Ds referred to occupational therapist

[Clairey122]

Hi

Looking for reassurance. Ds started school in September and at the parents evening the teacher said he has difficulty with fine motor and gross motor skills and balance. We have been given a list of activities to help. I’ve received an email today from the school suggesting ds is referred to an occupational therapist. Should I be worried .. I’m panicking now that something is wrong. He has always seemed fine to me and dh. And bright and active. Although he is our only child so no other children to compare him to.

Please let me know if you have experienced this. It’s all new to me

Thanks

I’d be taking him to GP and asking for paediatric referral if he has developed balance and motor skills problems as opposed to not having really ever developed them.

Thanks he’s only 4 and been at nursery since 1 but no one has ever mentioned anything previously

Take it as positive that they are so on the ball. Early intervention , if there are issues identified, can avoid difficulties and low self esteem later. Have a look at the Dyspraxia Foundation website and see of any traits they describe for his age seem familiar.

Do they mean an actual occupational therapist, and are they doing the referral for you to someone external? I ask because my DS's school has someone they refer to as 'The OT' but she's actually a HLTA who leads their OT intervention groups, not a qualified OT. They may just want to offer him an intervention within school doing the motor skills and balance exercises they suggested to you. So just extra support rather than anything to worry about. My DS saw 'the OT' for strengthening exercises and fine motor skills practice for his dysgraphia, it was helpful.

Our school run something called the fizzy programme for children with fine/ gross motor skills difficulties it is often recommended by an OT. My son was referred to OT via a paediatrician who the GP referred him to. The process was long but it is good for the school to be on the ball and want to help. He has got a diagnosis of dyspraxia but is not severely effected it just raised an awareness at the school as to why his handwriting is appalling as is his PE skills!

I would have loved an OT for my uber-dyspraxic DS. Early intervention is vital but try to get them to explain what they think might be going on.

We have an early identification meeting with our Reception teachers and identify any referrals which need doing. We normally refer to OT if we feel gross motor/ fine motor skills aren't so good, as it can impact handwriting, PE skills, etc and we can get recommendations for school to develop these skills. We also refer if we suspect hupermobility, or a child is very sensory as our local OT service is very hot on sensory needs.

We are so lucky with our local OTs - the waiting list is short and they're really helpful. It's quite common for us to refer to OT in reception and often they just go once, get an assessment of skills so we know what to target and suggest some activities, then discharge after one review. I've referred 4/5 children out of 60 so far this year so not hugely unusual for us.

DD2 was referred to OT in reception.

We saw the 'balance doctor' on and off throughout. Her motor skills are bottom 1% and she only got confident on stairs in secondary school.

DD1 only got to see an OT in y11 (age 15) as part of dyspraxia assessment. We knew her motor skills were poor, also bottom 1%, but she has other issues too which DD2 doesn't have.

Knowing there are motor skills difficulties early (if there are) is great as you can do exercises and decide how much you are bothered to practice to improve things.

No need to panic.

I too would see it as a real positive that they want to put some early interventions in to support right at this early stage.
I am also that they can see an OT - they are like gold dust here. It is possible that someone in the school is running a motor group, with exercises recommended by an OT, but either way, consider it a positive.

We use a private paediatric OT service which is used by many schools in my area. The service used to be paid for by the LA but with budget cuts schools now have to find the cash themselves. If that’s the case the school must feel it’s important.

My 6yo dd has dyspraxia. We started getting concerned halfway through reception. Hers is quite mild so although she was flagged as being slightly behind in motor skills it was not enough to raise any flags.

Although mild it does affect her school work particular her attention and focus. Her teachers understand that and she now gets ‘refocus’ breaks, without a diagnosis she could well be categorised as naughty / not listening.

In our area OT referrals seem to stop at a young age so early intervention is important.

Great thanks for all the replies. I feel more relieved now. It’s very good they are trying to help. They said it would be through the nhs but the OT would come into the school to assess him

I think you are so fortunate to get that referral! A good OT is gold. Ours is fantastic, much more helpful and practical than ed psych, tutors etc.

My son is dyspraxic and sees an OT who comes into school. I agree re the early support. Good luck

I am an OT

I would not be too worried if I were you, sounds like school are on the ball & your ds will likely get an assessment & some advice that can improve things :) The OT should be able to identify if any further investigation of the problem is needed or if it just a case of ds needing extra help to develop these skills

As an aside...

With reference to the school where a HLTA is referred to as ‘the OT’ this is against the law... it is a protected title by the health professions council & unless you have a degree in OT, are assessed by them every 2 years & registered with them then you MUST NOT use the title & could be prosecuted!! (Same applies to physio, SLT & others)