OMW! here we go again!

lovelyboy

Member
My little angel....aged 4 yr old has been diagnosed by Occupational Therapist (OT) with sensory processing disorder (SPD)!
But I was expecting it!
We had our first school parent interview last week and must say it is a bit owerwhelming to sit there and listen while the teacher carries on about 1.5 pages of all the things my little one CAN'Tdo! :(
He has plenty of tactile defensiveness....causing him not to hold the pencil correctly.....also uses tactile stuff to modulate....so bumping into others, giving them to hard hugs...hurting them.....lashing out when they unexpectedly touch him....
His eyes is to sensitive to light so he makes little eye contact, the class room lights need to be dimmed for him......
In circle time he pulls the shirt over his head arms and legs and sits like a little ball, covered.
Plenty of auditory processing problems....ST assessment shows 18 months behind....so...not following instructions, not listening.
And he is CONSTANTLY on the move...fidgeting...cant cut with scissors...terrible poor postural tone...exct.....exct.
At least she said he is good with construction activities and has a charming personality!!!!:)
Agh......this isnt nice to hear....I feel so sad for him!
 

buddy

New Member
Sorry. I'm sure you're mommy heart aches to have this happen again. Well at least it answers the question of whether he was just copying his brother. Didn't you're doctor suggest you were letting that happen? Or warn you not to or something like that? Do you think with the lang issues. Adhd-like issues and the sensory integration stuff you are looking at autism again? I know you said you're on the lookout for that. HUGS again. I wish it was not so for him. But great that he has parents who have been there done that and can get him the therapies needed and can support him at home. You suspected this but seeing it officially on a report hurts. All my love .....Dee
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Sensory problems and Aspergers/any sort of autism go together like soup and sandwich or peanut butter and jelly. My son used to suck on the neck of his shirt until it was soaked half the way down. He'd come home from school that way every day.

The good part is that often they outgrow some of the sensitivity. My son doesn't do this anymore. He can also go to the fireworks now where as when he was little the noise was too much for him, he'd cover his ears and scream. He would also cover his ears at movie theatres. He likes movies and would stay, but would still have to cover his ears. He doesn't do that anymore either. He licked around his lips until the skin was so sore he needed topical medicine because it was so raw and hurt so much. He is still sensitive, but not as much and can handle it better.

Time really helps Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) a lot in many of our kids. So do good interventions.
 

Ktllc

New Member
Sending some hugs your way. It is hard to look at the positive when things like that are announced. Get some therapy set up for him and follow your Mommy gut. Your intuition told you something was off, it is comfirmed: you're the best Mom! You know your kids, what to look for and now you are slowly learning how to cope with it.
 

lovelyboy

Member
Dee....I know we have spoken about the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) with him....but my gut aswell as the Occupational Therapist (OT) and ST doesn't say autism......BUT having one kiddo on the spectrum does put that thought in the back of your mind....
I found a lady at least who can make him a weighted vest......I made him a weighted teddy today, he loves it!
He is still to young to just say ADHD....but OMW he is SO busy and SO impulsive...he runs, jumps of things, into, exct and gets so terribly hurt, falling, crashing! But luckily we have an Occupational Therapist (OT) that just say: Wait with the diagnosis...lets treat the underlying problems and see whats left.....
Yes I am worried about the psychiatrist saying we mustn't create another difficult child child! I will just drop a hint during my difficult child next apointment and test the waters.....:(
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Oh, so this is your OTHER son.

in my opinion, an Occupational Therapist (OT) and ST are not qualified to make any diagnoses. I don't know about where you live, but they are not qualified to diagnose in the US. They don't have that kind of training. They are trained to do certain therapies and would not be able to rule Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in or out...but you do have it in the family. I would take it to a more qualified professional than either an Occupational Therapist (OT) or ST. sensory processing disorder (SPD) is not a diagnosis that usually stands by itself.

Take care!
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
The autism center HERE (attached to a medical teaching university)... says sensory processing disorder (SPD) and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and other things that are listed on the autism spectrum... it IS possible to have many of these, and not be on the autism spectrum at all.

Occupational Therapist (OT) cannot diagnosis many things... BUT. No matter what the big picture... sensory processing disorder (SPD), like Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), does respond to therapy. And the Occupational Therapist (OT) is the source of the therapy. So... absolutely no harm done in going with the proposed plan.
 

buddy

New Member
Oh, so this is your OTHER son.

in my opinion, an Occupational Therapist (OT) and ST are not qualified to make any diagnoses. I don't know about where you live, but they are not qualified to diagnose in the US. They don't have that kind of training. They are trained to do certain therapies and would not be able to rule Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in or out...but you do have it in the family. I would take it to a more qualified professional than either an Occupational Therapist (OT) or ST. sensory processing disorder (SPD) is not a diagnosis that usually stands by itself.

Take care!


You have said this before and I respect your opinion that you like neuropsychs. I do too. But I worry that people will not believe their Occupational Therapist (OT)'s and Speech Language Pathologist (SLP)'s when they give a perfectly legitimate diagnosis which they are well trained and qualified to give. OTR's and Speech Language Pathologist (SLP)'s are absolutely able to diagnosis anything within their professions. For Speech Language Pathologist (SLP)'s examples include Receptive and Expressive language delays and disorders, aphasia, apraxia of speech, fluency disorders, dysarthria, voice disorders among many others. Codes for insurance still have to be used and they can only be given by licensed, and certified people in these areas.

I love neuropsychs but as I have said from past experiences, they do tests that sometimes use only subtests that give a glimps into language/communication and motor issues. They would have no clue about how muscle tone actually feels and how to judge quality of movement like a PT or Occupational Therapist (OT) could. They can say from checklists that parents fill out etc...whether there may be delays. They then often recommend more in depth testing through an Occupational Therapist (OT) or Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) (sometimes they are part of centers that do neuropsychologist testing so it can be done at the same time) ( others like to do the Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) and Occupational Therapist (OT) first is because many of the things that are looked at are not included in depth in a neuropsychologist evaluation).

Just wanted to clarify that in fact, within their professions they absolutely do give a diagnosis based on formal and informal assessments. Now, if an Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) gives a diagnosis of receptive and expressive language delay.... can they say that the child has Down's Syndrome even if it is obvious??? NO. Can they say the child has Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), well depends on if they are part of an evaluation team that is deciding that. But to decide if speech orlanguage is delayed or disordered, that is the Speech Language Pathologist (SLP)'s domain. With a diagnosis like Down's you can pretty much assume there will be issues with the other two (Occupational Therapist (OT) and Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) types of things) but not true with all genetic disabilities. Sometimes the testing that is done by an Speech Language Pathologist (SLP), pt, otr, can give a neurologist the first clue to a degenerative neurological disease and many many referrals to neurologists are made that way. Whether one values the diagnosis is a fair matter of opinion and everyone is entitled. I really always vote for the comprehensive approach. Use them all, cover your bases fully.

Just dont want anyone to think the Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) or Occupational Therapist (OT) defrauded them if they gave a diagnosis.

neuropsychologist is wonderful for that broad perspective looking at all behaviors including the results from other professions and putting the big picture together.

If you are using a pretty experienced and well rounded Occupational Therapist (OT) or Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) you often will get an idea long before the docs get around to the correct diagnosis...but that is off the record. That is because they live it and see it daily. I know an amazing PT who can spot some pretty rare disabilities but has to keep mum until the doctors come around to what she is referring the kiddo for....She leaves me in awe.


PS: Even though OTR, PT and Speech Language Pathologist (SLP)'s who work in schools have the same education in their professions (sometimes adding a teaching degree), it IS true that NO ONE in a school is allowed to give any medical diagnosis. That is a school versus medical setting issue, not the qualifications of the professionals. Those very same people in a medical/clinical setting can.
 

buddy

New Member
Dee....I know we have spoken about the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) with him....but my gut aswell as the Occupational Therapist (OT) and ST doesn't say autism......BUT having one kiddo on the spectrum does put that thought in the back of your mind....
I found a lady at least who can make him a weighted vest......I made him a weighted teddy today, he loves it!
He is still to young to just say ADHD....but OMW he is SO busy and SO impulsive...he runs, jumps of things, into, exct and gets so terribly hurt, falling, crashing! But luckily we have an Occupational Therapist (OT) that just say: Wait with the diagnosis...lets treat the underlying problems and see whats left.....
Yes I am worried about the psychiatrist saying we mustn't create another difficult child child! I will just drop a hint during my difficult child next apointment and test the waters.....:(

That is as it should be (though in our system we sometimes need that diagnosis to GET the therapy due to insurance issues)...in my humble opinion... I think it is lovely that you can just accept him as he is and work through the issues. That is what is important anyway and you are already Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) geared due to your other son, those ideas help kids with many challenges so he will be in good shape with you guys as his parents and such caring therapists.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Buddy, you are right. I would not trust an Occupational Therapist (OT) or a SP to diagnose any child. They are not qualified. I would take their suggestion then go to a neuropsychologist to see if they are right, but, no, out of hand I do not think OTs and STs should try to diagnose. It's like teachers diagnosing. They do not have the qualifications to diagnose, and I am not even sure they can legally do so, at least in our state. Our Occupational Therapist (OT) and ST never diagnosed our son. They had helpful suggestions for therapy and helped immensely, but they did not do the diagnosing. I never expected them to.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
One of the twists with OTs and dxes is... the Occupational Therapist (OT) is testing and reporting "function", not the "cause".

So... a child could show severe neuro-motor planning problems. Occupational Therapist (OT) testing is accurate, and therapies are appropriate. But... what label does this give the child? Well, that depends. What else is going on? It could be anything from Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), for example. Occupational Therapist (OT) will not tell you that. When we went looking for a specific diagnosis, our Occupational Therapist (OT) was prepared to say that the test results "would be consistent with a diagnosis of XXX". That doesn't rule out other dxes. But it does add to the process of getting a diagnosis. And the therapies the Occupational Therapist (OT) has to offer are not based on "cause", but on "function"... so the therapies don't change based on diagnosis.

Funding, on the other hand, is very much driven by diagnosis.
 

lovelyboy

Member
I do agree with all of you.....
What I actually meant was that the Occupational Therapist (OT) diagnosed sensory processing disorder (SPD).....she has 4 yr postgraduate training as a sensory integration therapist....Sinse they want or already had(?) put sensory processing disorder (SPD) in the DSM V.....she says that the medical aid would insist that a child must have a sensory processing disorder (SPD) diagnosed in order for them to pay Occupational Therapist (OT) treatment!
Unfortunately or maybe fortunate..... We dont get any state services for free because of diagnosis.....:(.......A diagnosis will help in getting medications from the chronic treatment....but the only chronic psychiatric illness listed on our medical aid list is schizophrenia! Not even depression!!!! Can you believe this!!!???? When I phone and ask why autism isnt on the chronic list....they dont even always know what I am talking about....then they ask me to please spell the word for them!!!!OMW!!!!!
 
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