Occupational Therapy? | ADHD Information
bump[QUOTE=Diane V]OK I don't know much about the excercies helping them to focus while doing them??? [/QUOTE]
The OT told me that the exercises are more effective if he focuses on what he's doing. That way, the body is more receptive to the sensory input it is receiving. In other words, you can't aimlessly jump on a trampoline while focusing on a TV. You need to focus on the jumping. I used to call out different body parts for my child to touch, he'd count 10 jumps and then shoot a basketball -- all sorts of things to keep him focused on the activity he was doing.
By the way, with ADHD kids, obviously it can be even harder to get them to do something they don't want to do. I found it helped tremendously to have my child have a large number of choices of which exercises we did and in which order. When we made obstacle courses, he got to help set them up so he was picking activities (obviously I had veto power).
Yes, it's another thing on the to-do list, but these exercises actually are fun to do together. Even though my child outgrew the sensory integration disorder, he still does some of the activities we did then during "energy time" (we used to call it getting out his extra energy. It sounded a lot better than sensory diet when talking about it with others). What kid doesn't like to keep adding on an extra cardboard brick and seeing how high they can jump (like hurdles)? OK, I'm sure some kids don't like this, but you know what I mean. These activities really are fun to do together. We used to laugh a lot and have a great time. That's not to say it's always fun and games. There were times he didn't want to do it at all or was ready to stop early, when I didn't feel great, when he was tired, etc. At those times, it was a pain, but overall it was a lot of fun.
Mom2ADHDboy39233.8694097222Thanks Mom2ADHDboy I did not know that.
We never had a problem doing them and being attentive to because she LOVED them and as a "sensory seeker" she got something out of all this. Although I can see if I tried to get my older daughter who is diagnosed with ADHD to do them it may have been a battle...............
We just started doing some Occupational Therapy (OT) with DS (age 8) and I'm wondering if others have had experience with it?
We are going to be working on tools for "self-regulation" using a program called Alert (aka How Is Your Motor Running).
I'm not sure there is anything in the program we haven't already tried at home, but we'll see.
Any luck with OT?
I did have luck with some OT, but not with my ADHD daughter. Well, not that we're 100% sure my youngest wont eventually be diagnosed, but she is not now.
For several months I did a lot of OT with her at home and some at school. We did jumping (trampoline), swigning, as high as she could on swings or me swinging her by her feet, which you obviously wont do with an 8 y.o. . We did carrying heavy objects, we chewed gum, we did joint compressions (LOVED THOSE!!), deep massage. "sqsishing" usually by lying on the couch and burying her with pillows, then squsishing her. I still rub her feet with towel before whe wears sneaker as she hates anything on her feet tight.
The Out of Sync Child is a good book if you're looking. She gives lots of suggestions and breaks down SPD into categories so you dont need to read the pieces that dont apply.
I am doing that program with an OT. I started in February. So far I am not impressed. We only go 2x per month for an hour.
My son only has ADHD, no SPD issues or anything else. This program was originally designed for children with SPD, and then later they began marketing for ADHD children also. IMHO, the flaw of this program is that just because you have your engine in the middle does not mean that you are also ready to be attentive. You could be physically displaying signs that your engine is in the middle and be unable to sit down and focus on math homework. Also the strategies to get your engine in the middle are not the same strategies that help concentration. It's like the program helps you recognize when your engine is in the middle and how to get there, and then you need to do something else to assist with focus.
I think that to really benefit from this program you need to do OT a lot and the parent pretty much needs to do it at home daily. I wonder if that level of commitment is worth the pay off. I suspect not. Unfortunately, when my son's engine is on high he is really enjoying himself. He loves the feeling. He can get his engine in the middle, but when I really need him to, he's having such a great time, he just doesn't want to.
So far I am not willing to implement this on a daily basis b/c I don't see that level of investment giving me a worthwhile payback.
NoTellin39232.5826041667We have struggled with this issue also. We had my 8 yo in OT and he did all of the exercises. I saw no benefit. It was a huge hassle given I had my other two children in tow. I had to weigh the benefit of doing OT (which I didn't see as providing any help with his ADHD), therapy, social skills group and other appointments. All of these things I was dragging my other two kids along - it just wasn't fair to them especially since we didn't see any benefit.Thanks for all the input. This is interesting.My gut feeling is that my sensory seeker will LOVE the excercises but this won't solve anything for us.
We did logs of SI stuff (from Out of Sync Child Has Fun) when DS was a toddler/preschooler. Yes, he loved doing them, but I never felt it actually changed anything.
Currently, a counselor has recommended OT, so we are trying it. Already I see it as limited, since the therapist has asked about our routines and found that we already do a lot of what she would recommend. We're not coming to this as newbies. I understand what SI issues are about and can tell her where DS is in all of the areas.
We have therapy balls, for instance, which DS loves to roll around on and/or be rolled on (pressure) but will he do that when he needs to calm down? No way. Like someone else said, when he's going that fast, he likes it (until it disintegrates into frustration anyway) and won't take suggestions for changing.
So, you see I am dubious.
I guess I'm feeling like he's got enough going on with medical doctors, counselors, etc. (not to mention orthodontists) that one more "treatment" might just send us over the edge, especially if it isn't proven to help.
I've got the program info and will read to see if it makes any real sense to me.
Thanks again, all.
S
TillyT, I know what you mean. I've got treatments coming out of my ears. All of these things are on a scale in my head right now. I'm wondering what's worth my time, and what is not.
Oh you absolutley have to do it at home! These things only work for about 2 hours. There were many days I did them 2 or 3 times a day. Did the OT lead you to believe you could juts go and have their services and that would work?
You are also correct as this will not help with inattentive ADHD. This is to, as you say, get your engine in the middle. So if lack of focus is due to hyperactivity it would help to focus by calming the child, but not going to help inattentive ADHD. Although there are some strategies for focus, like gum chewing, but school doesnt let them cheew gum so....so much for that!
My OT told me that the sensory activities would last about 12 hours. Maybe thinking has changed since then (it was a few years ago). We would do the exercises around 8-8:30 AM and he'd be fine at school until 11:45. He napped in the afternoon at that point of his life, and things were pretty easy after nap since it was just the two of us. So, I couldn't judge how long it lasted, but the teachers saw clearcut differences on the rare mornings we didn't do the exercises (because I was sick, for example).
I agree wtih pp. I can see the Alert program being helpful for regulating hyperactivity. My child tried it at ages 3 and 4, and he had zero success with it. He lacked the self-awareness to know his energy level (or motor level). At age 7, he still lacks self-awareness. He says he can't feel the difference when his meds are in his system and when they're not. 
Thank you for your insight Diane V! I was grappling with why I don't feel this is going to work, but could not really nail it down. Hyperactivity is the least problamatic symptom for my son. His main issue is inattention. His body movements appear to be avoidance behavior rather than real hyperactivity. He is not constantly "in motion" or bouncing off the walls. He just fidgets and wiggles -- mostly when asked to do cognitive work.
The OT asked me to do a few things at home at first, but not much, and then stopped asking me after a couple of months. He never indicated that I would have to do it at home daily to make it work. I bought the books from The Alert Program for Self-Regulation website and came to that conclusion myself. But I never did it at home daily because of my doubts. I have so little time, and I want to spend it doing something that I think will actually work.
Perhaps when the summer gets going with activities and school ends, I will stop the bimonthly OT visits.
NoTellin39232.6986921296Daily exercises? That sounds like high maintenance. At OT my son has been swinging, bouncing, walking on a beam, going through an obstacle course, etc. The idea is that he is able to keep his engine in the middle while doing this. Also, bouncing or rocking or balancing while also doing math or writing or following some instruction. The idea is that he is suppose to maintain focus while engaging in the movement, or to regulate himself to reduce the movement so that he can do the cognitive activity.
OK I don't know much about the excercies helping them to focus while doing them??? Sorry, just that it helps get that sensory integration going. So in otherwords, if their fidgeting or restlessness is being caused by "sensory seeking" this will help that. Also, the activities like gum chwing, chewing crunchy things.....etc., etc, help with organizational thought. The heavy lifting and "squishing" all help kids who are more in the "unmotivated" mode. All these things do is "densensitize" and it only lasts for so long, then you must do them again. Everyone is different.
That book The Out of Sync Child really does into which excercises work for what.
We only spent about 15 minutes each morning, and I agree it was worth it.
Diane V39233.1043981481[QUOTE=NoTellin]Daily exercises? That sounds like high maintenance. [/QUOTE]
Yes, it was hard to do the 1/2 hour of exercises before school in the morning. However, given how much better he behaved when he did the exercises, it was worth making the time to do it.