My daughter works with the OT at her school - they work with her mainly on things like her fidgeting, being aware of her body, sensory needs, etc. They work to redirect the inappropriate actions (chewing on things, tipping in chairs, making strange noises) into more socially acceptable things. They aren't a 'therapist' per se, but since they do work with kids/people with challenges they have many of the same ways of approaching topics and addressing the kids/people.

I think they're good in conjunction with other help (or maybe if your son won't do anything else it's an option), but I found that the OT was so focused on physical reasons and problems that she missed the bigger picture - example: In preschool an OT came to observe my daughter and watched her stumble a few times. She indicated in her report that my daughter had a lack of development in her large muscles that contributed to this problem and recommended therapy. Since my daughter really wasn't normally klutzy, I looked at other options and found that in truth the shoes my daughter was wearing were clumsy and caused her to trip and stumble. When she stopped wearing them, she never tripped again. The OT was so focused on this perceived problem (because that was her job) that I feel we missed a true diagnosis for longer until we engaged a behavioral therapist.

Everyone's experience is different - that's just mine, and perhaps more OTs branch into other areas of therapy more.

My son goes to an OT once every two weeks, that is all our insurance will cover. They do focus more on physical excercises that are supposed to have an all over calming effect. The problem is some of them you are supposed to do several times in a day to have any lasting effects and with both parents working it's just not feasible. I continue to take him because it's one thing he actually doesn't fight and for now enjoys the sessions. We would probably see more success if he went more often but that's not possible. My hope is over time he'll learn to do some of these calming techniques on his own, right now he is only 6 so we have to initiate everything for him.

Mine is 13 and I pretty much still have to do everything for him too. It's frustrating but if that's what he needs...that's what I'll do. Thank you both for the input. I am waiting to hear back from the facility to see if they got a prescription from his doctor. Our current therapist is telling me to just leave him alone and cut out all therapies for a while, but I hesitate to do this as he has been pretty self negative lately and I am afraid he may do something to hurt himself. I hate feeling this desperate and all of this is costing a fortune even with insurance. I wish he'd just cooperate and accept the help so we don't have to keep moving on to the next therapy and have to pay for a new evaluation every time.

My son is supposed to be seeing one through the school, they were supposed to work on his fine motor skills because he can't print and is in grade 3. The OT does not exist and I was told to see one privately. The cost is $100/hr we don't have coverage and I can't afford to pay that. I am frustrated because both of my kids need this. My youngest has many issues to work on and this would help him so much.

That's too bad LiannaMe. the company I called said that the cost would be anywhere between $40 and $100 per session and the evaluation fee would be closer to $200. I don't think my insurance will cover this type of therapy but am not sure. I don't even know if I am going to do it or not. It sounds like it is mostly for physical aspects, my son struggles more with emotions such as anger and frustration.

The reason I looked into the OT was to help with my son's anger and low frustration as well. His school doesn't have one. I called my insurance first to see if they would cover it and it varied with the diagnosis. When I mentioned it to the pediatrician, he didn't sound too convinced since he thought they were only for help with motor skills. But he ordered the prescription anyway with my prompting. The evaluation was expensive but I think as parents we want to try to exhaust all avenues and possibilities of helping our children succeed. When meeting with the OT i explained specifically what his issues were - angry outbursts, low tolerance levels, he has some anxiety and nervous issues as well as sensory ( he tends to eat with his hands - even spagetti) They started doing some excercises with him that is supposed to be calming but to be honest i haven't been consistent with following through and doing them with him every few hours. We'll keep trying for a few months to see if we can see a difference or at least as long as insurance will cover it. Rockym, i understand your frustration, I honestly don't know if this is going to work but I feel I have to at least try... as for your son, it must be very hard to see him in such a negative state, with the OT, he wouldn't have to talk about his feelings but would get one on one attention that's positive. Maybe that's something he might be open to, whatever you decide, he is lucky to have you for a mom, never giving up...

Thanks sujavai-That was my thought, he wouldn't have to talk to a therapist, he would actually be doing something. I still haven't heard back from them, wonder if my son's ped isn't giving up the script. i will have to follow up with them today.

To tack on to my earlier response - I think that the OT can help with anger/frustration depending on where the anger/frustration is stemming from. If they are angry/frustrated because physical tasks that should be easy are really hard, then the OT is going to be extremely helpful.

If, like my daughter the anger/frustration is caused by the way other people act/things they do, it will be less so.

I think there's a combination in most of our kids. The OT helps my daughter with things like sitting in her seat and how to calm herself once she's upset - large movements, available tools within the school etc, - but that works because the OT is on-site. obviously it's not going to help if I have to set up an appointment and wait a week. :-)

It may be worth just talking to the OT on the phone to see what kinds of things they might be able to do. Then you could decide if it's worth it or not. Good luck!!