Getting an evaluation but working with them at home

[MistyMountain]

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[GoVanGogh]

I would check around options in your area.

We have a place locally that does not take insurance, but prices are very affordable. (Compared to therapy with our insurance!) She offers a home-based program for the parents.

 

The issue with sensory processing, though, is that they typically like to work on the vestibular system and that involves equipment that most of us don't have in our homes. You can go to a park for some swinging, but not exactly like what they do in therapy.

 

Check out "The Therapy Shoppe" on-line. They have some resources for sensory processing. I just ordered some items from them and was very happy with their customer service and quality of the products.

[FairProspects]

We were lucky to go to a state of the art facility for sensory integration, but yes, just as PP described there is no way we could have done what our OT does at home. Our OT did recommend swimming or martial arts to support the therapy so you might think about putting them in those activities to help build the vestibular system.

[Ravin]

Check and see if your kids might qualify for state insurance. The income limits are different for kids with diagnosed problems, depending on the severity. Also check with the PS system. They're supposed to offer special ed/therapy services to kids who are homeschooled or private schooled. If your youngest is under 3 still, look into Early Intervention.

[MistyMountain]

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[PeterPan]

Don't underestimate what you *can* do at home for sensory.  Some of the ladies on here have described more complex therapy, but our place had stuff we could replicate at home.  Vestibular was typically swinging in a single line swing while wearing a weighted collar.  I bought the swing ($100) and stopped paying $100 an hour for the therapy.  They did weight-shifting (rolling on balls, walking down doors backwards with your hands, etc.), price = free.  She gave us a brush to do the brushing (cheap).  Walked backwards on a treadmill while doing skip counting (working on bilaterality).  Did toning exercises with bands (cheap).  Did theraputty and fine motor work (easy to do at home once you know what motions you need).

 

In hindsite, I wish we had done monthly sessions instead of weekly, since we were paying such an astronomical amount for it.  That way you get the information to target your work but aren't paying more than you can afford.  Sometimes there are compliance issues, and of course we all need accountability.  It does take special work in your ceiling to hang a single line swing, and of course the OT had different types (platform, etc.).  On the other hand, my ds just last night was swinging horizontally like the OT used the platform for.  So you *can* make some of this happen at home in certain situations.  Once a month would have been good in our case.