Good news

buddy

New Member
Got the final set of private evaluation results.... Q massively qualified for Occupational Therapist (OT) as well as sp/lang, pt and of course counselling. I let you all know that he told me yesterday that we had to stay and he had to see her (when acting up in the waiting room) because this was his special time to get things turned around and fixed etc. He told me she was going to help him not to say those words etc. Bless his heart, his expectations are high and not gonna happen all in one thing but I rolled with it.

so Occupational Therapist (OT) results including the handwriting evaluation... he tested first to fourth percentile. UMMM, I asked her if she (not standardized of course but I do this sometimes) even adjusted for his developmental age would he seem delayed??? oh my gosh yes.

So, this kid struggles with anything midline crossing...rt and lt. brain do not communicate well (Duh but it is nice to see it in writing so the school who just said he wont cooperate in evaluations will have the info) he has no ability to judge where his body is in space, does things too hard or too soft, has a terrible time planning things and his fine motor control is the worst.

And he has made it clear that he would rather have people think he is doing it all on purpose. Sometimes I wish he was more delayed so it was off his radar.

With MN m.a. he can have sensory integration goals (calming goals) and he can get the interactive metronome therapy completely covered! so no need to adjust our waiver plan budget. They write it in a broader goal working on rhythm and coordination so any method is acceptable. YIPEE.

Now we just need the final insurance paper when they turn in the goals and then to schedule. We decided to hit Occupational Therapist (OT) more frequent and hard because they (and yipee again for being with a brain injury recovery program) believe and research supports more frequent and intensive therapy results in faster and longer lasting gains (well that has been the age old thing even in schools... the once weekly twenty minute sessions almost seem silly sometimes... I worked in a school where they let us take the artic kids especially... those kids with a sound or two out...and give them three months of quick a day frequent therapy... four to five days a week of ten minutes to really get the sounds remediated and it worked beautifully. many kids were off their IEP's in months!)

So I will schedule Occupational Therapist (OT) first, then see if we can piggy back the pt and then will add Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) when it fits, maybe only in summer which is only four months away so???

Sometimes it really hits me how much time we waste talking about behavior when the underlying issues are so profound. Really, what do they expect?
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
Wonderful that Q will get the services he needs. And what a sweetheart he is! Big hugs to you both! One step at a time, Buddy. You're doing so great, mom, you really are~
 

Ktllc

New Member
I am so glad you obtained so much info to validate your view. I sure hope it will give you some amo against the school.

I think it is wonderful that Q understands all the therapists are here to help.
Is there a way to make him realise that he would benefit from admitting when he can't control/master a task?
Maybe a social story: first scenario with a boy saying "I can't, I need help" and then the teacher's reaction. And second scenario with a boy acting up and the teacher's reaction. Since Q seems to pick up on "bad" language, you might want to just have a picture of the boy acting up and no words??

Hope you see some progress with the new plan.
 

StressedM0mma

Active Member
That is so great Buddy. I am so glad thta Q is going to get the help he needs. And how sweet that he wants so much to quit with the blurting. You truly are a Warrior Mom for Q!
 

klmno

Active Member
I'd imagine this can be hard on him- especially given his age where most boys are sensitive about how they appear to peers. And you- I don't know how you keep up with it all!

Still, this is good news and hopefully, will lead to better supports for Q.
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
Yes, I echo the others - good news :)
You came into my mind today when I was out and about with J, ferrying him to his various sporting activities and spending time in between (unchained from the computer for an afternoon) and I thought... you have such a delight in your son... the challenges are irrelevant to you, really. And this is love.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Sounds like you got an awesome evaluation. I hope that this can help the school see how so much of what he does is just not in his control, esp the language. It IS shocking and that is why it is imprinted on his brain. Amazing that you got the therapy covered and don't have to adjust the other budget! That is incredible. We just don't have those programs here. Part of me has wondered if we had moved to your area if we could have found help for J's health issues, because MN seems to cover a LOT more than OK does.

I do NOT mean this to be offensive or that I think of Q like a dog. HONEST. I know I made a dog analogy on a previous post. But I posted on flutterby's new dog post about a show on Netflix called DogTown that is about Best Friends animal rescue in Utah - 33,000 acres of no kill animal shelter - one of a kind. National Geographic did a tv show about them. They show the rescue and rehabilitation through to adoption of 3-4 dogs per episode.

One of them has a golden retriever that 2 or 3 shelters thought was unable to learn because he was so hard to train. The trainer that worked with him figured out what motivated him (it was treats) and used them to get him to sit reliably in 24 hours after they had the medical evaluation to make sure he didn't have any neuro problems. This trainer was amazing to me. He just ignored anything he didn't like. Other trainers also made a big deal about certain good behaviors and gave NO reaction to negative ones.

I thought about Q's blurts because it seems to me the problem started because he got a reaction when he first said the words. A BIG reaction. This creates pathways in the brain, which we know partly from research on sensory issues and partly because we know seizures cause damage to certain areas and this has a big impact on behavior. So why not pick a couple of new words, teach them to Q and work to get the school staff to give a BIG reaction to those "good" words every time? Then you could link good words to blurts maybe.

the other reason this seems to me like it might work is that I had a friend in college who had a bird that cussed like nothing I have ever seen. His brother trained it and then moved back home after college and their mom wouldn't have it in the house. So my friend took it to his apartment. He would react when the bird said ANYTHING that wasn't a curse and he even had a sign outside that said "Bird curses - do NOT react in any way. React BIG when he says ANYTHING else." it took a year, but finally the bird stopped cussing and had a few other words. It picked up on words said with emphasis. That is what we say curse words with.

I have huge faith in Q and his ability to learn. If that stupid bird that weighed a total of maybe six ounces could learn to not curse, then Q's brain can learn new pathways too.

I just wish I had as much faith in the people at school and thought that THEY could learn to do this.

Anyway, the new evaluation, while shocking, just shows how much growth he can make. It also opens up the door to some new funding for help and that is WONDERFUL!

I hope that my idea isn't upsetting and you understand that it is just something that came from looking at behavior another way and NOT because I think that Q is a dog or bird or anything. in my opinion he is an awesome kid who understands a LOT mroe than the adults at his school and is incredibly special. Just what he said about the therapist is amazing. I know adults who cannot see therapy as anything like that.
 
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