OT assessment - Can anyone tell me what it involves, please?

[lou031205]

DD has had her appointment for OT after only a 5 month wait so I know we are lucky.

Could anyone tell me what to expect in terms of her appointment, and what the OT deals with? She has varying developmental delays, and some sensory issues.

She has very little attention span. Will that be a problem? I would hate for her to be turned down for help because she can't sit still.

When ds has his OT assessment ( couple of years ago now) she ran through a battery of standard test which look like little games, some of them with discreet timing, like posting coins through a mini pillar box, rolling balls to a goal, standing on one leg, walking along a line. Ds ( also with a very short attention span)needed loads of reinforcers (he liked a couple of the activities so needed lots of first this than a turn of your favorite).
Our NHS OT was general (ie it was not a sensory integration assessment) so looked only at motor and coordination skills. We were given lots of ideas, but because ds was approaching the cut off age of 7 (here) had to be discharged. I am waiting for sensory referral.

this link may be useful.
We have our OT assessment next Friday - specifically looking at seating and bathing for DS.

Thanks magso, good to hear that your son was still able to be assessed despite the short attention span.

Feelingbitbetter - that link was helpful, thank you Hope your assessment is useful.

Lots of kids that are seen by OTs have problems with their attention spans so they're used to it and expect it as part of lots of different diagnoses. Some departments will give you some written information about the assessment if you ask for it. Or, you could give them a call and ask what it involves if that would help.

Thank you Shylily

be prepared for a long appointment! I think we were there for hour and half. Agree that they do have practice with short attention spans, ds1 struggles and the OT was great at recognising when he was failing because of his attention span and when he actualyl couldn't do something.

Our OT also ran a specific battery on ds1 because of suspected dyspraxia, the results of which lead to his diagnosis.

we came away with about 7 pages of OT exercises to do and a referral for therapy. Still waiting for therapy though.

Thank you Chops. I have phoned EEG and asked them to push DDs appointment later in the day (two appointments on the same day at different hospitals clash) but still suspect it won't be long enough for the OT assessment to be done.