Pediatric OT

by Toby Black
(Bowling Green, KY)

I have worked in pediatrics since 1973 and I had an opportunity to learn the Southern Calif. Test with Jean Ayres as one of the instructors. That experience opened up a career long direction for me in my practice. i used videos to review behaviors and can clearly see the before and after treatment effects for this disorder. It is challenging to try to validate what we see in the clinic although the parent reports indicate that educating parents and working with the child have improved behavior; social responses; and

focus in the classroom.

We have moved from a few books on the topic to lots of WEB sites. There was one catalog for equipment and now there are many. Parents are buying the equipment and setting up sensory rooms in the home. schools are equipping sensory corners for students. This has not been a "fad" but a long process of helping children one at a time. This is the best way to judge success of treatments and we continue to see the movement grow.