OT Evaluation

Pediatric occupational therapy deals with fine motor skills, proprioception and vestibular input (body awareness), and sensory activities. I have found it very useful to get an annual or every other year OT evaluation so I can see the progress that Chelsea has made, develop new goals, and get fresh tips from a professional.

Our Preparation

To prepare for this visit, I thought of answers to the following questions. I find it useful as it directs my conversation with the occupational therapist doing the evaluation.

• What is my main concern that I want addressed during this visit?

• What do I want Chelsea to accomplish in this area?

• What daily areas are affected by her difficulties?

• What aspects of home life affect therapy?

• What are challenging physical skills/ movements for Chelsea?

• What are some feeding, play, social, or self-care difficulties?

The Evaluation

Chelsea was given the Peabody test, a common test for children up to age 5 or 6.

1. Block work! Chelsea was asked to build a tower with one inch blocks, and the OT looked at how she held the block, how many blocks tall she could stack, and if she could imitate simple designs.

2. Puzzle! This was a super simple puzzle- a wooden circle, triangle, and square. That was it. See the puzzle in the picture with all the Peabody test materials.

3. Unscrew a bottle with pom poms inside, and have Chelsea put them back in and re-screw the lid on

4. Lacing! Can she thread a shoelace in and out of a lacing card? The used a simple laminated piece of cardstock with 5 holes punched out, super simple to make!

5. String beads! Chelsea was given a shoelace and 5 beads and asked to thread them. (She TOTALLY rocked this one and the lacing activity, just so yall know! Yay for working on this at least 3 times a week at home!!!)

Quick tip: pipe cleaners make AWESOME first beading strings!

6. Fold paper. Then try ripping, crumpling, etc.

7. Draw a line, circle, dot to dot, draw a square, draw a line between two parallel lines

8. Cut paper. We tried to use normal scissors, then switched to the adaptive pop-open kind. It is easiest to have the kids cut not by putting their fingers in the holes, but by holding the entirety of the scissors in their hand.

9. Try a button board

10. Touch fingers to thumb, as if signing the numbers 6, 7, 8, and 9 in American Sign Language (other sign languages can be VERY different)

Tips

Always start therapy (speech, physical, occupational) with a sensory activity!

"Crash" into things! When in the hammock, have the child crash into your legs, pretend to topple over. This sends a small jolt through the child, "waking up" their senses. Same with having the child "push" you over

Try a supervised meal blindfolded. This is less visually overwhelming, and have child practice picking up fork or spoon

To correct a pencil grip, try triangular crayons, broken crayons, or use a whiffle ball.

Correct grip

The Results

At almost age 3, Chelsea scored in a 19 month old range. This time, she scored at about a 32 month range. That is 14 months worth of improvement over a 34 month period. That is AMAZING!!!

Yes, Chelsea learns slower than most kids, but she is STILL LEARNING!!!!! That is not ever to be discounted! ANY CHILD CAN LEARN!!!!