Is there such a thing as too much o/t?

[kayla'smom0501]

difficult child has been receiving o/t privately (not covered by insurance) 2X per wk (1 hr sess) and 2X per wk (1/2 hr sess) at school. School's over in a wk. Private o/t wants to continue over summer with- program with- peers to help difficult child with- postural base, blah, blah, blah. When difficult child was evaluated by neurologist in April with- ADHD diag., neurologist told me any o/t over what difficult child gets in school is a waste. difficult child is repeating K (but will receive special education classes the second half of the day) in the fall - am happy with- this result. On waiting list for dev. pediatrician. evaluation to confirm adhd diagnosis. Will try adhd medication in fall to see if any improvement. Any advice would be helpful!

 

[smallworld]

What is the private Occupational Therapist (OT) treating your difficult child for -- sensory integration, fine motor, gross motor, etc? Do you think it's making a difference?

 

[kayla'smom0501]

difficult child is receiving o/t for sensory processing, muscle strength and stability, fine motor development and coordination, self-help abilities. She has shown a lot of improvement, but not enought to be prepared for 1st grade. I guess my question is, "does she really need more o/t, especially since she is repeating K?" I do a lot of the exercises/therapies at home with- her as well. The private therapy has been an extreme financial hardship. Also, the o/t is 40 minutes from my house and the sessions are 1 hr. The session she proposed for the summer are 90 minutes. I have to take my nearly two-year old with- me. Its very hard to contain her, entertain her during these sessions!

 

[SRL]

Ideally you should be sitting in on the sessions learning what the Occupational Therapist (OT) is doing so you can be supplementing at home. A good Occupational Therapist (OT) will help you set up a home program. I way paying $132 a session out of pocket for awhile there--that money can go a long way in setting up a gym area in your house and purchasing supplies and equipment for motor and sensory activities.

I'm not saying a skilled Occupational Therapist (OT) isn't needed but the goal should be to work towards less dependence on the Occupational Therapist (OT) and more on the home and child.

Sometimes children and families need therapy breaks or to reduce therapy minutes. Each family is different--I know of kids who made major progress in speech during the summer but my kiddo always needed a break.

Do what's right for you but if you do take a break be sure and keep it up at home so as to not lose ground.

 

[--Eleanor--]

I would say that, if your difficult child enjoys Occupational Therapist (OT) (mine sure does) and you can afford it, then there probably isn't such a thing as "too much," at least at that age.

In particular, if you have an Occupational Therapist (OT) who is making good progress with your difficult child on self-help skills, and one who is doing fine-motor stuff to help with writing (our Occupational Therapist (OT) used "Handwriting Without Tears" at that age), this will make school that much easier for her in the fall, and she may be able to focus there on more academic and social goals.