Joshua was officially released from OT yesterday, though I am a bit confused as to why. We weren't there for two weeks, and then Mindy cancelled last week due to being ill. So, three weeks of being out of therapy - you can imagine the shock I was in when she told me she was going to release him because he is so much better than he was when he started.
I'm not real sure what to do now. I personally am not convinced that he is ready to be out of OT. He still has a ton to work on. Mindy assured me I have been doing a great job and that he has come a long way. I have a good grasp on the sensory diet, the need for a schedule, and am homeschooling him. She said also that the things she would be working on are all things that I am working on at home during school, so there is no point in coming in. Can you sense the dazed and confused look I must have had on my face the entire time?
Next was speech and it went pretty well. The schedule is helping Josh a lot. He is much more focussed, though he does have a moment or two each week that he seems to go off task. We are currently working on directional words - he is having a little trouble still with over, between, through and behind. I think if we continue working on it as much as we have, he will get it in the next week. He's a smart kid.
In the afternoon we went to socialization class. The other little boy, L, was out for a family emergency, so it was just Josh and Ms. G. They played a board game, and a few other things, had snack, and then she came out to get me so she could go over the session and how Josh did. He did well. The match between kids wasn't as good of one as in the past in terms of verbal exchange because L isn't as verbal as Josh is these days. However, they both have strong areas of interest that the other does not share. Josh's being cars and L's being puzzles. This forced both of them to do an activity someone else enjoyed and pay attention when it was the other person's turn.
Our next step is for Josh to work on continuing a conversation. He has gotten very good at going up to strangers and saying "Hi. What's your name?" He's so stinking cute that he always gets an answer from adults and children. Most of the time now, he will tell them his name as well, either by answering them when they ask or by simply offering the name. The problem is that this is where it usually ends. He either gets really goofy or he walks off. So, now he needs to realize that there is an exchange that needs to happen after this.
She asked if I had any questions or concerns about anything, so I took the opportunity to let he know about the morning's events. She was as shocked as I am that Josh was released from OT already. She tols me that Josh has made tons of improvements socially, but he still has a lot of work to do. She wanted to know if there was any sort of evaluation or if we got any sort of results given to us saying he is at such and such level. When I told her that Mindy simply went into her office to check something and then came back and again said she thought he could be released, she was again surprised. I should have been given something, but then again, I was never given a copy of our goals in the first place. Anyway, Ms. G agrees with me completely that Josh needs more OT. She said his muscle tone is still weak and that is some of what the OT is supposed to work on, so she doesn't understand it any better than I do. There is more than sensory issues at stake here, and that is what confuses me the most. She said she would go ahead and take this time as a break and then call them up to tell them I want him back in. I don't know what I will do. I think I will give it a couple of months, see where Josh is myself, and then re-evaluate the situation. The new insurance we will have starting in January will actually give us 40 total speech and OT visits, so it is a matter of weighing out what we can afford against what he needs.
Ms. G. asked me at the end if I am still going to continue homeschooling him. She said that if I had any doubts at all about whether or not I am doing right, she totally feels I am giving him more this way than any school in the area could offer. I told her I always question and have doubts, but I am very glad that she said it. It is so nice to have her support in this decision as well as someone to go to if I ever have any concerns about Joshua's care and our plan of action with him.
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