Anyone sought private OT for sensory seeking DC?

[Scratchybaby]

I just wondered if anyone has ever used a private OT to advise them on how to support their sensory seeking DC, if and who they might recommend?

DS is a little over 3.5 with a likely ASD diagnosis on the way. He is getting support for speech and communication skills and doing well in this area, but he's a real sensory seeker and it makes a lot of other things difficult for him (concentrating when people are talking to him, joining in at nursery, playing safely on the playground). He is a classic crashing-into-the-couch kind of a kid, hugs and cuddles hard, loves running fast and looking to the side to watch things pass his eyes (which is SO dangerous!!), running up and down the playground, running alongside moving swings (again, DANGEROUS 😱). He's not actually clumsy or uncoordinated in himself, but the sensory seeking distracts him so much that we've had way more episodes of faceplanting on the pavement than I'm happy with, and we are a long way off hoping he will stop the sensory seeking long enough to notice a moving car coming.

Our local Early Help team recommended a generic sensory circuit thing, but it was clearly copied from a page in a book and not tailored to DS's specific sensory seeking traits. I'm wondering if that's at best a waste of time or, at worst, could dysregulate him further? Or maybe I just haven't tried hard enough with it?

So I'm wondering, has anyone gone out and found a private OT to do a proper assessment and give tailored advice for how to support your DC? How did you find them? What was the support like? Was it worth the money or are there free resources online that I just haven't found yet?#

Thanks in advance for any advice!

I haven't got experience with an OT in this area but you can find a private OT on rcotss-ip.org.uk/find
They should be able to do a full assessment and provide a specific treatment plan for your little one with activities and advice for him

We did. We already knew that DS was oversensitive to sound and light but his sensory report from OT also highlighted under sensitivity to proprioceptive and vestibular senses, which has proved valuable in helping him progress in the intervening years. We used DLA to pay for his initial OT assessment and have used more DLA since to pay for regular OT therapy. It has paid dividends in helping him with balance, coordination, fine motor skills etc.

We're in the Essex area, and are happy to recommend our OT provider if you are local....

Hi All

Thanks for your helpful messages (not in the Essex area, but thank you!) I had a chat with a private OT locally and am excited to get started.

Does anyone have any good stories about how it helped their DC? This is all new to me but I'm really intrigued to see what sort of benefits there may be not only for our sake with DS's behaviour and concentration, but hopefully it also helps him feel better in himself (more regulated? less anxious or antsy? again, I'm still learning!)

I have absolutely adored the times we spent with an OT. I first saw one privately as part of our ASD assessment. She helped us see how certain behaviours we struggled with were also sensory related (eg getting too deep when watching TV and struggling to transition out.) and she had suggestions on how to help with some of these behaviours.

We ended up seeing her for our other son, to accommodate some of his sensory seeking needs. More recently we had support for handwriting with an OT with one of them.

My husband and I both took takeaways for ourselves too not just the kids. Definitely worth an investment if you're able.

We've been working with an OT for two years - most of our goals were around improving vestibular and proprioceptive senses (DS is very under-sensitive in these areas.)

During this time DS can now:
Cross the midline
Balance on balance beams in park
Climb
Jump from an object
Jump from the ground
Write legibly (not neat, but legible)
Use a fork
Brush his teeth
Doggy paddle in the swimming pool.

We are hoping to continue OT for the foreseeable as there is still a lot to do around fine motor skills and executive processing but much will depend on whether our DLA is renewed as virtually all of our OT is paid for using this.

Thanks all - this is so great reading good news stories about what OT can accomplish. It's great motivation for me! DS is 3.8yo and there are quite a few things - like swimming, using a scooter, etc - that he doesn't really take part in yet and I can't tell if it's simply a lack of interest (which is ok, he doesn't have to do everything), or if some of it could be issues an OT could help with. It seems another useful piece in the puzzle.

I've got a bit of a wait before the OT can see him, and have been recommended the Out of Sync Child series to read in the meantime. DS has done so well with ABA/ESDM helping him develop his communication skills, I'm really hopeful OT will have a similar positive impact with concentration skills and finding/accessing new play activities he enjoys

This is the best online resource for OT that I've found.

www.theottoolbox.com/