Occupational Therapy Assessment

T1 had his Occupational Therapy (OT) assessment appointment a few weeks ago.  He recognised the hospital as the same place where he was told that he had Aspergers but I explained that we were there this time to see about his 'flexible joints'.  This is what T1 has chosen to call his difficulties with movement and low muscle tone.  We met a lovely OT who carried out her assessment over an hour and a half.  She did various standardised tests and then summarised by saying that T1 has hypermobility, low muscle tone and therefore will find writing, balance and other tasks very tiring.  She also recommended a few aids for us to try:

• Disc-o-mat - a rubbery, knobbly air filled cushion for T1 to sit on his chair at school or when he is sitting on the floor at school - the point of this being that it will give T1 sensory feedback as to where his body is in space without him having to wriggle about so much which will hopefully then help him to focus better on his work
• Wider handled cutlery - moulded plastic handles with finger holes so that T1's fingers don't slip off the cutlery when he is trying to grip them - he rarely uses a knife and fork just now so hopefully these will help
• Pencil grips - really knobbly ones with precise places for T1 to put his fingers with less chance of them slipping
• A writing slope (Posture Pack) - to encourage better posture when writing - at the moment, T1 is slouching over his workbook to have a close look at what he is writing because he has to put a lot of effort into it

The OT also did great work at getting key information from T1's teacher about how he is at school.  She also contacted the teacher directly following T1's assessment and informed her of her findings and how to use the recommended equipment correctly.  We now have most of the equipment that we need and it is going great.  T1 has now been discharged from the OT service.

The OT assessment really confirmed what I have known about T1's motor skills.  It was important to have the OT assessment though as he has accepted his Asperger's diagnosis without much difficulty but it is his difficulties with motor skills that affects his self-esteem because he can see so clearly that he is different from his peers.  For example, he was crying one night and when I asked what was the matter he said that he was the only person in his class who couldnt do a roly poly.  He seemed half upset and half frustrated that this was the case.  I am hoping that learning more about his 'flexibility' will help him to take ownership of it like he has the Aspergers diagnosis so that he knows that it is just another quirk of who he is.