Fitness for Health instead of OT?

[Anonymous]

I'm thinking of stopping OT now 2x/wk and instead doing Fitness for Health 2-3x wk.

My son is going to turn 5 and has Aspergers, low tone, gross/fine and motor planning issues.

We've been doing OT for about 4 months and while I want him to work on the gross/fine motor and planning issues. I don't understand all the other stuff like "he is a sensory seeker" and stopping his stims (he jumps up and down when he gets excited, likes to run in circles). His stims don't seem to affect his life - he does it occasionally and only at home: No stimming at school. Has no behavior issues at school, no problems with transitions and does not have meltdowns/temper tantrums at home or school: No SPD issues. He has an IEP at school which addresses his social deficits and fine/gross motor issues.

DS really enjoys his OT session however but I find all the sensory stuff a turn off probably b/c I have no idea what is meant by "sensory issues". It sounds like from doing a search on this board that doing Fitness for Health may be what we're looking for and less expensive than OT. Can anyone who's done both OT and Fitness for Health comment. TIA.

[Anonymous]

OP, what happens when your DS does not have any OT for a couple of weeks like during holidays/vacation time? My DS regresses whenever he does not have OT for a couple of weeks even if he is involved in physical activities so I know OT is important and makes a difference. He is a sensory seeker like your son and likes to jump, but doing lots of jumping at home does not provide the same benefits as OT and I am sure some gym class would also not provide the same benefits. Whenever my son cannot have OT, I try to mimic what the OT is doing and I get him involved in lots of physical activities but it does not in any way work the way OT works for him. Regardless of how much physical activity I have him do, he regresses if he does not have OT twice a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, what happens when your DS does not have any OT for a couple of weeks like during holidays/vacation time?

OP: Nothing. His behavior stays the same but he's normally well behaved, better than most NT kids his age, so that's never been an issue. I have noticed an improvement in his gross and fine motor skills. The school OT and his handwriting tutor works on them too. I don't see any regression in anything when he does not have private OT. I'd like DS to have better coordination and improve his fine/gross motor skills but I'm not sure what we're trying to do by addressing the "sensory" stuff. His stims appeared when he turned four and they are mild, I'm not sure what's the point of addressing them since I get the feeling they may disappear on their own with maturity.

[Anonymous]

I have a kid with HFA. He had mild stims. He finger postures when he is thinking and he jumps up and down when he is excited. We did not try to stop them because they are not disruptive and they're not such that he seems too weird.

We did not take him to OT. We had no insurance coverage for it and couldn't afford it. There was just no way. We had the money for karate and swim lessons, so we started with that. We then switched to karate and gymnastics. He has improved greatly. I think most of his improvement can be attributed to karate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what happens when your DS does not have any OT for a couple of weeks like during holidays/vacation time?

OP: Nothing. His behavior stays the same but he's normally well behaved, better than most NT kids his age, so that's never been an issue. I have noticed an improvement in his gross and fine motor skills. The school OT and his handwriting tutor works on them too. I don't see any regression in anything when he does not have private OT. I'd like DS to have better coordination and improve his fine/gross motor skills but I'm not sure what we're trying to do by addressing the "sensory" stuff. His stims appeared when he turned four and they are mild, I'm not sure what's the point of addressing them since I get the feeling they may disappear on their own with maturity.

In that case, I agree, maybe you can stop OT.