My son really liked his OT and he says he wishes he could go back, but our insurance only paid for a total of six sessions--one session every two weeks. Sensory integration therapy is not covered under our insurance plan, but the OT said was she was doing was sensory integration therapy and she showed me what we needed to work on at home.
At home I had a hard time getting him to do some of the things she suggested. I worried that he wasn't going to make those new neural pathways if he didn't do everything just right and do it every day like the doctor said we needed to do. Because of my extreme anxiety over other issues, I sometimes was not as patient with him as I should have been. He started asking me if I even liked him again.
The one thing I really wanted help with was getting him to the point where he could learn to swim and the only suggestion I got from the doctor and the OT was to get in the pool with him. His fear of putting his face in the water in the swimming pool was holding him back. He could do this in the bathtub, but not in the pool. So instead of fighting our insurance company, I am spending what I spent on co-pays for OT for a family membership at the YMCA. They don't offer private lessons and I told them about the instructor who called my son a wuss during group swimming lessons a few years ago, but they don't have any suggestions for how I can get him swimming, so I guess we will have to do this on our own. He wants to conquer this fear. He was almost there several months ago but the two week swimming lesson was almost over by the time he got his face in the water.
If we could have success with just this one thing I thing we could build on it.
He does like using all the different kinds of weight equipment at the YMCA, so if nothing else he can work on strength and endurance and I think when he does any kind of physical exercise it helps.
Lori:
The fear of putting his face in the water doesn't strike me as an SPD type of issue, especially if he does it at home in the bathtub. I don't believe that anything done in the OT clinic is going to help him with this issue. Except perhaps if the OT is able to help him develop more self confidence in general and more willingness to approach challenges.
I would think that just having him in swimming class on a regular basis or even just a regular opportunity to be in the pool (like family trips for swimming every week) with lots of time to enjoy the pool, have fun and develop skills in the water *without* putting his face in might eventually lead to him being intrinsically motivated to try his face in the water. In SI based therapy the key to success is having the child *intrinsically motivated* for mastering the task. That is what changes neural pathways and allows the child to create an adaptive respose (ie: do the right movement or sequence, etc). If the child is not intrinsically motivated then the "magic" of SI based treatment just doesn't occur. In good SI based therapy the child sets the pace, the therapist puts opportunities in place and then structures the opportunities to build success for the child. And, if done right, the child is convinced he did it all by himself! Then, voila! you have a child who is empowered to do more!
I find the approach works in most everything when working with children. Especially GT kids like mine!
Sounds like for the swimming thing he just needs more time and opportunities for success. He'll do it someday, I'm sure!
