with the body as an integrated system. I also know these things can take a long time, and produce incremental results. It's be surprising to see major, concrete results between June and now.
I guess, my general suggestion is to sit down with the OT and spell out your concerns. If you're really not happy with what you hear, THEN you can leave, on a well-informed basis. But chances are the OT will give you a better sense of what to expect, and when. At the very minimum, you'll be able to ask how long he should do the home exercises.
Most importantly, though, if kids are teasing your son about sports skills, then the school has messed up, big time, and you have every right and obligation to RAISE HOLY HELL until they get their act together. Every single has a no-bullying policy these days. By allowing your son to be bullied, the school has failed in its obligation to him. But the only person who can change that is you. Honestly, if he has a medically diagnosed condition, you probably have some right to sue. I don't really recommend that, but if you quietly let the school know you know your rights, that's a very effective way of getting them to take action.
My kids don't run fast, their handwriting is a catastrophe, okay they can see just fine but my point is these are not issues that OT will ever fix. That does sound like you are wasting your money because two of my kid got OT through the school and never did anyone tell me they would make my kids graceful, or fast, they only fixed the deficiencies.
If the school is not offering therapy, free of charge, I have to agree with your assessment, you are wasting your money. If they are telling you they can make him fast, write like an artist, see better, they are probably after your money.
I would talk to his school, have them assess the situation, after all, they make no money if they find a problem so if they do it is probably true.
My third has autism spectrum and I remember how many people willing to prey on my wallet. Be very careful.
I would look to see if you can find an OT who specializes in handwriting and has group classes. Handwriting Without Tears by Jan Olsen is a really good method to use. I would use this as a supplement to the sensory help.
If he has visual perception problems, I'm not sure that's really something the OT can help with. Instead, there are optomitrists who specialize in this. Quite frankly, if he has trouble with visual perception, I don't know how his handwriting can get better without handling THAT first.
You haven't said how long he has been seeing this OT. I worry about if she has a masters degree in sensory integration disorder. I worry about her working on his visual perception and assuming that his handwriting will get better without that being fixed, and I don't think SHE can fix it. I worry about if she has enough experience to know what she can and cannot do for him.
Truely, you do need to do a home program with him. BUT, the visual perception needs to be dealt with specifically. Ask your ped and/or his regular eye doctor for a referral.
Good luck, and don't give up!
Sit down with them and find out the game plan. They may want to switch it up so that the kids develop those skills over all instead of working on one at a time. I have never taken any of those classes so I can't answer this question.
Our boy did OT for a few weeks and I thought she was not very good. She told me it was not her job to request items for him to use at home to help with his issues. Sooner Care told me to tell her what we needed and she was supposed to submit a request. If it was approved they'd pay for an indoor trampoline and a weighted vest.
So we stopped going.
Mira,
Other kids making fun of her son is not bullying so please don't go to the school and talk about bullying. You will weaken your position because this is NOT bullying. All teasing is not bullying. People use that term much too loosely these days.
Does he have Dyspraxia? Sounds like he may.
