We All Need a Little Therapy

One of the best things you can do for a child with autism is to know what therapy services are out there. Johnathan's life has been filled with several different therapies and I'm thankful we've been able to get these services for our child.

When Johnathan was 2 1/2 when we got our first experience with therapy services. He was able to receive developmental therapy and speech therapy through the early intervention program. His developmental therapy was done in our home. A developmental therapist job is ' evaluating and monitoring children to determine physical and mental development, including social, motor development, self-help, cognitive and language skills.'  We were blessed with the most incredible therapist that happened to be the mother of one of my classmates. (We were lucky that when Charles needed a developmental therapist she was able to service him also). Johnathan also received speech therapy at our local hospital. These therapy lasted until his 3rd birthday and were very beneficial. 

The greatest thing about these therapies is that they are play-based so Johnathan enjoyed these sessions. I was happy that I was able to observe/help with these therapies. This way I was able to do a lot of the same activities with him to further help his development in a variety of areas. 

When Johnathan started the at-risk preschool program in our school district he continued with various therapies. He received a school-based speech therapy that included individual and group speech sessions. He received Occupational therapy to help with his delays in area of fine motor and some gross motor. They also incorporated some music therapy and ABA therapy to help Johnathan calming, following his school schedule, and completing task.

After we had gotten his medical label we were given many resources to look into. One of the places suggested was BDI Playhouse in Naperville which offered speech and occupational therapy services. We went through another set of testing to see if Johnathan qualified for services. Of course he did and we began driving to Naperville every other week for Johnathan to receive an hour of OT and an hour of speech therapy. The speech therapy was similar to the services he had been receiving previously. The OT was much more beneficial to Johnathan because they had a large gym with many different therapy tool. They had a large range of swings (platform, cocoon, log, mesh, and more) that Johnathan loved being on. One of his favorite things was swinging and trying to toss a manipulative in a bucket.   

Another great activity he liked was the trapeze swing with the crash pad.  He would hold on and swing out from. Then he was able to let go and fall down onto the crash pad. The crash pad was like a large pillow. After he would fall into it he liked having the therapist fold it in half so he was wrapped up in it. This fulfilled his sensory needs as the pressure brought him comfort.  

 To help with proper gait when walking they introduced Johnathan to walking on a treadmill. This was interesting to watch because I could observe his walking patterns from different views. This therapy showed where he was having issues that were leading to his balance and stability issues. Just doing this therapy two times he became much more aware of his walking and make corrections for proper gait. 

 Johnathan's biggest sensory issue he faced was 'messy work.' Johnathan didn't like anything to get on his hands. When eating if his hands got any food on them he'd immediately wipe it on his clothes. If at school they were doing painting, gluing a craft, playing with clay, or making a snack Johnathan would usually refuse the activity because he didn't want anything on his hands. Johnathan's worked each session on 'messy play' to try to help him with this sensory issue.

 

We loved BDI and the services that Johnathan received but there was one major problem. The drive there took just over an hour to get there. We'd be at the center 2-3 hours depending if we could get back to back therapies or if we had to wait for the second session an hour. Then we'd get back in the car for another hour drive home. This was during a time when Johnathan was also going to preschool so it made for very long days. While the services were good when he was in a good mood often by the second session (and sometimes even during the first) he would become exhausted from the long day and didn't want to 'work' anymore. Knowing that he'd be starting Kindergarten in the Fall of that year we made the choice to discontinue our services at their center. We are ever grateful for the assistance the therapists gave us and when we had our last sessions they gave me many great resources and activities to continue to do with Johnny.

After we left BDI we took on a lot of trying to fulfill Johnathan's sensory needs ourselves. We set up sensory swings in our basement, got him on a treadmill, and even continued to introduce 'messy play' to his days. Some days we had a great day and others he didn't want to participate in any of those activities. When he was in school more of his needs would be met as he was receiving services in his classroom to. Then the summer would start and we'd be in charge of all therapies because the school does not offer summer services at all. While we could supplement a lot of his sensory issues we knew it was better to have a outside speech services. We tried services through the hospital, services in the home, and services from a pediatric therapy center.  

We were blessed to meet Kelsey who would become a part of our 'family' for 3 years. She worked with Charles and Johnathan on their speech delays. They developed a great bond and Johnathan was always happy to work with her. For two summers we were able to schedule in with her. Sadly when we went to schedule for our 3rd summer we found out there was a waiting list of 40 families before us. 

That's certainly one of the disadvantages we've found when it comes to getting services for our children. There are too many kids in need and not enough offering the services; especially in the small town areas. I can't tell you the number of times I would contact a place to find out they had a huge waiting list, their therapist they had left for a larger city, or sometimes the place had closed due to financial issues. It was so disheartening to get a lead to find out it was a dead end. Even worst - now that Johnathan is over the age of 10 most places won't service him anymore. I understand that they need to keep spaces open for the many, younger clients that are just starting services. Knowing that your child could benefit from more services though that he can not get is HARD!