OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: It's the Little Things that Make Life BIG!

A special thanks to Cindy at www.yourkidsot.com for sharing this special post to celebrate OT Month. What follows is a mother’s experience of how sensory processing affects her son and how Occupational Therapy helped him.

Do you think Tom’s OT treatment has had long-term benefits in the way he processes sensory information?

It was explained to us that Tom would not be “cured,” but that he would be more able to manage his sensory issues. With tactile processing – 4 years later, Tom is much more able to tolerate strange and different sensations. There still are issues at times, like this year with the change into a winter uniform, and the button at his neck and the buttons on his wrists “hurt.” He still interprets someone bumping into him, or treading on his foot, as them hurting him and reacts more than another child would. As parents we can now understand, and respond more helpfully to him. He also has more skills to manage this too. With auditory processing - Tom is now able to be quite focused in class, and is doing well academically. There are times when he is unsettled, that I need to work to get his attention, but on the whole he is managing well with focusing attention. With vestibular processing - Tom is now much more able to be involved in physical activities and doesn’t have the same anxiety stopping him. He is still careful with rides at shows and theme parks, and will assess carefully beforehand if it is something he thinks he can manage. He is able to get involved in school and youth group camps well, and generally participates as would be expected.  Thankfully, Occupational Therapists who specialize in Sensory Processing Disorder do have lots of tools to help our kids function more effectively!

To read more of Tom's story, click HERE.

To read the previous "little things" post in the series, click HERE!