We have a home visit tomorrow...

[Dingle]

...from an OT!!!!

After waiting nearly a year for a few of the professionals that see dd, to refer her. I referred her myself in January. I have manged to get the Learning Disability Team at the hospital involved since and they have offered to chase an appointment. The SENCO at her mainstream nursery also offered to chase this for us...

Had a call a few days ago and an OT is visiting tomorrow afternoon! I explained about some of the issues I was trying to deal with, such as moving furniture and climbing over, opening stair gates, houdini tricks getting out of car seats and high chairs.....and so on, and so on....
She is going to carry out an assessment and also bring some literature for me to have a look at.

I just hope it's worth the wait.

Wooohooooooo

Make sure you clear out the clutter.

Good luck!

Message withdrawn

Good luck, hope it goes well.

Oh good luck Dingle. Hope it all goes well.
My dd could really do with OT but where we live there is an 18 month waiting list that has closed. Get this, there's a waiting list to get onto the waiting list. Madness.

Great news - hope it goes well

How did it go?

Not very convinced I'm afraid!

I had an awful night last night was awake at 2am with ds, who'd been dreaming, 4am with dd who'd fallen out of bed, and she woke me again at 5.30 taking off her nappy!! Was feeling really down anyway, my mum was back up at King's yet again, to have another new dialysis line put in.
DD was being a little monster, wouldn't walk to the car when I collected her from SN nursery, I fought with her to get her coat on and picked her up from the nursery floor several times!!When at home wouldn't eat her lunch..

The OT was from the Social Services as opposed to the OT from the CDC. (???) She gave me leaflets about car seats, but couldn't help with high chairs as that is dealt with by the CDC OTs!!
She asked about our daily routine and where I felt I needed help, after sitting down and breaking down my day in,day out routines, I got rather emotional.
Sorry, I'm really waffling and not explaining myself well at all!

I have realised that I am so drained by those stupid little problems you have to cope with that I have absolutely no energy or time left to either spend quality time with the children or do all the things I should be doing to help them both educationally!

Oh blimey, Occupational Therapy seems to me to be some kind of higher clique that only certain people are allowed to be a member of. I was talking about OTs yesterday at DD's workshop and all agreed they are shrouded by red tape- I don't do that/I need to refer that/Five million forms need signing for that. AAAHHHHHH!!!!
Dingle, I'm sure you are spending both quality time with them and helping your babes hugely educationally but I can totally understand how all the small s* gets you down

On talking to her I supose I just hilighted to myself how the crappy things I have to do time and time again are just wearing me down.
The day always starts off with me rushing into dd to get her onto the toilet before she undresses herself and makes a mess everywhere !! I clean her up, put on a nappy, partially dress her so that she can't do it again. I leave her in her room, she pulls the clothes out of the drawers, stuffs them behind her bed, under the wardrobe, pulls bedding off the bed....
...at meal times she smears her food into the table, play up and hides her cutlery, throws bowl on floor....

They are all "normal" toddler behaviours aren't they!! But some mums would find them stressful in themselves, but on top of all that I have all the Down Syndrome issue to deal with as well...

Sorry but hopefully you understand.

It was when she asked me how I felt I needed help, I just didn't know where to start!

Dingle.

It doesn't seem to be a good week for OT visits. Ours was a complete waste of time IMHO.

I think it's a bit like with the dreaded DLA form. It's only when you sit down and go through every little thing that you have to do that you realise just how draining it can all get. We still get comments about how ds2 is fine and just being a normal toddler etc. The toddler stuff just feels 10 times harder when you're also dealing with SN on top of it IYKWIM.

Thanks CT. In all my waffle, that is what I was trying to say!

The mainstream nursery said she'd been a little madam this morning! But she was a little angel at SALT this afternoon. I was really pleased with her. It was the first of a block of 5 sessions, they are pairing the children this time rather than trying to work with 8/10 all at different levels. I must admit, her concentration levels are much easier to cope with in pairs!

BTW, the OT said that she would discuss dd with her supervisor at the weekly meeting today. Got back from the hospital and she left a message saying that she wanted to talk to me and would try later or Monday!! Should I worry about this, did she think I was such a waste of time and an untrustworthy mother!!!

I often find with these visits that you pin a lot of hope on them helping you to solve problems and in fact all they can offer is what you know and have tried already, from reading and from mumsnet. I'm not having a go at OTs particularly - it may be that there is no solution but then your little bit of hope is gone and you feel worse.

I don't think you should worry about her ringing you - perhaps she has got some suggestions from her supervisor.

So true Saker, especially when you've been waiting a year to see one!