Posted by Claire on 8:10 Jan 16
In Reply to: How would I ask for an OT evaluation? Not sure what I would...m posted by MicheleB
ask around about good clinics. As a last resort, check the yellow pages. (This is what I ended up doing, and recognized a clinic that two people had previously mentioned as having a good rep.)
Call that clinic and ask if you should bring your son in for evaluation. Make a list of behaviors you have observed. They will probably also ask you questions. If they think he should be evaluated, ask them about medical insurance. OT clinics deal with medical insurance every day, and usually they can tell you *exactly* how a referral needs to be worded or coded to get coverage. Take that information to your GP or pediatrician for the referral.
In terms of behaviors, list anything that seems to be sensory-seeking or sensory-avoiding. The need to bounce around while playing video games is sensory-seeking. Mention the excessive movement compared to your other children. You could also mention the difficulty following verbal directions and the letter reversals.
Severe auditory processing disorders can interfere with vestibular development (balance, rhythm, timing) and problems with vestibular development can interfere with vision. That's why auditory processing problems often show up in OT evals, albeit on secondary levels.
After the OT eval, I would also advise getting a developmental vision eval for both boys. Letter reversals by themselves are not a big deal since they will eventually disappear as reading fluency is achieved, but letter reversals past the age of 7 are often an indication of visual efficiency deficits.
We went through this process with my dd when she was 8yo, in 2nd grade, and tested as reading on a pre-K level. (She was in private school at the time. We started homeschooling in 3rd grade.)
Her OT eval was largely normal -- too normal for insurance to pay for therapy visits -- but the eval did show that she had hypo-sensitivity in her lips and all around her mouth. This probably contributed a lot to her articulation difficulties. (She was in speech therapy for articulation from age 5 through age 9.) She also had some very atypical problems with her hands. (She was later diagnosed with dysgraphia at age 14.)
The OT eval, a speech/language eval, and an auditory eval all indicated she did *not* have an auditory processing disorder.
A developmental eval showed multiple severe visual efficiency deficits that had gone undiagnosed by her highly respected opthalmologist. (She had been wearing glasses from age 3.) Regular eye exams do *not* include tests of visual efficiency.
Anyway, hope some of this helps. Keep in mind that evals that come up negative are just as valuable as evals that come up positive. Just being able to rule out something is a huge step forward in figuring out what your child needs.