OT/fine motor question... | Autism PDD

Share

Just a suggestion. Have you (or are you) ever thought of Easter Seals? Services through early intervention are free to cheap through 3 years old and beyond if they qualify. At least in IL. We went through EI  to get the ball rolling, then requested Easter Seals for OT and DT, and they referred me to a SLP. We just have a LOW monthly copay (income based) of , and that includes all of his services. Plus, Easter Seals had more ASD experience than anywhere else we looked and they even help the transition to school and attend IEP's. We got in super quick, too. Way before his Developmental Pede dxed him.

Good luck, and if you have no option but to wait, I would suggest to journal ALL concerns that arise in the mean time.

Hugs,
Kristi

Anyone know what the expectations are for a 2.5 year old fine motor-wise?? 

We were told to persue an OT evaluation on Matthew just to be throrough a long with the Autism evaluation.  Well I called Children's Hospital (the ONLY OT services that our insurance covers) and its 15-18 months waiting list!!

The only OT evaluation I saw was Jason's at 3.5 and I am sure there's quite a difference from what they expect at the two ages. 

I do know Matthew does hold crayons/markers appropriately between thumb and fingers.  He can draw/immitate a horizonal and vertical line as well as a circle but can't do a cross yet.  He can lace beeds and build towers 10+ blocks tall.  I've never given him scissors so I have no idea on that one.  Does that sound about right for 2.5??

I like to use this from the PBS parents website.  It's good as a quick reference when trying to figure out where the avg. child might be.  I always shoot high because I figure then my son will end up closer to where he needs to be.

 

http://www.pbs.org/parents/childdevelopment/index.php?option =com_content&task=view&id=35&Itemid=47

Yeah, I think he sounds good.  Neither of my girls could do any of those things at that age, and now they're the best drawers in their class (not nearly so good at forming letters, though!).  They also couldn't really use scissors until around 4.5, though I think they were delayed in that particular skill.

Being able to do a cross is about a 3.5 to 4 year level. I don't think they expect a circle until age 3. My dd was a little behind in that as she wouldn't draw a circle that stopped when she was just 3. What I mean by that is she would draw a circle, but keep going around it - she wouldn't stop when she got to the beginning of the circle.

I think your ds is doing GREAT - but it never hurts to get an eval if you're concerned.

Thanks for the replies!!

He is in an early intervention program which is great for now... but the problem is he ages out in 6 months and even all the other OT providers around here are a good 3-6 month waitlists.  I do have him on one of those waitlists as well (which we've been on for 3 months already) but once he ages out of early intervention we need our insurance to pay for OT services... that's why we need him at Children's ultimately!! 

I still can't believe how long that waitlist is for OT... it was shorter for the autism eval then for OT

 

You can do both private/school services both. 1 is for educational benefit/the other is for daily life skills. I have met kids who get both. Our policy only covers 20 sessions a year for ot/st even with a ASD dx. Copays 30. each visit also.

The Peabody which some use to eval motor skills states this:

Fine Motor 25-30 months:

Removes screw-on lid from bottle

stack 8-10 cubes

cuts paper in 1 place

draws horizontal line

bends paper producing a crease

using 4 cubes, aligns 3 cubes and positions top cube on one end (I can't figure this one out.)

strings 2-4 beads

Fine Motor 31-35 Months

builds a bridge of 3 blocks

draws a circle

builds wall of 4 blocks

That really scares me now because Branden can't scribble with a crayon(only makes up and down lines, every once in a while side to side). He doesn't hold the crayon like a pencil, he puts a firm grip on it. He definiately can not make a circle, but I will see today what extent that is. He can not use a spoon and does a fork very strangely. He can turn a book in a page one by one if the book has really thick and sturdy pages. The other stuff I will have to test out today. I guess I need to help with that stuff as well. How do you help a kid aquire those skills?Never was a iep done at our meething they were always  done before we got there. I think parent's should send to Se before what you want for your child a head a time.

Fine motor activities for preschoolers:

Sticker books

Colorforms

Felt board

Chalkboard ( either using chalk or a small wet sponge,  Qtips are great for this also)

Qtip dot painting- take a regular coloring page and show child how to fill in spaces using dots with a qtip

puzzles

tearing paper ( show child how to tear paper using thumb and index finger)

using a spray bottle filled with water helps build muscles in hands

picking up cotton balls or other objects using tongs

sqeezing an eyedropper with water in it.  can be done in bath or on water table

Finger puppets

Are you involved in Early On?
I would think the OT that works with that program can do an evaluation. You might also consider something thru your School district to do an assessment. They don't diagnose the Autism but they can do an evaluation independently.

My son Gabe is speech impaired and when he was 3 (he wasn't enrolled in any Special Ed program) I was able to have the Speech Teacher at the Elementary work with Gabe in between students. She worked with Gabe and 1 other child his age with the same issues. It was no cost to me, she was paid thru the school district via our tax dollars.

Something to think about.
Melissa39380.4007175926

I rely on the milestones written by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which are on the CDC website.

Hand and Finger Skills (24 months)

Hand and Finger Skills (36 months)

Source:  http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/actearly/milestones_3years. html

Thanks carol for the suggestions. I do a lot of peg puzzles which he does pretty good at but he struggles at the simple ones that don't have pegs(working on them). I also put clothespins on a plastic cup and make him put them on there and take them. Today was the first time i have made him do it in a long time. He did it very well and got a big smile on his face when he was done and I was excited too. I will definitely try the qtip painting(even though he doesn't like anything on his hands). I am excited b/c in about a month(he turns 3 on Nov. 18) he should be going to the doctor for his 3 year check-up. Hopefully they will find out that something is wrong and that he will get the help he needs. Fingers crossed.
Copyright Autism-PDD.net