Friday, February 6, 2009
Occupational Therapy
As I had mentioned before, Brennan currently sees a Physical Therapist once a week. The Early Intervention program that Brennan is part of has fairly rigid guidelines they follow regarding at what age various services or therapies are added. For the first few months, I felt comfortable with the fact that he was only getting physical therapy. Considering his very, very low tone - it made sense that he should focus on being able to hold his little head upright before starting to work on anything else. When he was about six months old and had good head and neck control, I started requesting additional services. In my opinion, the more help he can get through therapy, the better. Each time I requested a new service, Brennan's coordinator would very politely explain that he was simply too young. After much persistence, I was able to get Brennan to see a speech therapist - the catch being that I would have to take him to her office (instead of her coming to our house as most therapists do) since she is a contractor and not a Early Intervention employee. So, when he was 7 months old - he started seeing a speech therapist. I now feel that he may be ready to add another therapy, with Occupational Therapy being the logical next step. So, today Brennan had an evaluation with an Occupational Therapist. She played with Brennan for a while, gave me a few suggestions of things to work on with him, and said she was very encouraged by her observations of his abilities. However, in the end, she concurred with the coordinator that he isn't ready to have an OT assigned to him. She said an OT really can't work with him until he has good trunk control and is able to sit independently. It left me feeling frustrated and confused. Should I trust what they say and wait a couple (or more) months to start OT, or should I start pursuing therapies outside of our early intervention program? Will he be adversely affected by not having additional therapies? It's so hard to know the "right" thing to do. I want to give him every opportunity to learn new skills, but also want him to be able to be a baby and not totally overwhelmed with therapies....especially if they may not really benefit him at this point. Ugh! What's a Mom to do?
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6 comments:
Oh man. I am totally in a similar position. But what's weird is that Dylan only receives OT and every time I ask about speech or PT I am told that they are all "developmental therapists" and therefore do alot of the same things. Im not sure Im buying it, honestly.
So yeah. Sorry I dont have much advice for you. I do understand your conflict, tho. This is tough...
We had PT from the beginning and added ST at 9 months because our geneticist said we had to. We were never allowed more than two therapies through EI, which is ridiculous. I'd say pick up whatever you can, even if you have to go private. You are never going to get what you think you need from EI ... that is just how it is in most states, as much as it sucks. That said, at his age, he is primarily working on gross motor rather than fine motor, so you just have to decide. Your PT and ST should also be able to give you some OT tips. They all have always told me they dabble in other areas, even if that isn't their specialty. Sucks, I know. Good luck!
I also just read Laurie's comment and the fact that Dylan isn't getting PT boggles my mind. I'd get private therapy. Many times around here our kids are denied because of the county's waiting list, so they get picky with who gets it. It is a joke. When our kids are young, I'd say PT is the biggest one you should have.
I just posted a really long comment and blogger ate it. Crud! I, personally, would add OT privately if your county won't give it to you. We've had Stella in private PT and OT since she was 5 mos (way before she sat independently). I think I've seen WAY more growth from her in the last five months in response to the private therapy than we did in the first 5 mos. from the county educator. It's worth it!
We're ONLY getting an educator, so it's great you're getting two services thru your county.
I've GOT to add ST. Really, really, got to. Dang STs won't take insurance, tho!
Wow, I would go the private route for OT if you can. Jack has had it for a while, and he was not sitting independently. He still cannot sit long. His fine motor skills are better than his gross motor, and I think that OT helped.
I think you are doing a wonderful job with everything, especially with pushing for and getting speech therapy, even if you have to take Brennan to her office (sorry you have to do that, by the way - but i think it is awesome that you are doing it!!!) Whitney is getting OT & PT and we were able to at ST in December (really Jan. because with the holidays and her recovering from heart surgery I think we only saw the ST once). The only reason they approved ST for us is because Whitney needed help with swallowing and taking a bottle. Now that she is taking a bottle we are just lucky to already have it in place (I have talked to other parents in Indiana that were not able to get speech services until 12-18 months, so I feel very lucky). I would say be persistent and go with your gut... if you can figure out a way to get private therapy until the state will approve OT, see what you can do - but at the same time, I will tell you our OT does a lot of the same things that our PT does at this point (Whitney is still only 5 1/2 months old)... Best of luck with figuring out the therapies!!! Don't you feel like we need counselors or advisers to help us with all of the "figuring out" we have to do!!! :)
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