Speech, Physical, Behavorial, Fine Motor Skills Therapy....

Individual would be the best. That way there's less of a chance of learning something wrong by another child.

Hi!

I was just wondering who recommeded your daughter for the services? Was it an MD or was she evaluated by a physical therapist and speech therapist? Did they give you reasons for the recommendation?

I have a 2 1/2 yr. old daughter that we adopted when she was 5 months old. She was drug exposed in utero by her birth mother (methamphetmines, alcohol and tobacco). Luckily, she is doing FANTASTIC!! And I wholeheartedly believe it is due to all of the services we received thru the state and regional centers.

We were lucky enough to have private physical therapy sessions, once a week for about 18 months. When we first "got" our daughter she was very stiff, like she was afraid to move. She wouldn't move her right side arm or turn her head to the right. With physical therapy I saw changes right away and she only continued to get better. Now she RUNS EVERYWHERE! :)

She also had delays with speech, and fine motor. We have services thru Easter Seals and The Hawaii Elks. All of her workers are FABULOUS and bring new and exciting challenges each time they come. These are also private in home sessions.

The only group session we have done was a language acquisition class which was recommended by her speech therapist. I firmly believe that both private and group sessions are important for these kids. The private ones mean that your child is getting one on one from a professional and that worker will be able to push your child and you'll probably see more result. On the other hand, group is good too, because then the other children will push her to interact, talk and "do what they do". She'll strive to keep up with the other kids. In our group there were children with all different types of delays and age ranges. It was soooo good for her.

Don't be too worried about all the recommendations...I was FREAKED out at first. #1 - adopting a child for the first time is surreal anyway and, #2 - knowing that you have a child who will need therapies and "assistance" is kinda scary. But, we got thru and continue to get thru it day by day. She has come so far and is basically a "normal" 2 1/2 year old. She's just starting to put words together and is very social and happy. You'd never know she had such a tough start to her little life!

Bottom line, EVERY child does things at their own pace. And all for different reasons. It's definitely good to get going with the sessions, but, just keep in mind, she'll be just fine and try not to compare her to the other "normal" kids. She is who she is for a reason and will do things in her own good time...

Good luck and keep us updated on how she's doing! :)

Dear M.,

It might be better for her to be in a group, it will accomplish two things, not only the training , but she will learn to be with a group of peers and cooperate. C. N.

Hi M.,
My daughter is 6 now but was born premature at 31.5 weeks old. She did receive the speech, physical and Fine Motor Skills therapy and she is doing great. She had a speech problem and walked on her toes. The services helped a great deal and I would say that if they are free and were recommended it will not hurt her. Why not accept the free services you are a tax payer and your child deserves the best treatment and care. It would be a different story if you felt she needed them and they would not offer them. M., I would say take the services it will not hurt your daughter.

I think it's depends on what issues your child is having. Since she's in a lot of therapies, I'm going to assume that she's delayed quite a bit.

In that instance, I believe that initially, she needs one on one and gradually move into a group environment. In my experience, my son did not fair all that well in group therapy because he is easily distracted...therefore, the therapy was pretty useless. My daughter never received group therapy and I watched her blossom with one on one but she's excellent in a group setting with other situations.

Regardless, it doesn't hurt to see what is offered to you and talk it over with your coordinator. Your coordinator should be fighting for what is best for you and your child considering her diagnosis and evaluation.

M.,
I woulddefinitely work with a practice that can offer you one on one. You will see tremendous improvement exspecially witha child. I work in a phsical therwapy actice n Michigan and I see this all the time. from my point of view the child gets a sense of trust and comfort with this person and always seems to respond so much better. I am not saying that the child won't do good in a group setting but I can always tell between the outcomes of both. It is really hard to explain. One on One usually ofers more hands on kind of learning and more focus with the therapist that doesn't have 3 patients that he/she is treating at the same time.. I wish you the best of luck..
T.

I assume the info is for your 2 year old. I would suggest that you look up early intervention and the state you live in. This program is free and they work w/children from birth until the age of 3. If she will be turning 3 too soon, then it is left up to the school system, Good Luck!

my son receives OT services for a sensory processing disorder, and it has been a great help. He has the words now to tell me what he needs and i am noticing more of his self stimulating behaviors and have been able to help him more. He has had considerably less behaviors since we started.

How long it takes to see "progress" depends on the developmental needs of your child, but if your child has been referred to these services, take advantage of them! It is much easier to get services for a two year old than a three year old, because is a lot of money in early intervention, which is considered 0 to 3. Once your child turns three, they have to have a significant delay to get any kind of services at all. I believe my child has asperger's, but he's so high functioning i had to fight to get the OT services... the program he is in is through UCP and ends at 5, so i don't know what i'm going to do then.... Anyways, he does both one on one and group sessions, and they both have their merits. Group sessions help him interact with others while individual sessions help him focus on targeted behaviors.

Hope this helps!

Hi M.:

Well first it depends on whom recommend this for your child. My son started at 3 but he did have a speech delay. I know that there is an average amount of words that children should be able to say by 2 and he could only make out 3. If him/her does need it then you may want to try single sessions but I don't know if your child is in childcare as of now. Most childcare places offer speech therapy at the place with other children, so that you don't have to take him/her out of childcare and then you have to bring them back. Which can take out time from your job depends if the office has the time slots available. My son is 8 and is still going to therapy. It does help in time. It just depends on what is needed and how bad their lanuage is. If you do take them to see a speech specialist they have no choice but to first test them on their lanuage skills before they can start working on their speech. To determine where they are at in their lanuage skills. I know with other children, my child picked up the lessons faster. With my experience he has not picked up on any bad speech from other children because they are all learning the same lessons together. So really it is up to you, truely! You may find that he/she may get it faster with other children or not. First talk to a specialist for speech, get their opinion on which one seems more effecient for children and as a parent you know if your child is able to be productive with other children whom is learning the samething. If you don't feel comfortable with it then just have singles sessions. I hope I was able to help you alittle!