We havent done any OT since about 2nd grade. I thought it was good for getting an understanding of what was going on with my son and to get ideas for what to do with him at home. (We went to an OT place for kids with autism and SPD.) But now that he's older his sensory issues seem to be less of an issue and our challenges are more socially related and dealing with his anxiety. He can handle the sudden loud noises, he can handle the light being too bright, he can eat hot food now, he lets me cut his toenails without tears. He still bumps into things and over reacts to small cuts or bruises, but for the most part, he has learned to cope with the overwhelming sensory input.

Honestly, up until he was about 8, we were just trying to get through the day with as few meltdowns as possible. From 6-8 is a blur to me. Partly from dealing with his SPD, partly dealing with my own depression triggered by a miscarriage, partly dealing with MIL being diagnosed with cancer and dying 2 months later. But anyway, I digress.

I think being exhausted and overwhelmed and not do things other families get to do sounds normal to me. It sucks, yes. But it gets better. As she matures, as she gets older, as those neurologic connections are made, things will get better.

Between 2nd and 3rd, his ability to handle the sensory things greatly improved. Starting with 3rd grade, we've been dealing with social issues. He started seeing a psychologist and joined a social skills group almost two years ago. He's learning how to be a friend, how to behave appropriately in different situations, learning scripts for what to say to people in conversations, etc.

He's come a long way since Jan 2008 when he was diagnosed. He's going into 5th grade now. I'm not sure where we would be now if he had been diagnosed earlier. It's hard to say.

When my son was doing OT, very little of it was how to hold a pencil. His mostly related to heavy muscle work and proprioceptive sense. At school he went on the playground swings, punched punching bag, maneuvered on the sitting scooter thing, jumped on trampoline, wheelbarrows, did cross-line brain activities (can't remember the right term). At the Ped OT center, he did the scooter thing too, went through an obstacle course sort of thing, including a tippy swing and ball pit, etc.

I would definitely look more into the new OT place, sounds like the other one was not SPD based. Try the new place for a while. She may be too young for a social skills group now but I think when she's 6, it might be beneficial to look for a group. You could look for either a behavioral psychologist or a psychologist who specializes in SPD and autism spectrum kids.

I don't know if this is just rambling or if anything is helpful.