Occupational therapy

Monster has been in OT since he was three. At three, he was diagnosed with sensory integration dysfunction and the OT worked with him on his sensitivity to noise, lights, textures, touch, etc. We didn't know about the Asperger's at the time, although there were hints and whisperings and denials about "that word". We only knew that he seemed to be benefitting from the OT, so we kept him in.
At the time, our insurance didn't cover it. It "wasn't necessary" for our son, since he had nothing wrong with him. We paid a fortune for it then. But M loved hia OT and she was helping him so much. She was the one who discovered Monster's freakishly double-jointed thumbs (you can fold them flat back onto his hand) and figured out how to help him hold a pencil using whatever hand strength he could get out of his floppy hands.
After the diagnosis, Monster switched to another OT, one that was now covered under the new diagnosis.
These OT's are amazingly accepting, helpful, wonderful, caring people. They put so much care and kindness into their work and have such positive attitudes.

Yesterday I called Monster's school psychologist to ask her about him. He's seemed stressed these past couple of weeks and I wanted her opinion on him. She told me that Monster works SO hard at school and is so proud of his accomplishments. She said he will keep at something even if it's hard for him at first, and he'll work at it until he can do it. She was very impressed with his persistence.

I had to think about that for awhile. Where did this come from? I'm not like that - I give up on everything. Hubby - well, he's the same way. We're just not the type to force ourselves to keep trying at something we don't really want to do. Or do want to do, until we see that it's hard.

Then it dawned on me. It was the OT. My son had learned to be persistent, to believe in his abilities, as he toiled away at OT working doubly hard to do things lost kids could do without even thinking about it. There, in the kind, accepting care of these wonderful young women, my son developed the attitude about himself that he could do anything he chose if he only tried harder.

When M was first diagnosed by the school I asked the people on his team that, if we had to choose, what should we do for M as an outside school activity? Should we continue his OT, or put him in a social skills class? They all agreed that Monster need social skills classes so much more than OT. Well, it turns out SS classes are REALLY expensive. At the time M wasn't on MA so we would have had to pay it all out of pocket. Our choice to keep him in OT was due to the fact that our insurance now paid at least a percentage of the OT.

Now if anyone with a young child just diagnosed and is suddenly not knowing where to turn and thinking, Oh no! I need to get my son OT and PT and ST and SS classes and.....! I would tell them, get him into OT first. Give him that base, that sense of "I can". It's a strength that will take my son so far in life. He may have to work twice as hard to do stuff, but he's got the will and the strength to do it.

And I think we owe it all to the OT. They gave him this belief in himself. And I am so grateful that my son received this gift.