OT question and others

[Guest guest]

I'm having problems getting to the bottom of certain types of my 13yo

AS son's problems. His OT tests keep coming back " normal " , but he

can't do things like comb his hair, tie shoes, ride a bike, coordinate

team sports, brush his teeth, etc. There are some things he can do,

like buttons, zippers, using the toilet, using a knife, but he is very

slow. Does anyone know what this is about?

I talked to a physical medicine doctor at a children's hospital a

little while back, and she thought maybe it was something like a

motor-planning problem (he has diagnosed executive dysfunction). I

imagine his slow processing speed is playing into it too. She said I

should get a " full OT evaluation " done. She didn't want me to get it

done at her hospital because she said he needed to go somewhere where

they understood better how autism might fit into this. So, I'm

wondering--did this latest OT/PT therapist just not do the right

tests? I went where I went because they said they understood the

autism angle.

We also have problems with things like: he'll eat chicken nuggets cut

in squares but not chicken tenders; he'll eat canned pears that come

in halves, but not if they cut into little squares; he won't eat

anything with sauce on it; he'll eat a plain burger with just cheese

and bacon on from Mcs, but not if I make it (the rest of the

family says its good; I know I'm not that bad a cook LOL). Nobody

seems to know how to help him with stuff like this. He is very slowly

adding on more and more things to his very limited diet, so I wonder

if he will grow out of it to a reasonable degree if left to his own

devices.

In short, I have this 13yo autistic boy who I still haven't managed to

find professional help for. I have talked this latest OT therapist to

try a few weeks, once a week, on specific activities just for an

experiment. He thinks he will learn very fast. I don't know what to

expect.

Other than OT, the children's hospital where we got his diagnosis

suggested CBT therapy (cognitive behavioral therapy) for him (I think

he is too high-functioning for ABA), but he doesn't seem ready for

that. He just told the therapist what she wanted to hear and wouldn't

seriously discuss anything with her. He doesn't get social skills or

any type of counseling or coaching from school, so I'm going to have

to find this privately. He likes his weekly social skills classes, so

that is something. But I think he may need something a little more

one-on-one along with that.

I could go on and on about similar issues with personal hygiene,

school work, chores, organization etc. But, you all probably are all

familiar with it anyway.

Sorry so long. I'm cross-posting this on different lists, so my

apologies if you've already read this! Any help or advice would be

appreciated! Does everyone have such a hard time finding help for

their AS kids?

Ruth