Tuesday, August 04, 2015

why? OT why ?

So the Psych says, he's got sensory processing issues. My niece on my side, and my nephew on my husband's side, have both got sensory issues, so I'm thinking "Yeah. I can see there might be a link". I put everything I have into finding an OT - it's insanely scarce in London. I ask everyone I know who might be able to help, even a friend whose son has Downs Syndrome that I haven't seen in 6 years. Slowly word trickles back, but there's not much. And then when I'm feeling desperate one evening, I get an email from a friend of a friend and BAM! I have a name. It's an OT in Mill Hill - not far from me. Only 18 minutes drive. Whoohoo!
I make an appointment, she sounds great.
I meet her. We talk. She is very sincere and keen to help.
And yesterday evening I take Zack. He goes in for his assessment. He is chatty and keen.
I sit outside for 30 minutes. Then I go in, and she says, she's baffled. She says he's absolutely fine and has NO motor-skill issues. She says he is completely well-developed and was quick at all the tasks. We talk for a while and she says she thinks all his issues may be behavioural and emotional, linked with the academic environment.
...
..
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WHAT !?!?!?!
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..
...
I don't know what to say. I want to scream and cry. I suppose I should feel relieved that it's ruled out one factor, but part of me is really sad, as OT is fun and creative. And it would have been a great foil to the muddy, messy, painful world of therapy. Zack doesn't want to talk to a therapist like the one he had. But if the OT is right, that's what he needs most - more behavioural therapy, more psych.
And to top it all off, he was listening at the door while the OT and I were talking (not great), and wanted to know if he could go to Boarding School (!). He was insistent that that's what we'd said, and that's what he heard. I denied it, but he was convinced. Bit of a yucky outcome really. I explored it a bit on the drive home, "Have you been thinking about boarding school before ? Where did you hear about boarding school? Do you have a friend who is at boarding school? What do you think boarding school is like?"
He doesn't have a friend at boarding school. Not that I know of.
We discussed the ins and outs of boarding school and I also said that he was a bit young to go.

I feel so weary about all this.



Anyone want to buy two enormous books on kids with sensory issues ? ahem.