Evaluations
If you’ve ever had a garden, you know that if you pull weeds, but leave the roots in the ground, it’s only a matter of time until they grow back. In nearly 40 combined years of working in OT, we’ve seen many beautiful children come in after having been stuck in a cycle of therapies for years. Each therapy hacks at the leaves, and the problem seems to improve - until it grows back and manifests itself a different way.
If you don’t strike at the root, your child will never be free. If you do, years of issues often start resolving themselves, even when not addressing them directly.
Parents from across the United States and around the world bring their children to Hands On OT for evaluations. While we’re certified in many types of therapies, we do not feel bound to any particular method. We approach each child with as open a mind and as wide a view as possible, ready to find the root of what’s holding her back.
“If all you have is a hammer, everything else is a nail.” If a professional specializes in ADD, he’ll be more likely to see ADD as the cause, and treat it using standard ADD treatment. To find and solve the underlying cause of a child’s difficulties, you need to be as broad-minded as possible.
It doesn’t have to be this hard for you and your child. Get to the bottom of it and turn your lives around.
When we came to Amy and Evelyn, my son was getting OT, PT, and seeing a therapist once a week. He was also on ADHD medication.
I'm still in middle of the program but we've already seen improvement in his behavior to the degree that we recently took him off his ADHD medication with great results.
The program is a process and my son is still in the middle, however at this point his anxiety seems to be completely non-existent. We didn't even go for that initially, but Evelyn and Amy detected it right away. None of the psychologists he's seen ever thought he had anxiety when I brought it up.
Their thorough evaluation detects every detail about the child.
Esti, Mother of Yaakov
Evaluations at Hands on OT: What to Expect
When you call to set up an evaluation appointment, we’ll speak to you and ask you some questions about your child to get an initial picture of what your child is dealing with.
We will set a date with you for an evaluation. An evaluation runs two hours and covers assessment of neuro-developmental, gross motor, fine motor, reflex and neurochemical issues. Both therapists are involved in the entire evaluation process with you and your child. After the evaluation, areas of concern are discussed and recommendations are made to help you get on the right path.
An evaluation does not include:
- Recommendations of specific exercises to perform as treatment. (This falls under therapy.)
- A treatment session immediately after the evaluation. Even if you decide to pursue therapy at Hands on OT, we are unable to treat your child immediately. The evaluation stresses your child’s system to see how he will react and perform under all circumstances. He will be tired and it will not be an effective time for treatment.
We approached Amy and Evelyn after a long arduous journey of different therapies with our son. My son had been receiving therapies such as standard OT, speech, SEIT, since he was 18 months old to help with his ADHD/ autism symptoms. When the typical therapies yielded no results, we looked a bit further, trying alternative routes like homeopathic treatment, iLS, medicine, and more. Unfortunately, relief was temporary or nonexistent.
My son still was unable to sit still, connect meaningfully with people, and was basically all over the place. Daily routine was a nightmare. Ditto for going anywhere public with him. Crowds overwhelmed him. He would either have a meltdown or act hyper and silly, which had people raising eyebrows at us; we could hear them think, "What kind of parents are they?" He was seven years old, with the maturity level of a three year old.
When a couple who we know suggested Hands on OT because they had used its services, we were a bit skeptical, but knowing their child and seeing their child's positive results prompted us to go ahead with it.
Doing the daily exercises was frustrating, intense, and HARD. It took some time for us to get into a consistent routine. But no pain, no gain, right? Now, a year later, we can say that our persistence has more than paid off.
Three years ago, my son was diagnosed with Aspergers and ADHD. I don't think that label fits him anymore. His emotional maturity has improved tremendously. He is learning how to express his needs effectively and is a lot calmer now. He is also able to keep up scholastically. We actually are enjoying his company now! We are getting to know our bright, creative child in a way we never knew him.
In his principal’s words: "I don't recognize this year’s David from last year’s David."
Melissa, Mother of David
Contact Us
Be in touch now to share your concerns and discuss how we might be able to help your family.