Unfortunately, there are still a lot of questions left unanswered. Our coordinator agreed that there are definitely concerns, not just with his speech, and said he needs a good OT. Unfortunately, it's doubtful that he'll qualify for any through the school at this time because they usually don't deal with "just" sensory issues.
I asked if we went to a developmental specialist and got an official diagnosis of some sort, perhaps SPD, if she thought it would help, and she said no. Some school districts do tend to be more generous with services when there are "medical" diagnosis involved (as I've had several of my blog friends with SN kids tell me had been their experience), but she said in her experience, ours is definitely not one of them.
She did say seeing a developmental specialist might still be a good idea, even if it didn't help with school services, but just to get another opinion on him as a whole. I'll have to think on this.
Other than that, just a wait and see. Wait until he's a bit older and closer to school-age for them to realize that his issues will affect his ability to learn (in a "school" sense, not learning in general, because he's already one smart cookie!). See if the small gaps that he does have increase as time goes by.
She kept apologizing that she wasn't able to do more for Isaiah, and that there probably won't be anything at least for the next 6-12 months, other than speech. I guess it's mostly my fault, though, for not pushing for regular OT sessions while we in the EI program and had the chance. :( We met with the OT back in October, but I suppose I thought that those issues would be more short-term, when they've remained the same/gotten worse.
Anyhoo, I'm remaining positive that things will work out. We'll figure something out, one way or another.
In the meantime, we'll definitely miss Carol and Debby, though!! I wish I could have got a better picture, but Isaiah was in a semi-grumpy mood and didn't want to sit for an actual picture. I just snapped this as he was saying goodbye.
3 comments:
In my experience with Robbie, OT is not a stand-alone service provided by the school district. They have to qualify for something else, such as speech. We had a developmental eval done by our local children's hospital and even that did not give us any merit with the school district.
We've since found a WONDERFUL OT who specializes in SPD. She has made a world of difference. I found her on the SPD Foundation website. I wonder if there is someone in your area?
I don't know if this varies state by state, but there should be services available for free preschool (I can't remember what it's called right now, I'm sorry), through your neighborhood school district. I am sure you've been through all these avenues, but I thought I'd mention it just in case. Try contacting the special education director in your neighborhood school and see if you can find out about early interventions through the school. I ALMOST had my kiddo qualified just for being gifted/emotionally disturbed - and kids with "just" speech problems qualify all the time. He should qualify on speech alone. Worth a try, I hope?
Thanks Tiffany! He does qualify for speech therapy, and will start with home-based ST this fall (via our local elementary school's special ed. preschool department). We aren't doing full-on preschool as we are planning on homeschooling.
Thanks Amy (sorry for not responding sooner!). According to the SPD Foundation site, there's an OT an hour from here. Not sure if we can afford it (our insurnace doesn't cover therapy of ANY kind), but will keep in mind if it comes down to it.
((HUGS)) for you both, and thanks for the support!
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