Sensory Motor Evaluations
Occupational or Physical Therapy Evaluation
Our comprehensive evaluations begin with an intake questionnaire completed by the parents in order to identify the areas of concern. This gives us the ability to individualize the assessment process and choose the most appropriate standardized evaluation tools.
In addition to these standardized assessments, clinical observations will provide further information regarding your child’s functional performance. Areas that may be evaluated include: Gross motor skills, fine motor skills, visual perception, motor coordination, postural strength, sensory processing skills, self-help skills, visual tracking, handwriting, and feeding challenges.
Our physical therapists are also able to address any concerns regarding gross motor skills, coordination, balance, gait, the need for orthotics, or the treatment of torticollis. Our Physical and Occupational therapists work together to enhance your child’s therapeutic experience and promote functional gains.
The evaluation typically takes one to one and a half hours. Based on our experience, we are usually able to get the most accurate information and picture of overall functional performance of a child if the parent is not present for the evaluation.
Our therapists are experienced at presenting the testing items in a playful manner in order to make your child feel comfortable during the evaluation. If, however, you feel that your child will have difficulty separating, you are welcomed to be present for the evaluation, but we ask that you limit interactions with your child.
Following the evaluation, a full written report will be provided, which covers the standardized data as well as clinical observations, background information, assessment and recommendations. A one hour parent conference will then be scheduled in order to explain the results and answer any questions about the recommendations and treatment. The treating therapist will then work with the parents to develop treatment goals based on the assessment.
Handwriting Evaluations
The ability to write legibly and efficiently is paramount to a child’s educational success. Evaluation of handwriting skills includes tests for legibility, speed, visual perceptual skills, visual motor skills, grasp, and fine motor skills. Often, difficulties with handwriting are a result of poor gross motor skills and postural control, or difficulties with sensory processing, visual tracking, or attention. Based on parent concerns and clinical observations by the therapist, a full sensory motor evaluation may be recommended. However, if the child appears to only be having difficulty with handwriting, then a comprehensive handwriting evaluation can be conducted.
Occupational Therapy Treatment
Occupational therapists help individuals restore or develop functional performance skills in areas that “occupy” that person’s time. For children, these areas include play, self-help skills, school performance, and social interactions. Our trained and Texas licensed Occupational therapists provide one-on-one sessions, which are play based in nature. Our services are provided in our state-of-the-art, fully equipped sensory motor gym located at Hillcrest and LBJ freeway or at our satellite sensory motor gym located at Oak Hill Academy. Your child will love developing their skills in these fun, supportive, and enriching environments.
Our therapy sessions are 50 minutes of treatment time and 10 minutes for treatment note write up and consultation between the therapist and parent. A variety of treatment techniques will be utilized in order to address the areas identified on the initial evaluation and the goals set by the parent and therapist, as well as overall functional performance. Areas that may be addressed include: Fine motor skills, gross motor skills, postural control, sensory processing skills, praxis, self-help skills, visual perceptual and visual motor skills, handwriting, social skills, coping skills, and self-concept and behavior.
Physical Therapy Treatment
Physical therapists help individuals restore or develop functional skills through strengthening, range of motion, coordination, balance activities, and gait training. At SPOTS, a sensorimotor and neurodevelopmental approach will be incorporated to address the whole child and their individual needs. Our Physical therapists are licensed by the Board of Texas Physical Therapy Association. Our services are provided in our state-of-the-art, fully equipped sensory motor gym located at Hillcrest and LBJ freeway or our satellite sensory motor gym located at Oak Hill Academy. Your child will love developing their skills in these fun, supportive, and enriching environments.
Our therapy sessions are 50 minutes of treatment time and 10 minutes for treatment note write up and consultation between the therapist and parent. A variety of treatment techniques will be utilized in order to address the areas identified on the initial evaluation and the goals set by the parent and therapist, as well as overall functional performance. Areas that may be addressed include: gross motor skills, postural control, sensory processing skills, praxis, self-help skills, visual perceptual and visual motor skills, social skills, coping skills, and self-concept and behavior.
Sensory Integration Therapy
Sensory integration is the ability to organize sensations for use during functional tasks. It involves the five sensory systems known by most people (taste, smell, vision, hearing, and touch), but also involves the vestibular system (sense of movement and gravity) and the proprioceptive system (sense of feedback from the muscles and joints that allows us to know where we are in space). The tactile (touch), vestibular, and proprioceptive systems are important in the developmental process, allowing accurate processing of sensations from our body and the environment in order to generate appropriate motor responses. A child with a well-integrated sensory system is able to process complex sensory information and successfully execute goal-directed actions on the environment.
Based on these adaptive responses, the child is able to register, interpret, organize and integrate sensory information in order to build motor skills such as postural control, muscle tone, body awareness, bilateral coordination, praxis, self-help skills, eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, social interactions, arousal level and emotional control.
When a child’s nervous system is having difficulty accurately processing this complex sensory information, they may have difficulty responding appropriately to meet challenges. Simple tasks may be difficult, which leads to frustration and avoidance of sensory opportunities or movement challenges. Children with Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD) are usually referred to Occupational or Physical Therapy due to behavioral, social, or motor coordination difficulties. The following are some red flags:
- Overreaction or under-reaction to sensory stimuli
- Doesn’t tolerate hair-brushing, dental work, or tags in clothing.
- Doesn’t realize when injured.
- Is unusually active or on the go.
- Is sedentary most of the time.
- Impulsive or unusually high activity level – risk taker
- Avoidance of playground equipment
- Decreased attention span or ability to concentrate
- Decreased strength
- Clumsiness due to decreased muscle tone or balance
- Difficulty with changes in routine or transitions
- Delayed language skills
- Poor Self-Concept
- Difficulty with coping skills
- Difficulties with academics
- Social-Emotional difficulties
- Delayed play skills
Sensory Integrative therapy helps the child to better process sensory information in order to build the foundational motor skills that are important for functional performance. The therapist provides the “just right” challenge to the child’s sensory and motor systems for the child to achieve an adaptive response. This builds the sensory and motor pathways in the brain, leading to improved sensory processing and motor output. This process continues until the child begins to build a foundation of sensory and motor skills.
Handwriting Instruction
We instruct children in handwriting with an emphasis on hand strength, grasp, and correct formation and proportion of letters. Based on the program being used in the child’s school setting, the parents input and the therapist’s observations, we will be able to choose the most appropriate handwriting program for your child. Some of the programs we use include Handwriting without Tears, First Strokes, and Loops and Other Groups. Handwriting instruction is usually a part of a comprehensive therapy program that includes overall strength and coordination activities before working on paper and pencil instruction. In addition, we utilize a multisensory approach, which helps the child learn the motor pattern for each letter group before working on paper.
Visual Perceptual Training
Visual perception is the ability to take in visual input, organize it, and interpret it. It is important for a multitude of functional tasks such as putting together puzzles, building with legos, finding objects in drawers, writing, reading, and math. We work to develop the foundational visual perceptual skills and also use compensatory techniques in order to maximize your child’s abilities.
Self-Help Skills
In addition to the sensory and motor concerns identified during the initial assessment, some children also have difficulty with functional self-help skills that allow us perform in our daily lives. Examples of these skills include: shoe tying, buttons, putting on and taking off clothing, the use of utensils for eating, putting on and taking off shoes and socks, cutting food, and brushing their teeth. These occupations are important in daily life and provide the child with confidence in their skills. Occupational therapists are trained in ways to help facilitate development in these areas. Please be sure to communicate any concerns about your child’s self-help skills during the initial evaluation or at any time during treatment.
Additional Services
Sensory Feeding Therapy
Some children have tactile or gustatory sensitivity in or around the mouth, which may cause them to have limited food preferences. This can cause stress at family meal times and can limit the child’s nutrition. Often, these children benefit from sensory integrative therapy in addition to sensory feeding strategies in order to decrease sensitivity and increase food choices.
Handwriting Groups
During the summer months, SPOTS holds handwriting camps both at the main clinic and at the Oak Hill campus. The focus is on formation and proportion of letters as well as grasp and hand development. A multisensory approach is utilized in order to optimize learning and retention of the letters and their formation. Groups are formed based on age and the most appropriate type of handwriting instruction. In addition, special arrangements can be made to hold small handwriting groups at the clinic or at your child’s school throughout the year.
Classroom Observation and Consultation
In addition to ongoing Occupational and Physical therapy services, it is often beneficial for the therapist to observe in the child’s classroom in order to give the teacher specific information that will help a child function more appropriately in the classroom environment. Areas of assistance often include sensory diet programming, handwriting instruction, fine motor activities, gross motor needs, social interactions, schedules, and classroom organization.
Parent Education
In conjunction with therapy, ongoing parent education is important in order to provide consistency between treatment sessions. This service is provided at no additional cost in order to support our families and help facilitate optimal collaboration between the parents and therapists. We spend time at the end of each session discussing progress, concerns and home program ideas. Oak Hill Academy parents are contacted and a method of communication is agreed upon, whether it is by e-mail, phone conferences, or written notes. In addition, parent conferences are provided after the initial evaluation at no additional charge. Parents may also request a parent conference at any time during the treatment course for a fee.
Home and School Programs
As part of our SPOTS treatment strategy, we provide comprehensive home and/or school programs as needed in order to help facilitate development of motor and sensory processing skills outside of therapy sessions. Your therapist will provide suggestions, based on your child’s abilities and challenges, and will help to adjust those suggestions as more information is gathered. Examples of home programs include sensory diet strategies, fine and gross motor activities, and handwriting and/or visual perceptual homework.
Community In-Services and Education
At SPOTS, we believe that community education is part of our responsibility to our patients. We are continually providing community education on topics such as normal development, sensory integration treatment, handwriting instruction, and hand development skills. Please contact the main clinic if you would like to schedule an in-service on one of these or other topic.
Functional Vision Screen
Eyesight is your visual acuity, but there is much more to vision than eyesight! In order for children to be able to engage in sports, read text and toggle between far and near point tasks, functional vision skills must be working properly. We are qualified to screen for functional vision deficits in the areas of smooth pursuits, saccades, and convergence. If one of these skills is identified as deficient, a referral to a trusted developmental optometrist in the area may be given. Often, the recommendation is to incorporate visual tracking exercises into Occupational or Physical therapy sessions. However, sometimes more intense work is needed to help the child better process visual information and vision therapy may be recommended.