To disagree with teacher that DD7 needs OT?

[SuperDuperC]

Based on her handwriting and being 'untidy'? Parents evening last week and teacher suggested that due to DDs posture, handwriting and being untidy she needs occupational therapy? I felt like the hand writing and pencil control is down to the gaps over the pandemic and that it will develop but I'm so worried I've missed something, teacher made it sound so serious and I've looked up OT and it'll close nearly £500 for sessions privately as public sessions have a 2 year waiting list.
Anyone with advise? Am I BU to disagree? Am I in denial? Or am I not BU as I know my daughter and that it will improve in time? 😩

Can really recommend this series for helping with hand writing & fine motor skills, our Educational Psychologist has recommended it and so far is proving helpful
'Write from the start'
www.amazon.co.uk/Write-start-Programme-Perceptual-Handwriting/dp/1855032457/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=write+from+the+start&sprefix=write+from+%2Caps%2C125&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1646755238&sr=8-1

OP I used to care for a little boy with dyspraxia and he LOVED his OT, it was so fun! And it helped him so much. If you can possibly afford it at all I would do it, can you make some cut backs in other areas? If she gets a diagnosis I assume she will begin getting OT in school at some point which would be free. These people are miracle workers, I really believe they're angels on earth. Even if they just help her develop those skills I think it's worth it.

I wouldn’t necessarily look at paying private but it can’t do any harm to go down the NHS referal route even if it ends up being cancelled when it comes up.

In the meantime talk to the senco and class teacher about how school and home can help. Look at hand strengthening exercises, trial different pencil grips, look at things like theraputty to help

This^^.
Also:

Write from the start

Speed up

You clould also try a writing slope, STABILO EASYoriginal Right Handed pen.

Otherwise it things that help with fine motor control - threading, play dough - scissor etc.

My daughter is dyslexic and hypermobile and probably dyspraxic (awaiting appointment with paediatrician), her handwriting is very poor. We saw an NHS OT last week and the only thing they recommended was a tilted board and stabilo easy start pen, using laptop more frequently, more breaks and kuracare cutlery. Your school should be able to refer you directly to your local child development centre (this isn't the case in all LAs but is here) but it could be something underlying like dyspraxia,dyslexia or hypermobility (it's worth having a google and see if any of these ring a bell), so if your school can refer to multiple services e.g OT, Physio and Paediatrician that would ve helpful. Speak to the senco at school about the process.

What BlackCoffeeInAPoolOfSunshine says I second. There's no harm at all in being put on the waiting list for OT, & if the Teacher has concerns, listen to them. Rarely is messy handwriting simply messy handwriting, & poor posture could be a symptom of various other issues. My DD2's Reception Teacher said at the end of the year that she thought DD2 had 'markers for dyslexia', & she was right on the money, though we had to wait years for a LA Ed Psych to diagnose officially. The quicker the diagnosis, the swifter the help. I wouldn't wait. I wish I'd pushed for more earlier (my DD2 now attends once a week at a specialist SEN learning centre where she's being taught touch typing, amongst other things. Her handwriting has improved more in the last year with their help than ever before & is now approaching neat! It looked like a 6 years old's a year ago, & a messy one's at that. She's in Year 6).

Ds had a writing slope made by his gf. Alternatively you can use a soft covered A4 folder, with paper inside for support, turned sideways. Also make sure she has feet flat on the floor and a chair with back.

Ds enjoyed his ot sessions. Lots of puzzles, obstacle courses, threading and stacking activities. If you have a large exercise ball sitting on it and lying over it helps, bouncing on a mini trampoline, climbing and encouraging high kneeling.

Both my DC have writing issues. DS1 has dysgraphia and mild dyslexia. DS2 has dyslexia.
I used to have to scribe for them in primary eg if they were writing a story at home. They both both moved to using laptops and were fine from there.
DS1 is now in Uni so it hasn’t held him back.

If it makes you feel any better we also failed to notice how long sighted DS2 was until we took his brother for an eye test and decided to get him checked. He ended up being referred to ophthalmology at the local hospital and needed one eye patched.

Surely the teacher isn't expecting you to get private therapy but suggesting a referral to an NHS OT. The reality of which, for us anyway is that they don't do much actual therapy but will assess and if necessary provides aids to help your daughter.

Thanks again everyone, compiling all of these suggestions and resources, also made a few calls today. Had I not popped on here I think I would have tried to ignore the issue so thank you again all 🙏🏻

SuperDuperC the occupational therapy really helped him be able to write smaller and without getting as tired, with the bonus of it being neater. It also helped in his case with other fine motor skills issues (he used a ruler strangely and this actually caused him to lose marks in maths, and the way he used a hand drill caused him unexpected high levels of frustration in woodworking, which they do in school where we live).

He's at secondary now and doing well - we're abroad in a different school system and he's at a more academic school type though he had to do an entrance exam as his teacher refused to recommend him (messy handwriting and poor spelling really annoys primary school teachers here no matter how well a child does everything else!)

He does have some niggling ongoing issues - we've been through an extensive multi day interdisciplinary assessment which is how it works here and he has been referred for a different type of support now - we're lucky here that waiting lists are "long" if they're 3-6 months and the state health insurance has so far paid for everything including six months of weekly occupational therapy.

As a side benefit his big sister is now studying occupational therapy! She probably wouldn't have thought of it if she hadn't picked him up from his appointment and listened to his ot doing the handover - she arranged to do job shadowing at the practice...

My DD was referred to the OT and PT by her pediatrician after I spoke to our gp about my concerns and my DD has since been diagnosed with Dyspraxia, as well as hypermobility and she is still waiting for a test for ADHD and Dyslexia.
Maybe Google Dyslexia and Dyspraxia and see if you recognise any of the other signs in your DD and go from there. If you don't then see if there are things you can do with your DD at home to help. If you do maybe try going through your gp rather than private referral you might get somewhere quicker.