United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I wanted to pass along something that Nicole's OT is doing to monitor her progress -- she's having the hospital periodically videotape Nicole doing various tasks and they're including the minutes and seconds on the tape. She pointed out that when you're showing progress, sometimes it's based on the time that it takes to do a task. Perhaps your child can already put 10 small pegs in a board and remove them, but it takes a long time to do it. So, in order for the therapists to monitor progress, it helps to be able to document how much more quickly the child can accomplish certain tasks -- not just that he/she can complete new tasks.

I really see what she means when we go to Kindermusik class b/c often Nicole can actively participate in the things that the other children (and adults) are doing, but it takes longer. Often, everyone else has already moved onto the next activity when Nicole has figured out her own way of doing it.

I also think this is important to remember for determining eligibility for school services too. They can do all the evaluations they want and check off what your child can and cannot accomplish, but what about how long it takes to complete a task? What about how they're going to feel if they're behind everyone else? Guess this stuff is all on my mind too as we have our PPT meeting coming up in which we'll do our first IEP.

Oh well, didn't mean to go off there. Just wanted to share this info. in hopes that it might help people in getting therapy, estim, school svcs, etc.

-Tina )

are you ever concerned that your insurance company will use the information against you in determining the necessity fo pt or ot? i know that our insurance has criteria that is generated by the bean counters and they are just looking for an opening to say that pt or ot is no longer needed. we already have to justify oursevlves to them every 14 visits. which is ever week.

are you ever concerned that your insurance company will use the information against you in determining the necessity fo pt or ot? i know that our insurance has criteria that is generated by the bean counters and they are just looking for an opening to say that pt or ot is no longer needed. we already have to justify oursevlves to them every 14 visits. which is ever week.

are you ever concerned that your insurance company will use the information against you in determining the necessity fo pt or ot? i know that our insurance has criteria that is generated by the bean counters and they are just looking for an opening to say that pt or ot is no longer needed. we already have to justify oursevlves to them every 14 visits. which is ever week.

Tina - for our IEP Maia's OT did a Peabody Test - this was timed test... Maia was given something, asked to do a task with each hand separately and then two hands together. The value of each task was also calculated based on time. The final calculations defined her delays. (They told me that Maia was 21 months delayed back then! yikes!)

I guess I am mentioning this because sometimes the kids don't want to be video'd and how they do the task and how long it takes can change just because they are being video'd. I noticed this with Maia when she was being video'd twice for TES assessment. It was like she was a different girl. She's really shy about those kinds of things. (unless it's mommy doing the taping- but the therapists didn't want me to do the taping because she needed to see certain things)

anyway...just an fyi - but you probably know about peabody tests already... lol

-francine

Thanks bunches, Tina. As you know, we've always handled Natty's therapy ourselves, but have decided to change all that and enlist the help of our local school system. We'll be scheduling her testing soon and your info will be a big help!

To Guest -- you bring up a very good point. Unfortunately, Nicole's function is still so severely limited that there's no way a PT or OT could say that she no longer needs therapy. Plus, although her function has so much room for improvement, she has showed continued progress (just very slowly). It is something to keep in mind for future reference or for others. Thanks for bringing up this thought. -Tina

Francine, thank you so much for posting this. Actually, Nicole's EI PT and OT are both doing the final Birth 2 3 evaluation based on the Battelle and the Peabody. They said that the Peabody is only gross and fine motor so that should bring out more of the delays (as the Battelle is more global and includes social, cognitive, etc.). However, I haven't seen them time anything. Furthermore, they didn't have her try things with each hand separately and then the two hands together. So, being that it's not final yet and that the PT will be over tomorrow, I will most certainly discuss this issue. So, you see, I did know about the Peabody tests, but not entirely. Hey, do you know if there's a website that has the test questions on it so I can read it over and print it?

Also, good point about the video and that could definitely have an impact. It's a good point for parents to keep in mind when determining whether or not to allow it. The way they do it at the hospital, I don't think Nicole really understood that she was even being videotaped though b/c the machine was so far away. It was all a very professional setup, unlike the Mommy videos where I run around with my camcorder. I did videotape Nicole once for TCH while the EI PT got Nicole to do different activities. That worked out well. Hopefully, I'll have her help again with our next video -- 3 months is fast-approaching, hah?

Well, thanks for all the info. -T

Hi, Stacy! You're welcome. I hope it helps. I'm sorry to hear about the surgery having to be postponed due to your illnesses. How's everyone doing? Better I hope. Let us know when you have a new date. -T