Aaron's new OT report

Aaron's updated diagnosis - Sensory Integration disorder, with hypotonia and lack of coordination. This isn't a big change from his last assessment a year ago. I'm really glad we have him back in therapy....wish there was a quick fix, both for his sake and ours.

Sara (his new OT)wrote this summary: Aaron presents with deficits in the areas of fine motor skills, visual motor skills, self care skills, and sensory issues. Treatment techniques that will be used include therapeutic exercises to improve motor control, therapeutic activitis to increase motor planning, bilateral coordination, and fine motor skills, and neuromuscular reeducation through equine tri-planar movement.

Peabody Developmental Motor scales: grasping - poor, visual-motor - average

Sensory Profile Caregiver Questionnaire (lots of categories, only listing concerns):
touch processing - definite difference, oral sensory processing - probable, auditory processing - probable, modulation related to body position - probable, modulation of movement affecting activity - probable, modulation of senorty input affecting emotional responses - definite difference, emotional/social responses - definite difference, behavioral outcomes of sensory processing - probable

Greenhill Therapy

Aaron started occupational therapy again, but now he is going to a new therapist since he has aged out of First Steps. On the horse he rode facing forwards and backwards, played basketball, and worked on some fine motor movements using clothespins. Inside he used the bumpy slide and a really challenging swing. The photo with the crazy expression is from right after he pushed a big ball through a fabric tunnel. His therapist is also continuing to work on motions crossing the mid-line of the body, like making big X's on a chalkboard.

Quiet Box

I'm getting ready to go to a 2 day PD (Cognitive Coaching), so I put together a box of quiet, settling activities for Aaron:

*pipe cleaners & pony beads
*play dough & tools
*dinosaur lacing cards
*pom-poms with straws and tongs
*feathers & straws
*piggy bank and coins
*texture plates, paper, and special pencils

I also put in a stretchy headband and exercise bands for more active play with resistance. He's really on a puzzle kick right now - of course the puzzle he loves is an alphabet train missing 2 pieces which frustrates him. This morning we did some swinging and train in the stretchy fabric, but he wasn't in the mood for the peanut stability ball and I couldn't talk him into letting me turn him into a yoga matt burrito.

All of the OT work has been wonderful for giving me more ideas of how to play with him, and he's a much more pleasant child now.

Aaron is....

"a funky little dude," according to his 1st Steps Coordinator. I've been giggling about that since yesterday morning when we were talking about occupational therapist services with Jayne.