What to expect at OT assessment?

[Anonymous]

My 3 yr old son is scheduled to be evaluated by an OT soon for suspected sensory processing issues. Just curious what other people's experiences have been. Have parents been allowed to stay in the room during the evaluation? If so, what kinds of things do the OTs ask the kids to do? The lady who scheduled the appt said that kids usually have a lot of fun during the assessments but didn't elaborate. She said it takes an hour or so. Did the OT ask you to fill out paperwork? Did the OT meet w/ you afterwards to talk to you about it? Does the OT use his/her best judgement or is there an actual test that shows the child has some sensory issues. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

When my kid was assessed, we were in the room providing a running commentary about what was going on to a second evaluator; kid and the first evaluator were off on the other side of the room doing stuff like puzzles, balance beam, coloring on the whiteboard, etc. Probably a few too many "hey, let's do this" directed activities for the kid's taste, but certainly not anything freaky.

[Anonymous]

It has been a couple of years but I remember things like coloring, cutting, swinging, spinning (they look for a certain eye response to the motion), jumping - basically moving in various ways plus testing fine motor skills and checking for sensory sensitivites. There is usually a questionaire for parents and there are actual evaluation forms that they are filling out. For kids it is fun, they also usually really like OT too. I think I was in the room for part of the time and they were in another room for part of the time, it depends on the child's age and they will wait until the child is comfortable so that they can get the most accurate read on their abilities. Good luck!