What am I looking at?

[Anonymous]

My DD's preschool just recommended that we take her for occupational therapy (for motor skills and motor planning). Now they are saying that she doesn't play with the other kids and prefers to hang out with the adults (teachers and aides). Am I missing red flags for something? What should I be doing? I feel lost.

[Anonymous]

My daughter, who is 4, is in the same boat. I'm happy to talk to you offline if you want if you send your email.

[Anonymous]

I'd definitely like to hear about your experiences. You can email me at luvcheetos(at)hotmail(dot)com. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

OP here. I frogto. My DD is 4 as well.

[Anonymous]

Is she, for lack of a better word, shy?

[Anonymous]

to the op -- what specifically is the issue? i would seek more specifics from the teachers. does she initiate peer to peer contact when you're around? if this is an area of concern, you could set up playdates, and see if that improves the situation. if there are specific motor planning or sequencing issues, an ot can be helpful. if it's not very severe, you can get an eval and she can suggest at home methods for addressing the problem(s). if you haven't noticed a problem, i wouldn't get too worried. when there's something really wrong, you, as a mom or dad, know it. trust me.

for an eval, no one is better than teri kozlowski at ITS in kensington.

[Anonymous]

I second Teri Kozlowski, it was very worth the hike out to Kensington. My child had a similar feedback from teachers and has SPD, we do OT at Leaps and Bounds in DC and it has helped immensely.

If you want more information on the disorder read the Out of Sync Child and the Sensory Sensitive Child.

[Anonymous]

I did not like Teri Kozlowski. I thought she was a bit condescending, and with me as well as others I've worked with I felt she used scare tactics to try to force you into two sessions per week. Leaps and Bounds is great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD's preschool just recommended that we take her for occupational therapy (for motor skills and motor planning). Now they are saying that she doesn't play with the other kids and prefers to hang out with the adults (teachers and aides). Am I missing red flags for something? What should I be doing? I feel lost.

The red flags are for ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). This does NOT mean your child is Autistic. Trust me, no-one at your pre-school is a qualified diagnostician and they certainly can't perform an exam without your consent. What they are aware of, is what is called "secondary symptoms" for ASD. A little OT never hurt anybody - and at the pre-school level it's really fun anyway. However, a qualified OT can take a closer look and in addition to doing some great work with your child, can also refer you to someone who IS qualified to make such a diagnosis, should it come to that.

Not trying to scare you in anyway, just trying to answer your question in a forthright manner. It sounds like you're sensing they're suggesting something and yet being evasive. If so, that's because they are. They absolutely know they're not qualified to make a diagnosis, so they're pointing you in the direction of intervention should it be necessary. Even if it's not necessary, I've never heard of it being harmful so you do have little to lose by making an appointment.

HTH. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

19:05 here -- i'm sorry another poster had a bad experience with teri, but i just have to throw in one comment in her defense -- our daughter has SERIOUS issues and teri has worked tirelessly with her for a year and a half and she is a world away from where we started, and i can see areas where we have dodged serious problems, largely due to teri's efforts.

i know very few folks who go to that practice more than once a week (we are among them, but that's because our daughter really needed it), and i'm there all the time.

not to discount the earlier poster's experience, but i would practically take a bullet for that woman for all she's done for our family. seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD's preschool just recommended that we take her for occupational therapy (for motor skills and motor planning). Now they are saying that she doesn't play with the other kids and prefers to hang out with the adults (teachers and aides). Am I missing red flags for something? What should I be doing? I feel lost.

Sensory Processing Disorder or Sensory Integration Disorder would be another condition these are red flags for.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for giving me ideas of what my preschool is hinting at.

She definitely has motor skill "issues" so OT is not a bad thing. I just couldn't figure out where they were going.

[Anonymous]

Having gone through a similar thing, I would definitely recommend seeing an OT who can help you figure out what is going on. We also saw a developmental pediatrician but the OT may be able to tell you if that is necessary.

[Anonymous]

I find that with this kind of situation, the OT will be able to help you with a certain part, but you should also investigate social groups and also consider a thorough speech and language evaluation. The Social behavior could be related to an auditory processing issue which often goes hand in hand with motor planning issues.

[Anonymous]

Go to DIR Support Services in Bethesda if you want the best OT available. Go to Dr. Stanley Greenspan, a psychiatrist in Bethesda also, if you want the most accurate diagnosis possible. In my opinion Kennedy Krieger probably can't even dx as accurately or has as much knowledge as this guy, Greenspan. He's a genius. He's written a dozen or so books on not just autism but also on sensory integration disorder and regulatory issues. He developed floortime. He's actually the father of floortime. So you feel like you're seeing the best in the business.