Yesterday I got a note that DS5.3 (in Kindergarten) pushed and punched his OT (he gets some OT help with writing once a week). He's not a violent kid. Won't hit or anything like that unless provoked (as part of play) or unless he feels threatened in some way. He's mildly on the spectrum (PDD-NOS) and has really bad Sensory processing problems (they come and go but when they come, he's all out of sorts). I am not excusing his behavior, he knows he can't do that but what I don't understand is how can he feel pushed so far out of his comfort zone by a THERAPIST that he feels the need to push and punch? I can see how it would happen ... him not writing what or how they want him to, the therapist trying to physically show him leading his hand or something along those lines and him not wanting her so close and touching him. He does NOT like people in his personal space but he WILL give a warning and will ask for his space and if he doesn't get it then he'll push you away. Shouldn't an OT see the warnings before something like this happens??? Or is it that because he's only getting school OT for writing (and private OT for sensory and other issues) they are not even paying attention to his other needs and are doing just the writing as if he was a "normal" kid? He had to have a conference with the principal as a disciplinary action. I spoke with the principal just for a minute and was told DS was supposed to write his name and he didn't and punched the OT ... so I know that's NOT the whole story. I just feel really bad for him. He's struggling with writing, it's starting to make him really frustrated and now even gets in trouble at school because of it
Anyone have experience with similar behavior in their child? How does the school handle it (when it's a 2E child, not just a child who's truly misbehaving)? Should the OT let it get this far???
