You might recall from last year that we are having a bit of a problem with the school OT understanding the whole area of sensory integration dysfunction. This year, the school has invested in sensory profile kits or something of the sort, so his teacher suggested we have one done for Joey by us, by both his teachers, and hopefully by our private OT. However, this all has to be done under the auspices of the school OT. It's her province, after all. Her turf. Her kingdom. Lack of training or experience be damned.
So we get it all set up, except the OT needs to be tracked down to sign the paperwork. So of course, instead of just sending the profile home, she has decided she needs to "discuss" it over the phone. At least, that was what the first message said- she wanted to discuss the profiles, and it would take about 15 minutes.
That sounds OK. A profile is an evaluation, and I can understand requirements to explain to parents what the evaluation is and is intended to discover, even if said parent has been through the evaluation process before. I know what a sensory profile is and what it is for, but there are procedures to be followed. Fine.
Communication issues have scuttled the attempts to make phone contact, but I am really, really worried about the phone message today. According to the message, this phone interview will now take 20 minutes, and will consist of yes/no questions. Am I going nuts, or does that sound to anybody else like this lady is going to try to do this over the phone?
I was concerned enough to email her about my confusion, which was probably a mistake, but I don't want to do this over the phone. I want the questionnaire in hand, so my husband and I can properly discuss the questions and provide the most accurate information we have about Joey's reactions and behaviors, and try to get an honest assessment of his sensory needs. I'm not talking about agonizing over every little detail, but certainly a "yes/no" over the phone doesn't seem accurate or appropriate. Or am I just getting the dander up? Perhaps she has other yes/no questions to ask? Besides, the other profiles I did were gradients, not yes/no. Did anybody do one that was yes/no?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
OMG! Is this lady nuts? I would contact your state professional association for OT's and inquire about this. Seriously. Nik's eval was so complex that it took us DAYS to complete at home and the teacher had to do her own. Then the OT combined them and scored them and THEN we spent nearly an hour discussing the whole thing to make sure the answers were solid (some of the questions are kind of vague) as she explained what they were really asking or split the hairs a little finer so we could get a truer picture of Nik's sensory issues.
For some UNTRAINED (in sensory profiles) OT to think she can, literally, phone it in? UNBELIEVABLE!!
I would also ask her **specifically** what the name of the testing protocol is that she is planning to use, research it and find out how it *should* be administered. You many need that info later if the undtrained person's eval indicates NO need for any sensory component being added to his IEP.
(My rambling two cents...)
Post a Comment