OT Eval

[Sophie♥Hatter]

So Jacob had his OT eval done today and he is going to be getting OT once a week now (along with speech therapy once a week but not on the same day). The woman that evaluated told me a LOT of stuff but I don't remember some of what she said, she told me she knew she was giving me a lot of info but that the woman that will be his OT will go over all of it again with me. They are going to work on his tone (he has low tone I never would have guessed since he is such a browser), his tactile integration, and on something else but I can't think of what the word was damn it. (I will get all of this in a report so I will be able to reread it and fully absorb it)

She said that the reason he is so afraid of dogs is the barking, he doesn't like loud noises. Which makes sense because if he is inside and hears a dog barking outside he will get upset and say SHHH.

After that I took the boys to a my gym party that our mothers group had and Darian loved it, Jacob not so much. He liked it at first when their where only a few children but once we all got in there he just wanted to leave. I got him to bounce on the tramp and he did enjoy the climbing though as well. He mostly just sat down on the balance beam and watched though.

[MedicsWifey]

Wow, that does sound like a lot of information to absorb in one sitting. That's great that you'll be given a written report on it as well as be able to go over it with the OT person you will meet with next time. Congrats. I hope it all works out well and you like the new person. Did you like this lady? Will she be working with you intermittently or just the new person from now on?

Best of luck to you!

[Trey]

Was it vestibular? We had a very similar evaluation too and Toots is going once a week too... I have about 200 pages of crap to read! He's going on a "sensory diet" where we do sensory activities all day every few hours... it IS a lot of information to process... I would love to talk OT so that we can both understand better what's lacking, what's going on and what needs to be done too! I felt the exact same way as you, but Riley is on his fourth appointment on Wednesday and it's all starting to make sense...

Lil man is lucky to have a mama like you, because if he does indeed have an official diagnosis these therapies will make such a huge difference! They said that WE were lucky to get started so soon and your little man is younger than Riley!

[Merri]

Just out of curiosity, do they know why he has low tone? I saw in your other thread that he has some developmental delays, is he kind of undiagnosed at this point? Did the OT mention physical therapy for his tone, or is that something she is going to work on herself? That's good that you will get the report, it is hard to remember everything when they are talking.
My daughter had low tone for awhile following her stroke, now the neuro calls it "muscle weakness" rather than true hypotonia. She is very flexible, the therapist said that normally kids with low tone are. Is that something you notice with your son at all?
I'm glad that you got the eval done, it is frustrating to reschedule appointments repeatedly.

[Sophie♥Hatter]

Originally Posted by Rileysmom Was it vestibular? We had a very similar evaluation too and Toots is going once a week too... I have about 200 pages of crap to read! He's going on a "sensory diet" where we do sensory activities all day every few hours... it IS a lot of information to process... I would love to talk OT so that we can both understand better what's lacking, what's going on and what needs to be done too! I felt the exact same way as you, but Riley is on his fourth appointment on Wednesday and it's all starting to make sense... Lil man is lucky to have a mama like you, because if he does indeed have an official diagnosis these therapies will make such a huge difference! They said that WE were lucky to get started so soon and your little man is younger than Riley!

I can't remember she was telling me SO much I just could not keep up with all of it. He has to drink 2 oz of water a day with a crazy straw and the sucking does something with his face muscles and then it translates in his brain and will help, and then the brushing (damn I can't think of the right term for that) the firm grounding pressure you give them by brushing their arms or legs.

He has OT once a week now and ST once a week. The next step is to get him an appointment with Dr. Rivers or his/her (I keep forgetting to ask if it is a guy or a girl) for a DX (if he will get one KWIM?) Dr. Rivers is booked until December BUT he/she now has an associate that should have an opening 2-3 months from now. I don't mind if he see's the associate if he can get seen sooner.

Jacob will have sensory exercises but so far all I have is the crazy straw one. I was telling my Mom about it and she looked as confused as I felt .

Originally Posted by Merri Just out of curiosity, do they know why he has low tone? I saw in your other thread that he has some developmental delays, is he kind of undiagnosed at this point? Did the OT mention physical therapy for his tone, or is that something she is going to work on herself? That's good that you will get the report, it is hard to remember everything when they are talking. My daughter had low tone for awhile following her stroke, now the neuro calls it "muscle weakness" rather than true hypotonia. She is very flexible, the therapist said that normally kids with low tone are. Is that something you notice with your son at all? I'm glad that you got the eval done, it is frustrating to reschedule appointments repeatedly.

No, we don't know why he has low tone and honestly I would never have suspected it because he is so strong. But the woman that did his eval said it is how fast the muscles react from at rest and how long they can sustain the action as well. So even though he has short bursts of strength he still has low tone. Both my kids are extremely bendable she told my five year old not to W sit and showed him so other ways of sitting on the floor and explained it is bad for not only his tone but for speech development to sit like that.

No he is not going to get PT they will work on his tone in OT (he won't see the head OT that did his eval he will see another woman). He is as of yet unDX. He has significant speech delay (although at home he is now mimicking a lot of words, using signs and simple words) out in public he withdraws into himself. It is not unheard of for him to go out with my Mom to Costco and for two hours not a peep out of him then as soon as they pull into the drive way of her house he starts yelling for his pop-pop.

He has sensory issues, certain loud noises, children his age and older in his space, crowds, certain food textures, things like that. He also doesn't tilt his head back and has had periods of what I call being a drunken sailor he loses his equilibrium. One time it was so bad he and his brother were playing Jacob got hurt. I scooped him up and made sure he was OK (he has a high threshold for pain which can be dangerous) then I sit him down he stumbled and fell. He could not stand and walk without falling. It lasted for about five minutes and it scared the crap out of me. It has never been that bad sense BUT my parents have noticed it. He also gets stuck on a word or phrase like You give him his cup he says "thank you" you say "you're welcome" and then he repeats thank you for the next ten - fifteen minutes.

I think this is the most I have shared about him on here. Sorry I went on so long. I feel like we are getting to the end of our journey of figuring out what is going on with him (even though our work is not even close to being done) and that I am getting him some real help. Along with learning myself how to at least TRY to reach him. Also I feel like it is not just me over reacting having professionals tell me yes something is going on and here is what we can do to help has eased my mind a lot. Some days I feel like I am just nuts and he is perfectly typical, other days he is having a really off day and I know that something is going on with him. It is so hard.

[Merri]

That's great that you are close to getting a diagnosis for him, knowing there is a problem without knowing the all important "why" must be so incredibly frustrating! That is always the first thing I want to know. It feels like if you know why something is happening, then you can start trying to improve things.
I don't have a lot of experience with sensory issues, my daughter has severe oral aversion, but the rest of it is mild, and has really improved over the last couple of years.
"W" sitting is a big no-no in our house, too! The therapists always say, "criss-cross, applesauce," to remind her to sit correctly. Kind of silly, but it works.
The "dizzy" spell that he had sounds really concerning, that would have scared me as well. I hope you are able to get a diagnosis for him soon.

[Sophie♥Hatter]

LOLZ I always tell him criss cross applesauce too because it is how you get his age group to sit down for circle time, I never knew there was a real reason for having them sit that way. I can't wait to talk with my child development teacher about it (I am getting my degree in early childhood education)!

[casper77]

I am glad that we are finally getting some real information....Good job on noticing there might be a problem....The ealry help will be good no matter the diagnosis...I love you and I wish that I could be there to help you through all of this....You are the greatest....Thank You....For Everything.....