As Good As It Gets

Emily has fine motor delays. She has received OT at school since she was 3 years old and we have done private OT since she was 6 years old. She has made tremendous progress in 9 years. She is able to form all letters and numbers and can write her first and last name from memory. She is working on words and sentences copied from models. Her spacing and letter size have greatly improved over the years. However, there has been a few times over the years that she has regressed and then caught back up. She recently had some major regression at home and with private OT. School was still decent so we decided to take a break from private OT, thinking she was just getting burned out with so much writing at school. She would have to do an extra 30 minutes to one hour of writing after school some days. It was decided that we would start back private OT this summer when the schedule was not as full. It was also mentioned that when school starts back in the fall, Emily would be dismissed from private therapy. At her IEP meeting a few weeks ago, her OT time for next year was also decreased as well.

While my check book will feel the ease of having to pay out of pocket over $350 a month from private therapies not covered by our insurance, I want to make sure Emily's needs are addressed. I have seen growth, but I still see so much progress that can be made. The subject of adaptive devices used alongside handwriting has been mentioned.  At what point do we refocus our goals of handwriting and concentrate on typing? After all, computers are a large part of our adult worlds. When Emily first received services, I had such high hopes. As the years have passed, I have seen how difficult the goals in the area of fine motor are for her. I also see the services she receives slowly become less and less. While I know that lack of funds is a huge part of cutting back, I also know that as she gets older, services will become scarce to non-existant.  I am not at a point where I am ready to give up on handwriting.  I am not ready to stop pushing her to be able to journal independently. I have heard that while some kids never learn to print, they flourish when it comes to cursive writing. I can't imagine Emily learning the letters in cursive, as it took her nearly 7 years to learn the alphabet. I am at a crossroads as to the direction that is best for her. I just can't help but think in the back of my mind...

Is this as good as it gets?

This is the best she has ever written in 9 yrs! Copied from a model about Earth Day

Thanks for reading,

Jessica