Hi there! I'm new here, and am hoping to find information to help my 5 year old. She is currently in pre-K and starting kindergarten in the fall. She started evaluations at the beginning of this school year for speech, PT and OT. Each evaluation, then meeting to determine eligibility ,then them finding a therapist in the district has taken so much time. Thankfully she is receiving speech & some PT services. We are at the point where the evaluator's report suggests OT but the district says it is too late in the school year to start now (!).
I am heartbroken that she will not get any therapy for another 4 months. Our insurance company says they will not cover independent occupational therapists for sensory issues, stating, "sensory integration is experimental and has not been proven, therefore will not be covered".
Unfortunately we do not have the funds to cover paying out of pocket for therapy, so we are at the point where I will need to provide her will some therapy myself. I am determined to give my child what she needs, however challenging that is. Any help or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!!!
Thank you !!

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I thought I'd add that she is a sensory seeker, but has not been diagnosed with any disorder.
Some of her issues are:
- She has a speech delay - still need to interpret for most people, although her receptive speech is way above normal.
- low oral tone
- Has NEVER eaten meat, since starting solids (has seen a nutritionist & has a decent diet otherwise - nuts, grains, veggies, tofu, eggs)
- Will stuff her mouth when eating something she likes - specifically cookies, muffins, bread, etc)
- fidgets constantly
- chews on everything inappropriate (now we have chewelry)
- walks on tiptoes
- is highly intelligent but has a hard time focussing in a group
- Hugs aggressively when excited - her peers don't like this.
- Is very high strung - quick to get upset when things don't go according to plan
- Does not respond to typical discipline, even though we have been consistent with time-outs & natural consequences. (i.e - when at our wits end we regretfully have spanked her but in response, she LAUGHS!!)
- Will have a stretch of being perfectly happy, then all issues intensify inexplicably.
- We find ourselves saying "she just doesn't listen", when we repeatedly tell her don't climb on that, don't climb on that, etc, and then she immediately does it. This is the most frustrating part since we can't help to feel that it reflects on us as parents, even though we really know that her impulses are just too great to control.

What state are you in?

Each state should have something like pattan.net which gives parents info on state laws and advocacy groups.

What you need to do immediately is find out how to request an IEP meeting before the end of the year and ask for "extended school year" INCLUDING OT services.

What the OT does with my son I never would/could have started on my own, and 2 years into it I still follow OT's instructions very closely.

I'm in NY. We had her annual review Tuesday, and she is only classified for a speech delay. She will be getting speech services over the summer because her speech therapist was at the meeting. She has seen her since Jan and is able to say that she regresses over long weekends, etc. Because of her, Anna will get speech all summer and have plenty in Kindergarten as well. The PT has only seen her a few times, wasn't at the mtg and therefore there was no way to prove that there would be regression over the summer. They informed me that summer services are only for preventing regression. So no OT. How can they determine regression if a kid hasn't started therapy?!? Seems kind of backwards, but that's where we are now. My next step after the big letdown from my ins. Co today, is to contact the district, express my concern, and request OT now. I doubt I'll get results, judging from the mtg, but we'll see...