Occupational Therapy for ADHD? | ADHD Information

We began OT when he was 2. It finally ended in 4th grade. My son has sensory integration as well. So we qualified for services K - 4th grade.

Also, a lot of ADHD'ers struggle with writing. My son was one of them, his struggle was neatness and he didn't space letters correctly, still really struggles in this area. His OT worked on these areas. She was great, wish we still had it, but he does great with a mechanical pencil.

I also sent him to Health South during the summer and when I didn't have services in pre-school (long story but they were in violation but I got my IEP!! ) It was totally worth it!! I recommend it, it can't hurt. They will also test him which helps as well to know what they find!

best wishes, keep us posted!!

Has anyone taken his/her child to an OT? What is involved, and is it worth it? Any information would be helpful.

Hi Jenmouse
My possible ADHD dd (aged 7) was recommended OT by the school counsellor. I didn't understand it and my husband didn't buy into it so we only went once...
BUT seeing the school counsellor again she's explained to me that her son had real concentration issues and it was affected his schoolwork. He went to OT on a regular basis and over a period of time (not sure how long) he improved a whole IQ bracket as his concentration skills kicked in...

I'm thinking about trying again... I don't think you just use 'any' OT though, it has to be one that is experienced in this sort of thing (not just fine and gross motor skills). It's about training the left and the right parts of the brain to work together. The OT we saw suggested small exercises that my daughter should do before different things to activate all parts of the brain necessary to allow her to concentrate. There's a thing called Stick kids, or Stickids (google...) that uses the same premise.

The idea is that they do five mins of full-on activity (bouncing on trampoline), followed by something 'grounded' such as crawling around the room in a crab (arch) and then a few fine motor exercises to warm up and focus the fingers (such as putty). Then the child should have everything firing and be more able to cope with the next thing - school work, meal time, homework...

I think it's worth a shot and like all things it doesn't change overnight. The Stick Kids thing also has products kind of like thermometers where the child starts to identify when they're getting revved up by indicating on a dial and eventually they'll be able to work out if they need to jump on the trampoline or whatever.

I was delighted to learn just recently that my daughter's teacher actually does basic OT at school every day . Maybe this is something you could find out about in your child's school...

HTH, good luck.
My son had weekly OT from age 5 to almost 8. He also has sensory issues, he is a sensory seeker, craves deep pressure, swings longer and climbs higher etc. After all this OT, the therapist said that she had done all she could do, it was time for us to consider meds. My son is now 10 and has done very well on Focalin XR and clonidine. The years of OT have provided us the tools and methods to continue to it at home (joint compressions, heavy weights, certain activities). There is a book about activities for Your out of sync child that has some wonderful suggestions you can do at home. The OT also provided us with the terms to use that he can understand, like "what is your motor running at?' and showed us specific theraputic aids and activities that are used in his classroom. It was money well spent. I did it for 6 months. It's a matter of maintenance, daily, not just at the OT office. You have the time and energy to do it at home every day. I'm referring to ADHD with no comorbids. It's a completely different ballpark if you are dealing with comorbids like sensory issues and so forth. For straight ADHD I think the benefits are a questionable payback for time and expense requeired.

Thank you for your replies. I do suspect some sensory issues (particularly oral) in addition to his ADHD symptoms although these have not been formally diagnosed - they have been noticed by our therapist.

I will definitely have to look for the out of sync child - I did not think he had sensory issues whe I first started this journey, but the more I learn, the more I see.

My son had some pretty serious sensory issues and was diagnosed early (2 years) He has since been diagnosed ADHD also. He has been in OT for about 1 1/2 years now. He started with 2ce a week then moved to once a week. It has done wonders for his sensory issues. He is also sensory seeking and has auditory sensitity and vestibular problems (inner ear/balance). It's difficult to say how much it has helped the ADHD because it's hard to serparate the symptoms of the two disorders sometimes! But I HIGHLY recommend "The Out-of-Sync Child". It does a very good job of explaining the sensory issues.

Good luck!

It's amazing how that deep pressure works huh? My son doesn't see an OT on a regular basis, but an OT eval was part of his IEP. THe OT set up some sensory coping strategies in the classroom for him which help with his behaviour. He has velcro under his desk to play with when he gets figitty. He has a ball to hold when in circle time, and something to sit on. These adaptations have helped.

Bethann,

When you say "qualified for services" was that through your insurance or through your school system? Thanks!

[QUOTE=BETHANN]

We began OT when he was 2. It finally ended in 4th grade. My son has sensory integration as well. So we qualified for services K - 4th grade.

best wishes, keep us posted!!

[/QUOTE]

Hi, qualified through the schools because they paid for him to receive therapy during the school day.

He qualfied through our insurance and w/ the diagnosis when he was 2.

He is 12 and is still sensory but under control. (could still use the help with writing and spacing stuff, although)

best wishes!!

Like Bethann, my son also qualified for school services and private services under our insurance. He is in "Pre-K" in the public school system and he has 1/2 hour of OT twice a week in school. However I found that he needed much more intensive therapy than what they give him. In school they are only allowed to treat him for "learning related issues"-like writing etc. He needed more therapy for his sensory processing issues than they gave him in school so the private OT helped more with that. But if you have a diagnosis, your insurance should cover (hopefully! )

We were lucky that he did receive the deep pressure and all the sensory techniques to help him in the classroom, in addition to the writing, etc.

His speech teacher even used some of them, classroom in Kindergarten as well. This would help speech get her job done. The classroom teacher would just walk by and touch his shoulder and gently squeeze and push down for deep pressure. She told me she would feel his whole body relax when she did this. Thus, it helped her get her job done as well.

Thanks again for all the replies. We are going to an OT tomorrow. I figure it can only help. My insurance will pay for it (they pay for 20 appointments for ADHD, whether it be doctor visits, therapy visits, or OT, but after that they won't pay any more). I've also found out our school system does have two Occupational Therapists on staff (just not at our elementary school) and I am considering requesting an IEP evaluation next year and perhaps we can get some OT services that way (if it turns out to be beneficial). DS was diagnosed ADHD at the end of the school year last year (end of April) so my networking meeting with the school focused more on the coming school year.