Thursday, July 12, 2007

He's the Boss

Have I mentioned that my son is in occupational therapy? He just started, this week. He receives it three times a week, on Tuesdays at 10 a.m., Wednesdays at 10 a.m. and Thursdays at 8 a.m. Guess what time he wakes up usually? Around 7:30. Guess what time he takes his morning nap usually? Around 10:30. So, he is no good for his 10 a.m. appointment and even worse for his 8 a.m. appointment. I think that a 9 a.m. appointment would be ideal, but of course, it is not available.

For those of you who are familiar with taking a 15- month old to occupational therapy, it is relatively painless (or so one would think). The focus is eating and playing, sounds pretty sweet to me. My son also had physical therapy for 2 months, which was much more intense, and much harder. There he was forced to do things like sit up, roll over, get into four-point, and eventually crawl. He cried and cried, but he worked while crying.

The thing is, he had physical therapy first, which made sense since he was further behind in large motor development than fine motor development, and therefore, this was more of a concern. Now, though, it is time for occupational therapy. It is at the same facility, with therapists who wear the same outfits as the PT's, they wear scrubs. So, guess what happens? My son doesn't even give OT a chance. He is so traumatized from PT, that as soon as he gets in there, he cries. And cries and cries. He doesn't settle enough to allow himself the time to realize that the OT's are not going to make him crawl, or get on his knees. All they want to do is play and help him eat (two of his very favorite things, and two of the things he is REALLY good at while at home).

The poor guy does cry the whole time. The problem is, he can't cry and eat, or cry and pick up small toys and play with them, the way he CAN cry and crawl. It is very different. The poor occupational therapists. They both have questioned what the physical therapists did to my poor son to traumatize him so much. He has had three sessions so far. The first session he cried. The second session he cried on and off, but definitely did better. The third session he cried even harder than at the first. Unfortunately, the third session is the only one my husband has been able to attend thus far, so he is not feeling encouraged. And, time is not on our side. We only have 60 consecutive calendar days of therapy (not 60 consecutive sessions, but calendar days. Which comes to be less than 2 months, which is why we bring him three times a week. Insurance really sucks sometimes!)So, by the time he is comfortable with the therapist and understands that OT is different than PT, it will be time for his therapy to end.

The therapists are very kind and compassionate to my son. I really feel for them, too. Today's therapist said that my son is very sensitive, and my husband agreed. I tend to think that rather than sensitive, he is very smart, and expressive. He is the one who is dominating the sessions, and he lets us know how he feels about it. As soon as we leave the room, he is feeling better and by the time we reach the car, he is all smiles. Guess what he did when we got home? Ate breakfast and played with his toys! Can you imagine? What we asked him to do was so terrible, he wanted to do it at home, immediately! I have always said, he is strong-willed, and will do what he wants, on his time. Just like at physical therapy, they would try to get him to turn or crawl, and he would REFUSE. But guess what he would do at home while playing? Turn, crawl, and whatever else he has just refused to do in physical therapy.

Sensitive? Naw, I say he is just exerting his authority. That's my boy.

1 Comments:

At 10:43 PM, Blogger Smart Socratics said...

I agree, he's not sensitive. He's been traumatized. I wonder if they could work with him in a completely different setting, perhaps in the hall or waiting area. He needs to see that it is different to get the drift that he doesn't have to be afraid of them and what they are trying to do. Ask them about that.

BTW, he's a real cutey pa tootey!

 

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