3.05.2009

The one with the new OT

Amy
Our new OT Amy seemed really good at what she does. She jumped right in and watched DS attempt different areas of dressing/undressing and asked a lot of questions. She wrote a bunch of notes and compiled a list of goals to work on. I don't have the list yet, but she did write down that he has 0% self-help skills for dressing. So, she will start with socks, shoes, coat & we'll go from there. She said she would look at his goals again in about 8 weeks to see where he is. She also answered a lot of small questions about sensory issues I had. I wish I knew if they were GOOD answers - but she basically said if it doesn't impact him negatively in his daily living... not to worry about it becuase all toddlers are quirky and have sensory issues that bother them. (I'm talking tags, water, wind, sun, etc..)
But I was really disappointed there was no evaluation. I have been looking forward to the OT evaluation for so long and specifically talked with her about it ahead of time.
It's not her fault, I will say that. She said that there is only one evaluation allowed per year. But ALSO, since he will be sliding into the preschool program in a few months when he's 3 they will use her notes and NOT do another eval at his one year mark either 'because he most likely won't qualify for OT services'. He was evaluated in June and they gave her the whole write up on it. The frustrating part is that there was no OT at this meeting and to my knowledge there was no standardized test for OT administered. They are so secretive here in NC - it is like pulling teeth to find ANYTHING out. How can they deny a child services when they never really took a good look???
I have been wanting this eval. because I just don't beleive that his needs at 23 months were anything near his needs at 32 months. She asked ME what my concerns were, and (as Ive said about 1,000,000 times) I do have concerns, but how am I qualified to know what all the concerns SHOULD be? If I had older children, I might have a frame of reference, but he's my first.
I've found several checklists and plan to see how things go and mention stuff as we go. I just hate it b/c that's what I did with Mitzi. It just seems like PLAIN SENSE for a new therapist to have the opportunity to get HER take on his needs and do a standardized test and know where the starting point is all across the board.

2 comments:

Laura said...

Hmmmm. That's frustrating. For what it's worth, Brad didn't qualify for one-on-one OT through the school, and he's outside of the normal range for fine motor by the school's own evaluation. Qualification is measured by reference to function, so if he's not walking on his toes or bumping into things, you'll have a hard time getting OT. We are continuing with a private OT 1 hour per week, for at least the next 6 months.

Another acronym for your sidebar:

"ADL" = "activities of daily living"

It's an OT-ism, and it sounds like your new OT is focusing on it.

Anonymous said...

there is a standardized fine motor skills test that can be administered at age 3. We got Chee evaluated privately for OT (my insurance covers it) and the school used the private evaluation (which put her greater than 2 standard deviations below normal in fine motor skills) to qualify for OT at school.

Do you have the option of private OT?