Thanks for advice

Thanks everyone!!! The OT was lovely and gave me great tips. She said from what she saw that DD will qualify for OT this time around

Message edited 6/22/2014 1:40:58 PM.

Re: Would you request a new evaluator

part of me says maybe the same evaluator would be good to use since she can see that there has been no improvement and have something to base it upon. As they get a little older it is easier to qualify for things

Would you request a new evaluator

I would if that evaluator already told you just 2 months ago that they thought she wouldn't qualify. It should be easier for her to qualify since she is delayed in other areas so it doesn't need to be as much of a delay. Also, if a second person comes in and tells you there is not an issue, it maybe be easier to accept than having the same person come back who you may think already has their mind made up.

Re: Would you request a new evaluator

Use a different agency for the evaluation ! Could be that the agency has to outsource their OT evals and also doesn't have an OT division. OTs are in very high demand, and if the agency you use doesn't have OTs in their database, they may not have an incentive.

Meanwhile, if your daughter worked with a sensory trained OT so much of her development could progress.

However, they are correct in saying, you don't qualify for OT based on sensory issues but with that said...sensory issues can cause motor planning dysfunction and affect fine motor/learning/playing. I also have a difficult time believing your daughter will not qualify for OT if she qualifies for PT,...and speech. (after all speech is technically fine motor).

Feel free to FM me :)

Re: Would you request a new evaluator

I think generally, they wait 6 months to do another evaluation. I would ask for another evaluator, if you feel like the first one was not so good. The evaluation should be objective, so I don't think it would matter if you had someone else. When my DS transitioned to CPSE from EI, all of his new evaluations were done by different people, from the same agency.

Would you request a new evaluator

Thanks all! I'm going to stick with the same OT b/c I think anyone can clearly see her sensory issues. Hopefully she will qualify and I can get some support other than my own researching on how to address her sensory needs

Would you request a new evaluator

Thanks all! I'm going to stick with the same OT b/c I think anyone can clearly see her sensory issues. Hopefully she will qualify and I can get some support other than my own researching on how to address her sensory needs

Re: Would you request a new evaluator

My DD was a series idiopathic toe walker and walked on her toes 95% of the time it was horrible because she was constantly tripping and getting hurt. The underlying cause of the toe walking was sensory seeking. It delayed her gross motor skills and at 35 months qualified for PT under CPSE (she has no other areas of delay, including OT areas of fine motor, visual motor, visual perception or self care skills). I also brought her to DR Semel (physiatrist) to rule out any other medical cause (CP, Muscular a Dystrophy...). She was prescribed Bilateral hinged AFOs to stretch her heel cords and prevent the toe walking. The orthotics and PT worked wonderfully! Now she only walks on her toes occasionally. I am a pediatric OT with tons of sensory experience so I have been addressing the sensory processing delays at home and guiding the PT who she seems in a clinic setting (swings, therapy balls, ball pit, crash mat) We have been doing this for a year now and I'm pretty happy with her progress but will probably pay for OT this summer. Her PT and an OT are running a sensory motor group for 3-5 year old, 6 1hr sessions for $150! If your DD didn't qualify for OT 5 months ago she probably won't qualify now. How old is she? What were her scores on the PDMS-2? Is sensory processing your only OT area of concern, because if that's the case the SD probably won't approve OT. I can give you a ton of info regarding activities you can use at home. I have also found success will the alert program for self regulation.

Would you request a new evaluator

My son has lots of sensory issues as well and scored more than 2 standard deviations below avg in those areas, but did not qualify for OT because besides for scissor use, his other scores weren't too low.

Re: Would you request a new evaluator