Meetings Can Be Therapeutic

As you know, because the boys were born quite prematurely...they have been receiving different types of therapies from our county's Early Intervention program ever since they came home from the hospital. They have received Physical, Speech, and Occupational Therapies in order to help them "catch up" developmentally.

Now that they will be three this year (I know...I know...I can't believe it either), they will no longer be eligible for services through the county Early Intervention program. Once they hit three years old, the local school district becomes responsible for their progress instead of the county. Therefore, back in May...we went through a whole new round of meetings and evaluations from therapists in all of the different areas of possible concern.

None of the boys were recommended for Physical Therapy or Speech Therapy, however all three boys were recommended for Occupational Therapy/Sensory Integration Therapy. This makes me SO very happy. A lot of their issues are "Sensory". The areas of sensory development generally occur in the third trimester of a pregnancy. As micro-preemies born at only 27 weeks gestation, I never got that far into the pregnancy...they missed that key developmental period in-utero...hence the reason why MANY kids who were preemies, end up with sensory issues. If you are unfamiliar with Sensory Integration Disorder...do a Google search for it...quite interesting stuff!

These recommendations not only made me very happy, but they also made me very apprehensive at the same time. These recommendations came from a team of professional therapists....but they weren't the ones making the approval decisions. Their job was only to evaluate the boys, then make recommendations to the school district. I know people who's kids have been approved, and I also know people who's kids have not been approved when they clearly could benefit from the services.

Today, I had meetings with members of the Committee on Preschool Education (CPSE) at the school district offices. The Chairperson of this committee was the one who was to make the final decisions. I was on the phone for an hour talking to our Pediatrician last night, and up until 1:00am doing research and preparing for the meeting. I had to do to some persuasion and justification in the meeting...but after all was said and done...

All three boys were approved for the recommended OT/Sensory Integration Therapy services. Each of the guys will be receiving services two times per week. They begin in September, and I couldn't be more thrilled!!!