Aaron/Aharon started PT this week. He is the only baby I know who crawls and pulls to stand, but still (at 10 months) can't sit without falling over. So physical therapy it is. He screamed for pretty much the whole thing (which means it is working, according to my therapy experienced friends) but I have absolute confidence in the wonderful therapist. He didn't qualify through early intervention, since a baby needs a 33% delay in one area or 25% in 2 areas, and he didn't meet those criteria, especially since they count him as a month younger than he is, because he was born under 36 weeks. Since we had him evaluated at 9 months, and they counted him as an 8 month old, and he does everything else that he should be doing at this age, he didn't qualify. But since sitting seemed like kind of a vital skill, we decided to do it privately. Meanwhile, he said his first words two weeks ago (Abba and Hi) got his second tooth yesterday, and we think he says "Ah-Ra-Ra" for Amira! I am convinced that this "sleep through the night" is a myth, though, since that has yet to transpire.
Amira is loving third grade and the only issue we have had so far is that her substitute (her teacher had a baby about a week ago!) has them read every night and bring the book into school the next day to show her, and I have had to list every single possible time that Amira may not read. For example: At Lunch, while walking, during recess (no reading, only running), during snack, really any time at all, because the first time she was allowed to bring a novel to school, she came home having read all 397 pages. Academics are not a problem for her, thank G-d, but I want her to socialize, too.
Now Yaakov...well, Kindergarten is going well so far, he is certainly learning a lot. But his teacher seems to have already decided that he has "sensory issues" and needs OT. After about a week of school. I know that he doesn't really sit still, and that he doesn't like loud noises (although a friend of mine commented, when I was telling her all this, that we have a quiet house, which really is true) and doesn't like glue dried on his hands (these were her examples of reasons he might need to be evaluated for OT) but I am wondering why it is that we need to rush every single child into some sort of therapy, and not just let them be children....granted there are places where therapy is very important (see above PT situation for the boy who won't sit) but maybe it is just maturity? Maybe not, and I am sure I will be hearing much more about this, but I am feeling worried and a little sad about this. Last year his teacher told us many times that he never looked like he was paying attention, that during circle time he would be standing on his head, playing with his shoelaces, but that he was always able to repeat everything they learned back, and was clearly grasping all the material. Before Succos this year, he was telling us the story of Yonah and the Whale and what his teacher told them, and then said, I remember a poem that (his Pre-K teacher) taught us last year, and proceeded to recite the whole thing perfectly. And last night after dinner, I was testing Amira on the translation of Hebrew verbs for a test that she has, and when she got stuck on one, we heard, quietly from under the dining room table where he was playing with his lego's, Yaakov pipe in with the correct answer. He remembered it from last week when I was testing her. If they tell me that he needs to be evaluated, I will do that. And if they tell me that he needs OT, I will do that as well, but part of me just feels frustrated that we can't just learn to work with how he learns, instead of just assuming that everyone needs to learn the exact same way.
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Just a story for you. My daughter, who is now 6, has received a "suggestion" for some sort of eval (OT?) every year since she was 3. For very similar reasons--could not sit still/disinterested in circle time. Fear of loud noises. Bright and creative but not a traditional learner. Marches to her own drummer. Maybe some sort of sensory processing? Or ADD? Or just socially awkward.
ReplyDeleteAfter 3 years of this, I was a basket case before sending her, my square peg, to first grade, where there is a big transition to "frontal learning" (teacher stands at the front and teaches; kids basically sit and pay attention) and homework and school bells.
Guess what? She's doing amazing. She is a little scattered and disorganized with her materials (she is an artist, so she doesn't like to be told to choose only one color crayon, etc), but she is attentive in class, participates in discussions, got selected to be pulled out for more challenging work, etc.
It's not perfect, as she's having a hard time at recess (whole school out in the yard at once), but in terms of class? I think she's finally really interested in what's going on--and the school she goes to allows for a lot of creative expression. I mean, within the confines of the Israeli public school curriculum, but still.
This novel is to let you know that I totally agree with you--therapies have their place (my son had months and months of speech), but sometimes just maturity on the part of the kids or creativity on the part of their teachers can make all the difference.
Hatzlacha to you!
shira, i totally hear you on this. when a child doesn't respond to a certain type of learning/parenting/teaching, there seems to be this push to diagnose him with something, as if simply being 3 (4, 5, 6?) wasn't enough. i understand the need for therapy when it is warranted. but i also think it's easy to get into the mindset of "let's adapt the child to the learning/teaching style", when shouldn't it be the other way around?
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