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(Miss Jaime, O.T.) From Diagnosis to Therapy – with Jaime Spencer

    If you’re concerned any of your preschoolers have developmental delays, and you’re not sure what to say to the pediatrician or the parents, join us today as we walk you through the process from noticing a developmental delay to getting a diagnosis and finally to starting therapy.

    At the early age of sixteen, Jaime already knew that being an Occupational Therapist was her calling. She is passionate about the daily progress that her fun programs can do for your child. In this episode, we talk about how parents should follow their instincts with what they observe with their child and how her role as an OT can help you turn things better.

    How It Began for Jaime

    Every young person has confusions over what they want to be when they grow up. But for Jaime, she already knew she wanted to be an Occupational Therapist since she was sixteen! She has worked for the public school system for over twenty years. Because of her immense love for occupational therapy, she also works even after school hours at a sensory gym and a hospital.

    As for sensory gyms, she points out that it is important to know if the OT stationed is trained. 

    “All OTs know about sensory. But not everyone is specifically trained in it. It is a very in-depth and complicated theory and there is specific training to it. So you wanna make sure that if that’s what you’re looking for, that’s what you got.”

    Early Intervention Is Everything – but How Do You Do It?

    Jaime highlights the importance of early intervention. She sites, “The earlier you can get help, the better. The parent needs to contact the school, but it depends where you live.

    From where I live, if the child is under three years old, it’s the government that takes care of early intervention. That means it’s the school. But if the child hits three, they’re considered school-age, then the school district is responsible for taking care of that child.”

    Based on your location, she suggests that you research where you should have an early intervention evaluation if your child is under three years old. 

    However, if your child is over three years old, you have to look into your school district and write a letter to the special education department. Make sure you write about what you are noticing and suspecting. This way, the administrator can line up the right professionals to assist your child.

    Behind the Fun: Your OT Is Not Just Playing!

    Play is work for Occupation Therapists like Jaime. So many people have remarked about how fun her job looks like because they’re all about playing. Although she admits that her job is tons of fun, Jaime clarifies that there is more to it than just games.

    “There’s a reason behind everything that we’re doing. I’m using toys and games as a therapeutic tool, depending on what the child’s weaknesses are.”

    For example, if they need to work on a child’s visual perception skills, they’d spend some time with puzzles. But surprisingly, playing on a swing is also a form of training as it improves visual tracking. 

    Parents might think that the OT is only playing and having fun, but every single activity is carefully calibrated and prepared for. 

    The Power of Following Through

    Jaime emphasizes how important it is to follow through. Parents tend to take updates for granted, but every strategy and effort put by the OT and the child depends on what you do about these updates.

    If your OT, speech therapist, or teacher in school is not giving you feedback, make it a habit to ask. There are ways that you can help by establishing simple practices at home. Your OT may look like they’re only having a lot of fun, but once you ask for feedback, Jaime guarantees you’re going to get a big fat note of all their observations and suggestions!

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