I'm not sure I understand what the shapes/sizes/stacking things have to do with OT (sorry to be dense). I would let the issue drop, if possible. It's not like the OT is performing an IQ test. I assume the OT is just doing OT, not an evaluation, right? Why doesn't she just worry about strenthening core and arms, which, as far as I can see, are not related to the stacking? Is she saying that the stacking/stair issue is a fine motor one or something? Or is she saying that has something to do with vision?
Most of my kids would not "perform" such a thing either - LOL, for example I don't know if they *ever* used the ring-stacking toy for its intended purpose, even as babies. (kind of reminds me of the evals they had when two of them were 3 y.o., with the school district - they were not interested in performing things like block stacking, etc. - the conclusion was that one of them was severely developmentally delayed.)
Having been through VT with a stubborn 6 y.o., I agree that it would be rather tough to get through it with a 4 y.o. However, it may be that they take a different approach with that age. I'd probably want to at least get the evaluation done, preferrably with someone who is experienced with that young age (e.g. our optometrist is not who I would go to; I know another one who has more extensive experience with the really young ones).
If you get the vision eval done, even if you don't pursue VT right now, you'll be able to see whether the OT is helping the vision issue when you repeat the vision eval in a year (or whenever). I do not trust the OT to correctly assess a vision issue via the simple copying of shapes - one of my kids, the one with the most fine motor issues, could not copy simple shapes. A few years later he took a particular test (Beary-something?) that had two compenents - something about visual perception, on which he scored in the 99th percentile, and a motor portion, which in contrast was at a very low percentile. It's clear that his problem is unrelated to vision (that reminds me, he's due for an annual vision checkup.)
FWIW, we did see improvement in vision due to OT with dd (we started VT, then stopped after a few weeks so that we could fit a short, intensive OT program into our schedule. when we re-started VT three months later, the vision therapist saw a dramatic improvement in her ability to do the exercises, and it was obvious to us as well. The OT had been combined with listening therapy, and primarily took place in an OT gym.)
The writing is a really good sign!
ETA: I just remembered something funny. At my 4 y.o.'s annual checkup with the ped (this child does not have SPD or any apparent issues), the ped asked him to draw a picture of a person. Per usual for my kids, he did not pass this test. But a few minutes later she looked down at his drawing - he had put his name on it, quite legibly. She was surprised, and as a result of the writing she had no worries about him.
Last edited by snowgirl; 09/30/10 09:26 AM.
