How did you know your twins needed an OT/PT

I know some twins on here see an OT or a PT and was wondering how you found out that this is what you needed?
TIA!

 

Your pedi will refer you to an OT/PT. That's what our pedi did for Sean anyway. HTH!

 

My girls saw a PT for the first time about two weeks ago. I'm worried about their gross motor development, since neither one of them is crawling yet or getting around any other way. So I went online and found the phone number for Early Intervention in my county and called and made an appointment. Someone from Public Health and a PT from the school district came out together and evaluated the girls. You could also discuss any concerns you have with your ped.

 

Our pediatrician refered us to a physical therapist.....you should schedule an appointment if you feel you child might have a need for it.

 

Based on our prematurity and low birth weights - we qualified for early intervention - and they referred us.

 

In our state preemies are required to be reviewed by our state's PT/OT. Other than that, your pediatrican should refer you if needed. Mine needed it for sucking issues...they can't suck appropriately enough to feed regularly.

 

We called Early intervention in our county and requested an eval! Liam qualified for OT and PT... BUT NOT ANYMORE!!!!

 

I have read alot on here and other twin sites about preemies needing PT. Nothing has even been mentioned to me by any of the doctors. While the girls were in the NICU there was a PT that would visit them daily but nothing after that. My girls are doing well with everything but transitioning to table food. Kaytlin just started to crawl and Alivea is going to be any day now. There doctor always does an evaluation on the girls and asks lots of questions about their development, etc. Is this normal for preemies to need PT?

 

I signed up for early intervention and my babies qualified due to very low birth weight. However, they were evaled for PT/OT through EI and didn't qualify. They are just screened every couple of months to make sure they are keeping up developmentally.

So to answer Angie, I think it just depends on the preemie, but I don't think it's unusual.

 

I used to be a PT for Early Intervention. Many of the children I saw were preemies. The evaluation basically just looks at whether the babies are hitting milestones for their age/adjusted age. If they have a certain % delay, then they qualify for services. OT services would be recommended if there was a fine motor delay (using hands for small tasks) or sensory processing issue, and PT would be recommended for a gross motor delay (rolling, crawling, standing, walking...).

On a personal note, I used to love seeing the preemies that didn't have any major diagnoses except for motor delay, because very often they just needed services for a short time to "kick-start" their development and then they were fine.

 

Most counties offer assistance. In Maryland it is called "Child Find". If your kiddos were preemies, they will generally send a nurse to evaluate them. It is provided by the Health Department. Not all preemies need it. Our boys are doing really well, so we just get monthly check-ups to make sure they don't have any developmental delay.

 

We have a PT that comes 2x/month. We were referred to them by the NICU due to being premature and low birth weight. They came out for an evaluation on my due date so the twins were 3 months old, adjusted age 0. So basically they couldn't tell if they were/were not hitting milestones. We just qualified because they were so premature. They are doing great and are not too far off from hitting milestones at their actual age. We aren't walking yet, but are cruising, walking with push toys, and started to stand alone.

I would check and see if your county has a birth to 3 program, probably through your local health dept.

 

I was referred to Early Intervention by my pedi for Douglas and he qualified due to "increased stiffness" in his lower exremities. We just finished all the paperwork and his PT will start next week. He's on the mark for all other developmental milestones for his adjusted age.