No Therapists Available!! !

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My son's early intervention evaluation was done yesterday. They agreed with his formal diagnosis, said he is minus one standard deviation (only due to focus) in most areas, which is still normal. He is advanced (29 months when he is only 24 months) in many motor skills. His problem is speech. The county doesn't currently have a speech therapist, so it's OOP if we get it.

My daughter has major sensory and moderate motor problems. The county also has an occupational therapist shortage. Great. Another OOP expense.

Since they were diagnosed in October and November, I've taught my son 60 signs. I've used his strengths and "receptive areas" like picture books and "feel and learn" books to connect with him and keep him learning and engaged. The results have been awesome. He's happier too.

With my daughter, mostly I talk to her and give her outlets for her creativity. She is really good with art, so I have a pile of coloring books and sketch pads and a box of crayons and markers and other items to create with. I don't know how to help with sensory and motor though, other than providing ways for her to calm herself (keeping soothing stuffed animals nearby for sensory) and trying to help her train her body out of the rigidy with practice to build confidence.

Can anyone tell me what OT provides for children like my daughter? I know she becomes overwhelmed and frustrated, and I really want to help.

What state/country are you located in? Not far from my hometown, there is an exceptional pre-school program that works with
young children like yours. If you like, I could find out what exactly they do in activities and Occupational Therapy that you can easily do with your children to advance them in their skills...I know the Directors of the preschool program.

If interested, let me know by PM...and once I have the information, I will PM you back.

OTs and PTs do alot of work on muscle tone and fine and gross motor skills ( ie; using your hands effectively/ ambulating effectively).........depending on the level of your child, that could look like a million different things. It could be working on walking up steps, grasping items between your thumb and index finger, stretching, working on self-care............if you're looking at taking some of this on yourself, it's a good idea to figure out what the greatest needs are first and then go from there.................my daughter has difficulty with both fine and gross motor skills. for now our focus has bben on fine motor skills. her handwriting used to be quite atrocious, but with practice she's getting better. Fine motor exercises we've used include: putting paperclips on an index card, attaching clothespins to a greeting card, painting her nails, playing with bubbles
( for her this is mostly about being able to open the bottle of bubbles), doing various arts and crafts projects, and using theraputty. theraputty is sort of like playing with silly putty but it offers a bit more resistance. you can find it at a medical supply place, or places that specialize in rehabilitative services. ( i understand it's also used for anyone wanting to gain back lower arm strength after surgery).....another good fine motor exercise is screwing and unscrewing nuts and bolts. you could set up a tray with the parts and have your son put them together and then take them apart.

Perfect parent. You are. I know that wasn't the question. But wow.

I would try to find a private speech therapist for your son. My son only had 1 word when he started speech therapy at age 24 months and with a year of speech, he was close to typical with vocabulary and his articulation was considered normal for his age. Language was not important to him and he knew I could figure out what he wanted, so he didn't see a need to talk. When he had to work with the speech therapist, I think he started to realize that he needed to communicate.

My son's therapist only worked with him for 1 hour per week. I sat in on the sessions and I figured out what she was doing to get him to talk. The out-of-pocket expense would be worth it if your son can acquire speech.