OT willing to advocate in regards to school

[Anonymous]

My DD has sensory issues, and I know we need OT. I am looking for a private OT who may be willing to evaluate DD, and help me take my issues up with her school in regards to socialization and self regulation. Has anyone had an OT willing to observe their child in the public school setting? I am also hoping to find someone who will give me activities to do at home to speed up the process/minimize costs. We are in Bethesda. Many Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend Dynamic Development on East West Highway. I haven't used them to advocate in public school (my dc is in private) but I would be surprised if they didn't do that (when my dc was in public in another state, I always brought his private OT to IEP meetings). I have also gotten a home program from them.

[Anonymous]

You might be better off spending the money on an advocate who understands the system; for example, you can't get an iep based solely on the need for OT to deal with spd, or even some fine motor challenges - it's a related service, and not by itself a "code" on which an iep can be based. You need a diagnosis code that reflects an impairment that impacts learning - one that is recognized in maryland's sped law. Then you can get your ot eval to jump off of that. My dd's bethesda public school ot told me, however, that she doesn't have the equipment to do the body reg/spd work with kids; she only does the fine motor stuff. We saw a private ot (and still do) for that. The only time we got any body reg/spd stuff from the ot was during her preschool years through infants & toddlers.

Maybe you'll have a different experience, though. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I would strongly encourage you to get an full evaluation from a developmental pediatrician. An OT cannot help you with socialization issues and the self-regulatory stuff is a grey area. If you need an advocate for school, you need a formal diagnosis from the right professional.

Again -- and I apologize for beating this drum -- SPD is not a medical diagnosis. If there is another diagnosis you need to have it to ensure the school is meeting your child's needs.

[Anonymous]

I am 22:22 and I wholeheartedly agree with the pp's. I still stand by Dynamic Development for OT (low tone, fine motor, sensory) but they are one piece of our team -- my dc also has a neuropsychologist/advocate who went to his IEP meetings at public school here, a developmental pediatrician who helps with big picture/medication, a speech therapist who helps with social skills and processing issues. In the past he has seen a psychologist and gone to social skills groups for his social skills). Would I bring Dynamic to my dc's public school if he was still there? Yes, b/c his fine motor skills do really impact his learning and his OT could attest to that as well as his ST about his processing issues. But I would also bring the neuropsychologist/advocate who did the testing and if I could only bring one, I would bring advocate. OT helps a lot but you can't rely on the OT for everything. At a minimum, I would advise to get a developmental pediatrician involved to get the big picture.