OT gym?

[lmh2402]

has anyone had an eval at an "OT gym"?

we recently had a speech language eval that resulted in recos that we go for an eval at an OT gym

of course, this all feels horribly confusing and circuitous, since the speech person is saying she thinks DS has sensory issues.

while we are currently in the process of being phased out of EI b/c they used to think DS had sensory issues...than they said he didn't.

so. confusing.

anyway, just wondering what to expect?

[Gena]

I'm not familiar with the term "OT gym". Can you explain what kind of facility it is? DS has been evaluated at a private therapy clinic, where he received both speech therapy and OT. I guess the OT room could be compared to a gym. Do you mean a place like that?

DS has fine and gross motor skill delays, so his OT eval included standardized assessment of those. The sensory eval was a questionnaire that I filled out and an interview With the OT.

DS gets APE (adaptive physical education) at school, which is kind of like having OT/PT with a gym teacher. (He also gets OT at school, but does not qualify for PT.) So maybe you mean something like that instead?

[Indianamom2]

I don't know if this is the same thing that you are referring to, but when DD recently had her sensory issues checked, she saw an OT at the local hospital's children's therapy center. Her entire evaluation took place in two "gyms" where there was all sorts of equipment including a slide, swings, bikes (trikes), balls, mats and a big foam pit. All she was being checked for was sensory issues.

It's all a little (or a lot) overwhelming, isn't it? To try to learn all the lingo and navigate all the therapies and evaluations and terminology is just enough to make your already worried and harried mind just feel totally overwhelmed.

Hang in there and ask lots of questions and mention everything. I have started taking the approach of just saying, "I'm going to tell you every little thing I can think of, in case it's important." Because quite honestly, I don't always know if something is important to the therapist/doctor or not. So now they probably get more info than they want or need, but every once in a while, something jumps out at them that I didn't necessarily think was that important.

[snowbunnies300]

I too have not heard of an OT gym. Most therapy places have rooms that look like a gym with all of the equipment.

[egoldber]

I think the SLP was just using an off the cuff reference to an OT therapy place which can indeed look like a gym.

while we are currently in the process of being phased out of EI b/c they used to think DS had sensory issues...than they said he didn't.

Is it the EI speech therapist who is recommending the OT evaluation? I would NOT let them phase you out without asking for more and thorough evaluations. Especially with the incidents you've posted about lately, I would ask for a behavioral expert to do an evaluation as well as the OT.

[lmh2402]

i am so tired. today was like a visit to hell and back.

so, an OT gym is pretty much what i think you all were telling me - it's a room in a facility that has a rock climbing wall, a few different kinds of swings, lots of different tactile stuff, and on and on and on

evaluator was very nice. DH was home today so the three of us went and DH spent first 15 min playing with DS in waiting room while the evaluator talked to me - asked questions, got history. she had asked me to send her a copy of our EI IFSP, all reports from docs and other evaluations and their massive intake form last week. so she already had a pretty good handle on our route so far.

she then had us all go into the room. and after about five min she asked DH and me to try and leave b/c she said DS was getting distracted by us - he kept running over and trying to show us stuff.

we left and i thought it was going well. i heard him laughing. and yelling. but whatever, in all it seemed ok.

after an hour they came out and she said he did well. he came out happily and seemed fine. and she was trying to talk to us, saying that he was showing clear signs of having some vestibular issues and pretty much zero threshold for frustration, and a few other things.

but before she could explain in depth, DS totally. totally. totally melted down. i don't know if maybe the session was too overwhelming for him. i know the purpose was to sort of push and test him to see where his boundaries are, right?

well, she must have pushed the right buttons b/c i kid you not. it was like a scene from a horror movie. it was JUST like what happened the other night with the bath (if you saw my post in the lounge). except, he wasn't naked and we weren't home.

it took me and DH. literally two of us to get him out of the building and into the car. i was going to try and ride it out in the building, but he started attacking people in the place - grabbing another little boy and hitting hm, pushing the evaluator and screaming "go away." attacking me and DH. it was awful.

so we got him in the car. and he screamed the entire 30 min ride home. and i am not exaggerating. i wish i was. and it continued once we got home. DH was stunned. he screamed and cried and threw himself and anything he could get his hands on.

his screams were like guttural sounds and his face was once again on fire. it stayed that way all day.

he lost his voice. he sounded like he had laryngitis for the rest of the day.

i can't even remember how or why he finally slowed down. but when i looked at the clock and he was calmly sitting in my lap, it was 12:40 and we had left the place at 11.

he was extremely short-fused for the rest of the day. and nasty. hitting and pinching for no reason. throwing his water cup across the room. he attacked our dog for the first time ever. literally tried to grab him and hurt him on purpose.

i don't know what to think.

the evaluator said that she was reco'ing OT twice a week. DH is making me nuts b/c despite being witness to today, he is now saying he thinks that we are getting conflicting feedback from EI and why do i want to believe this woman over EI?

in the bath tonight, DS has so many bruises on his body from the last few days i swear if someone were to look at him they might think he was being harmed by us.

i am at my wits end and just feel like bawling my eyes out.

he went to sleep tonight screaming that he wanted to wear his "car blanket" (sleep sack with car on it). but he also wanted his green sleep sack. just in the crib with him. and he wanted grey socks on. only grey.

i. can't. take. much. more.

[Gena]

Hugs.

I'm sorry you had such a rough day. I've had times like that with my DS too. It's hard and can be so discouraging.

It sounds like the session was challenging and exhausting for your DS. When my DS has new experiences that take a lot out of him, he often melts down for the rest of the day too.

Try to hang in there.

It's OK to say that the sleep sack and the socks are not battles worth fighting. If these specific items make your DS feel better, let him have that comfort.

[Indianamom2]

Oh my goodness. I am so sorry you're dealing with so much right now. The only silver lining in all this is that this time you had witnesses and hopefully now you can get some help or at least get headed in the right direction.

One thing that is making your son's tantrums worse is his lack of verbal skills. As he begins to talk more and be able to verablly express more, some of the tantruming will hopefully ease up a bit.

It is so hard when you're doing everything you can and getting all sorts of opinions and researching and learning about so many different things, trying to piece everything together. You want answers right now, but there aren't easy answers. And it's absolutely physically, but even more, mentally and emotionally draining to be where you are.

Hang in there and know that you are being the great mama that your son needs. You're doing the hard work to be able to get him the help that he needs. He's a lucky little boy and he will be okay.

[elliput]

I'm sorry the day was so rough for you. Your poor little guy had a very sensory rich day and obviously didn't know how to handle all of it at once. I have seen my own DD become overwhelmed like that, and it is heartbreaking because there really is very little we can do to help them sort through all of the information that their body and brain is trying to process.

You will be receiving a written evaluation from the therapist/evaluator, correct? I think once your DH sees everything spelled out, he will understand why it is important to get your DS into OT as soon as possible.

[egoldber]

Can you call the OT and ask her about what happened? I would ask to please include that observation in her report.

Was this evaluation part of an EI evaluation?