what does an O T do?

[iloveithere]

For a child with behavioural problems? Ds is seeing an ot in a weeks time. What do they do, will she test him, and what for? Can she diagnose anything, or is this just the start of a long struggle?
Any advice/ experience would be help full.Ta.

At very least she will be able to rule out some of the possible triggers for your ds ie. noise levels, spatial awareness, sensory, problems with balance/coordination , motor processing , working memory etc. She can't diagnose as such but maybe identify one part of the puzzle and put together a report. This may take several assessments depending how cooperative your ds is and his attention span . Basically she will take a history, play games, set tasks and puzzles, observe how he tackles things, his natural positioning and what physical challenges he may have. Where appropriate you may be asked to try certain things at home/school and then review.

I agree - our OT has been very good. She identified dd's gross and fine motor difficulties (using something called the ABC movement test) and also her sensory issues (using the Sensory Integration Praxis test).

She gives dd weekly sessions and is going into the school to talk about a "sensory diet" for her. That is things that will help her when she gets upset/withdraws - lots of which is probably
to do with sensory issues.

That all sounds good, I hope we have a positive experience too. I just think I have become very cynical after so many other professionals have said they can't help him.