School wants a doctor's prescription to do OT now??

[jodifla]

My son has been in school OT for K and 1st grade. But for 2nd grade, they now say he needs a doctor's note.

Anybody else have this going on? What kind of Dx are they looking for?

 

[tw1nsmom]

We've always needed prescriptions for all the therapy DS receives (OT, PT, Speech). Our district has it's own prescription form. You might want to check with yours. Our doctor doesn't put a diagnosis on it, just that DS needs the services. Really, I fill it out and she signs it.

 

[mariolatry]

Many states require OTs to have a doctor's order to treat patients.

 

[Becky2005]

We have always had to take the forms into the doctor. Basically the first one, I just wrote up a note & told the doctor what was needed.

Since ours was fine motor skill delays, it's not like something the doctor checks regularly. Normally, my kid is not writing with a pencil for a physical exam, that type of thing so the doctor wouldn't even really know that much for it.

It was a form though. My doctor is familiar with them & knows what the school asks for with all the different bazillion and 1 that the state requires here.

 

[Stitchfans]

We went along with that for quite a few years than got fed up with paying a co pay and our insurance being scammed for the doctors signature. That was all it was he signed the paper the nurse filled it out- we gave the $25 and the insurance gave them a little over a hundred for a few seconds of their time. Once she hit 7th grade I put an end to it.


Not to step on any toes but in my opinion an OT is just a fancy title for doing nothing and making a few bucks. The OT my DD had for all those years did squat. Just collected her paycheck.

 

[ajk912]

Here in Virginia it goes by age, not grade. You can get services under"developmental delay" through age 8 (or whenever they do the IEP for that year). So that sounds about right, with second grade. After that, you need a doctor's diagnosis to continue to receive services. Just have your doctor right a letter saying what is wrong with your child, and why he still needs OT. Here in VA you do this so you can qualify for "Other health impairment", because after age 8 you can no longer be developmentally delayed.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I am also wondering what about this.

I know that the SCHOOLS are mandated to do evaluation (or pay for evaluation) regarding any possible disability that would qualify for an IEP.
Disability and IEP plans are not limited by age or grade.
All you have to do is request an eval, thru the SPED, in writing.

The school may willingly offer OT to early education students who may be developmentally behind in their fine/gross motor skills.
I assume that this has been your son's situation.
But, at this age, noticable deficits that might still require OT can often be a marker for disability. (true neurological learning disabiltiy)
I know this, because this is case with my son's disability. (Which we had diagnosed independently when he was 7)

I do know that they just LOVE to get out of covering the OT.

My school actually asked for our insurance information so that they could file/bill our insurance!!!! ( I declined to give this to them)

The bottom line is that the one poster above is correct.
Even if they willingly cover OT, as Federal Guidelines would require, they simply say that 30min. per week is 'sufficient' or 'all they can offer'. Which really amounts to, ohhh, maybe, if one is lucky, 15-20 minutes per week. And, the OT given is often not heavy-duty effective...

If you have decent insurance, your best bet is to seek OT thru a reputable clinic. The first year after we got my son's diagnosis, we took him TWICE a week for an almost full hour session each time.

Hope this helps.

 

[ajk912]

I am also wondering what about this.

I know that the SCHOOLS are mandated to do evaluation (or pay for evaluation) regarding any possible disability that would qualify for an IEP.
Disability and IEP plans are not limited by age or grade.

I do know that they just LOVE to get out of covering the OT.

My school actually asked for our insurance information so that they could file/bill our insurance!!!! ( I declined to give this to them)

The bottom line is that the one poster above is correct.
Even if they willingly cover OT, as Federal Guidelines would require, they simply say that 30min. per week is 'sufficient' or 'all they can offer'. Which really amounts to, ohhh, maybe, if one is lucky, 15-20 minutes per week. And, the OT given is often not heavy-duty effective...

If you have decent insurance, your best bet is to seek OT thru a reputable clinic. The first year after we got my son's diagnosis, we took him TWICE a week for an almost full hour session each time.

Hope this helps.

It's always better to do OT and PT privately if you can afford it. Schools will only do what is necessarily for their education, which may not be what is necessary medically. I can't comment a lot on OT because it's been years since we have had that. We do have PT on consult though every 9 weeks. Let's say my dd couldn't jump and down, the school PT would not help with that. But if she couldn't walk up steps, they WOULD help with that because it's helpful for her education to be able to do that (for getting on and off the bus, etc). So it would be beneficial to do a private PT as well as the school PT.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Unfortunately, many families have insurance that puts severe limits on therapies such as OT and PT. Of course if you subscribe to Stitchfans' thinking, OT is worthless anyhow.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Unfortunately, many families have insurance that puts severe limits on therapies such as OT and PT. Of course if you subscribe to Stitchfans' thinking, OT is worthless anyhow.

Any parent, such as myself, who has seen the real benefits of good OT therapy in a child who needs it, would strongly disagree with stitchfan's thinking.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I just wanted to say that I had added some important comments to my above post... The edit didn't come thru?????

So, I edited it again.
OP, you may want to look at my above post again, if you are interested.

Thanks!

 

[Mkrop]

We went along with that for quite a few years than got fed up with paying a co pay and our insurance being scammed for the doctors signature. That was all it was he signed the paper the nurse filled it out- we gave the $25 and the insurance gave them a little over a hundred for a few seconds of their time. Once she hit 7th grade I put an end to it.


Not to step on any toes but in my opinion an OT is just a fancy title for doing nothing and making a few bucks. The OT my DD had for all those years did squat. Just collected her paycheck.

Then you had a lousy OT and should have requested a different one. DS6 has had several since he was 1 and then have done amazing things with him. He has one lousy PT who I put up with for several months bc I didnt know any better, I finally asked for someone different and that made a world of difference.

DS's fine motor skills have improved tremoundously and they have also dealt with his sensory intergration issues and have helped him improve greatly in that area. I am hiring a private OT for the summer to continue to work with him bc he does not qualifiy for Extended School Year.


To answer the OP, yes we needed a scrip for both his PT and OT, Dr just wrote that it was necessary for fine and gross motor delays.

 

[Stitchfans]

Any parent, such as myself, who has seen the real benefits of good OT therapy in a child who needs it, would strongly disagree with stitchfan's thinking.

As I had said in my post. The OT my DD had was a waste of time and a waste of money. Maybe some of them are worth it. In our experience it was not. I was only going by our experience and telling it as we saw it. It felt like it was just a way for the OT to make some money and for our doctor to make some easy money by just signing his name to a piece of paper once a year.

 

[StitchfansJr]

I am Stitchfans's daughter and I wanted to share my experiences with my OT from elementary school. I would get randomly taken out of class to go with my OT. Then we would go into a pre-school room. There were a ton of tiny little chairs everywhere and little play toys. I was in 5th/6th grade then. I remember one time I would jump on a trampoline while catching beanie babies. I didn't get the point of that. After that we would sit down and she would give me a pair of scissors and test how well my cutting skills were. I thought that I was very good at cutting things and I didn't see a point in that, either.

The only thing that I still do now is that she taught me was how to write in cursive. Now I mostly type everything. If I don't type it, I write in print. The only time I ever have to write in cursive is when I sign my name on something, which is rare.

The only other thing that I remember was when we were in her classroom she told me to say the ABCs as fast as I could. I had a really bad stuttering problem, so that made it worse. My speech therapist always told me to slow down and not talk too fast.

 

[freckles and boo]

My younger daughter has autism and has received OT services since she was three. She had no verbal language until she was four when the OT clued us in to the fact that she was hyposensitive. Once she started receiving sensory therapy she began to talk. She just turned seven and is doing grade level work but she has an intensive sensory "diet" at school that helps her focus and normalize. Her OTs have been amazing and they have all been through the schools or our special ed co-op. We have always needed a doctor's "prescription" although it has really just been a signature on a school form. I have never paid a co-pay to get this signature.

 

[daughtersrus]

We have always needed a new prescription each year for our DD to receive PT and OT but not for ST. School districts can request that you allow them to file with your private health insurance but you are not required to do that. If your child receives services through the government (Medicaid/Public Aid), the school district is allowed to file for reimbursement. I NEVER allow them to file with our insurance. We have a life-time max of $1 Million. Since DD has a rare genetic disease with a lot of medical issues, sadly we may hit that max and be without insurance coverage for her.

Our prescription doesn't list a diagnosis just that she is able to receive PT and OT. I'm sure that this is to cover the school for liability reasons as well. There are some conditions that may have restrictions or limitations and if a therapist were to go beyond those, the child may be injured.

 

[stm61]

I teach a self-contained classroom and spent most of the year trying to get a dr's signiture on an OT form. Mom took the form to the dr, but he hadn't seen the child in a year so he couldn't sign it. He wasn't going to charge, he didn't even need to see the boy if he'd been in within a year. The OT we have is VERY good. She was the one running to the dr's office trying to find out why the form hadn't been mailed in to the school. This child just finished 6th grade and has never had OT services.

 

[KirstenB]

We went along with that for quite a few years than got fed up with paying a co pay and our insurance being scammed for the doctors signature. That was all it was he signed the paper the nurse filled it out- we gave the $25 and the insurance gave them a little over a hundred for a few seconds of their time. Once she hit 7th grade I put an end to it.


Not to step on any toes but in my opinion an OT is just a fancy title for doing nothing and making a few bucks. The OT my DD had for all those years did squat. Just collected her paycheck.

I'm sorry this was your experience. However, it's not fair to paint an entire profession with such a broad brush. Kind of like if you had one bad doctor, saying all doctors have fancy titles for doing nothing and making a few bucks.

My experience is with autism, and I can tell you for a fact, OT's can radically improve the lives of children with autism. Kids who can't stand the feel of certain textures, kids who struggle with motor planning, where even putting together a simple puzzle is tricky. The OT can help the child overcome these aversions and struggles. And that's only a small niche of patients.

Sorry to go off-topic, but if your child has sensory issues, OT's can really help your child.

 

[jodifla]

Thanks for the input everybody.

My DS doesn't have much hand strength, although it's coming along. He definitely needs the OT for writing help.

 

[phamton]

I'm sorry this was your experience. However, it's not fair to paint an entire profession with such a broad brush. Kind of like if you had one bad doctor, saying all doctors have fancy titles for doing nothing and making a few bucks.

My experience is with autism, and I can tell you for a fact, OT's can radically improve the lives of children with autism. Kids who can't stand the feel of certain textures, kids who struggle with motor planning, where even putting together a simple puzzle is tricky. The OT can help the child overcome these aversions and struggles. And that's only a small niche of patients.

Sorry to go off-topic, but if your child has sensory issues, OT's can really help your child.

Thanks for this kind post.

My daughter is an OT at a private pediatric clinic. I'm very proud of the things she does to help children. She graduated college with a 4.0 GPA has her masters degree from University of Texas. She spent several months of working with adult stroke victims and car crash victims but then settled into pediatrics. Most of her kids have autism, cerebral palsy, or sensory issues. She loves helping kids and works hard.