Incorporating Occupational Therapy at Home
You know how every OT session ends with a string of instructions on "what to do in the morning, what to do in the afternoon, what to do at night, and what to do in between, and then some more 'for your spare time'"? Have you also felt frazzled by the thought of managing to juggle all that extra (necessary!) OT in your already overloaded schedules?
Mothers share tips on how they did it....
Leeba says:
There's just one word for it - or rather, two. GET. HELP. Don't be proud. Don't try to do it all alone. Are there chessed girls in your area who have offered help and you could not figure out which of your tasks they could possibly take over? This is the perfect 'job' for them - spend one 'session' showing them what needs to be done, and let them come in twice or three times a week to come and do it with your child. We did this at home and honestly - if not for them - my daughter would not have received the kind of extra help that the therapist had warned me was so crucial - it was simply not feasible (she is the fifth in a closely-spaced series). I thank G-d every day for the day I decided to swallow my pride and pick up the phone to call that nearby seminary.
And you know what - it wasn't even as humiliating as I thought it would be - after all, it isn't about me, and it isnt' about my house being dysfunctional.. my daughter was born with special needs - that is not my fault -and I am looking for help for her - I found that people actually respected that.
Chana says:
It's true that doing all the therapy the OT wants at home is hard, but while we need to try, there are other things we can 'incorporate' into activities we are already doing. If we can't do it all - that should not be a reason to drop all of it. Every little bit we can get in - even if it's not the ideal amount the OT had originally requested - is still going to boost our child. That was one major lesson I learned.
Here is a great website from an OT who shows how you can use regular games and regular household activities as OT -
Do YOU have any ideas you can share?
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