OT Eval

So we took Mateo to an outpatient OT (occupational therapy) clinic and had mixed results. Not in the fact that he could use therapy, he definitely can. But in my interpretation of this particular place. First of all, the therapist was one of those people who stands just a little too close, and then doesn't pick up on the hint when you keep taking a step back. Aside from invading my personal space multiple times, she was a bit scattered. I would say she is NOT a very down-to-earth person. In fact, I'd say she was on her own planet. The whole thing was just a little bit too "out there" for me. Even her approach was very alternative. And I don't have a problem with alternative treatment, but when it doesn't make sense to me and I can't find a lot of research on it, I tend to now want to waste my time and energy.

She also freaked Mateo out a bit. When she wanted to interact with him, she didn't really talk to him or explain what she was doing. She just kind of did it and made silly noises and songs at the same time. Mateo is not used to interacting with people from a different planet. Not that we don't sing or aren't silly at all. But we're not completely illogical or cuckoo. She would grab him and try to touch him to check his flexibility or whatever and at the same time (I suppose to distract him) would say, "La, la, la, la, do you like to sing? Mommy mommy mommy, I like saying mommy." And Mateo looked at me like, "what is with this lady?" Maybe it would have worked if he was younger. But as delayed as he is, he does have a clue.

But he doesn't like to be touched by people he doesn't know or when it's not on his terms. He loves people and is very social, but he has a hard time with people who are very forward. He likes to be in control of things. And with this person trying to touch him and being completely ridiculous, he was very nervous and clung to me a lot, which is not like him. So it wasn't a good fit. I think for someone who was more interested in an alternative approach, instead of just straight SI therapy like me, and for someone who didn't mind the therapist's personality, it could work. She was very knowledgeable and seemed to have some amount of skills. But I need to be able to communicate efficiently with my son's team of teachers and therapists, and there was just no satellite service on this lady's planet.

So we are getting another eval at a different place, a more traditional SI therapeutic facility, with a "normal" therapist. And hopefully will be able to start therapy soon.

My next post is going to be about all of the struggles we have with Mateo in detail and what we're in the process of figuring out. Stay tuned, it will be an intense one. And then to balance that, I have a funny post about ridiculous ideas and suggestions in parenting magazines. Seriously, are the people who edit these even parents?

Therapeutic Listening

Mateo is starting this new program my mom (who is an OT) just got certified in. It's called "Therapeutic Listening". It's an Occupational Therapy tool for kids with Autism but also for other "issues" that relate to Mateo such as; impulse control, attentiveness, calming the sensory system, flexibility (in life, not body) and adaptability, motor planning, spacial awareness, fine motor skills, sleeping patterns, and speech and language improvement. The program consists of a special set of headphones and a series of CD's specific to each task. Mateo wears the headphones playing the CD on shuffle for thirty minutes twice a day. Okay, so we haven't quite reached 30 minutes yet. But hopefully we'll get there. We're doing a lot of bribing. But the child can still run around and play even with the headphones on and it doesn't block normal sound so they can still hear what's going on. It's actually really cool to listen to because the music is played a very specific way to trigger the brain to listen better and I think make certain connections in different parts of the brain. It sounds like someone is playing around with the volume on the CD, but that's the way it's supposed to be. I can't wait to see if we get any results.

We also made an appointment to have Mateo evaluated by an outpatient Occupational Therapist. He is attending Special Ed in our school district (starting tomorrow, actually) and he will get speech therapy and possibly OT (they are waiting to see how he does in the classroom first), but I feel that he needs more specific sensory integration therapy that the school does not provide. But this outpatient clinic has a special room (like a playroom with mats and stuff) that is all for sensory play and therapy. And that's what I'd like for Mateo. The sensory integration therapy combined with the therapeutic listening is supposed to have the biggest effect.

We've always said Mateo was a challenge, strong-willed, persistent, spirited and all that, even on this blog. But now that he's three, I feel like we're encountering more than just typical spirited child stuff and we're at a loss about how to manage him. Don't get me wrong, there are times when he behaves very well. This is especially true for babysitters and in public. But at home, he can be really difficult. So we're trying to pinpoint what he's having difficulty with in order to help him, thereby helping us. We've tried everything we can parenting-wise. I've read all the books, talked to an adoption therapist, been to conference about behavior, and tried lots of techniques. Unfortunately, nothing works. And really, I mean nothing. The main issues are what I mentioned above, but what make parenting him a challenge is his impulsiveness, his inability to listen long enough to be corrected, coping with change/transitions/"no"/waiting, and his frustration tolerance. Obviously lots of 3 year old's have these problems. But like I've always said, with Mateo, it's to the extreme. And I don't think it's about behavior anymore. I think the issue is something more organic, if that makes sense. Which is why we're trying different therapies, and even chiropractic care. Anyway, I'll write more about this another time.

If you're interested in learning more about "Therapeutic Listening", you can check it out here. And if you're interested in learning more about sensory integration, you can explore that same website.

I'll post any successes we have in the future. Comment below if you have any questions or comment (especially if you've tried this therapy before).