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Though some therapies
involve job related activities most are just being able to fend for
yourself somewhat. An Occupational Therapist OT is interested in improving
a disabled persons ability to cope with everyday situations. Whether it be making
a sandwich or going to the bathroom. It's all about Quality of Life /
Standard of Living
Alphabetical listing of
most pages on this site: Exceptions
will be state and county pages. Some are not linked from
this sidebar but from within a page
The CP Links Page is where you will find most Federal, State and local County pages. My attempt to clarify CP you may find the information provided by NINDS is more specific and detailed There are many different treatments and I only name those I am familiar withHow it is essential to maintain range of motion How it is essential to maintain quality of life What I know through my experience By far not even close to what you should know and Orthotics Again what I know through experience Much more can be had searching the net or talking with doctors and therapists CP LINKS Cerebral Palsy Glossary More Information of CP provided by NINDS Specific Neurological
Disorders My take on the IEP,
IDEA 2004 (Public Law 94-142 & Public Law 101-476), and the 504 plan. IEP overview 504 plan & IDEA Q&A
Parent & Educator Guide of 504 Plan concepts and real life accommodations. Drafted by the OSPI and 5 Puget Sound area School Districts but would be a valuable asset to any fighting for their child's 504 accommodations anywhere U.S.A. IDEA 2004 summary& Washington State Chapter 392-172 WAC
SPED special education and the IEP FORUMS (BBS)
MEMBER PAGES
Pierce County Events
AMBER'S STORY In the share your story section people like you will post their unique experiences and through what is said you may find you are not alone. You may also find a friend and someone you can relate to. And possibly a way to realize your own goals. Websites created by people who have CP or someone in their family has CP. Net-etiquette applies. All sites are subject to approval. Banners and text allowed on these links. NON CP RELATED All sites are subject to approval. All Non-CP links are text only with a line or two of information of the link posted. Please notify me of any broken links so I can remove or fix them. Join with me in trying to educate the public of CP and other disabilities What motivated me to build this site Direct your comments to Robert. Robert wrote a Science Fiction trilogy while being laid up. It took 4 years to complete and he has for sale Book 1 of the trilogy HERE He is awaiting editing and copyrights on books 2 & 3 before sending them to the publisher. Book 1 can stand alone and is a complete novel of 237 pages and 135,000+ words in PDF format. Making Money Online (or not) Other sites I have or to be more precise the wife has and I take care of.
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Occupational Therapy
When you think of Occupational you probably think of a job. Right? Well Not so when it comes to therapy. Though some therapies involve job related activities most are just being able to fend for yourself somewhat. An Occupational Therapist OT is interested in improving a persons ability to cope with everyday situations. Whether it be making a sandwich or going to the bathroom. It's all about Quality of Life / Standard of Living. As a small child they may work on grasping kitchen utensils or just using those at the dinner table. They will work on different methods to get dressed and button or tie ones shirt or shoes. They will work on trying to get the person as self-sufficient as they can. A Therapist can make recommendations for apparatus that will aide in ones ability to do certain tasks. Whether it be a simple kitchen gadget that will hold a bowl in place to modifications to your automobile to allow easy access or the ability to drive. In many cases you would take these recommendations to your local Department of Developmental Disabilities and try to get them to spring for the cost. Good Luck! We have fought for everything Amber has gotten from the DDD and that has not been much. Perhaps $200.00 worth of stuff over the past 15 years. She qualifies for up to $2000.00 a year but getting a dime is like pulling your own teeth. They always have a reason to deny you even when you have several Doctors and Therapists letters in hand stating that these items are essential. If they can't come up with a good reason they will use the "Your child won't be the only one to use the item" line of crap. It is worth trying, especially on expensive items but be prepared to buy it yourself. I've found DDD does little more than make my life miserable. Many items that will help your child can be made at home, if you have a bit of talent or imagination. The Doctor may be able to give you a prescription for some items that can then be made at the hospitals orthotic unit or bought at a medical supply store and if you have decent insurance most will be paid for. But expect to have to fight for most everything. The Occupational Therapist can give you ideas as to where to get certain items and they can even help in smoothing over the process but they are not Doctors and they cannot write a prescription for an apple peeler, if that is what is needed. Nor could a Doctor for the most part. These items are either to be fought for through your local DDD or bought by you. (Speaking of the apple peeler this is not something we ever asked for as we had one we used a lot cause we can a lot during harvest. Amber found it fun and rewarding to help using the peeler. If securely placed she could do as well as I and her contribution did not go unnoticed.) As a young child the mere fact of doing something useful that helped the family was of great significance, it also brought great reward and pleasure to Amber. The Therapist will work with you and your child on how to accomplish tasks that for most would be easy. They will show you certain tricks they have for getting essential things done or work with your child in brainstorming a way to make it happen. Amber had great difficulty washing her hair and the Therapist actually went into the shower with her (in bathing suits) and showed her how she could manage it herself instead of calling for Mom. Simple everyday tasks can be daunting obstacles for the impaired and an Occupational Therapists job is to try to make them possible. They don't always succeed and in failure we often find frustration but One must always keep trying. It took a year before Amber could tie her shoes and two years before she could put her hair in a pony tail. But given time and trial and error much can be accomplished. There will always be a lot that can't, depending on how severely your child is affected. Do not hesitate to use your Occupational Therapist to help you brainstorm ideas nor to write letters to DDD or DSHS or whatever other places you need help from. A letter to the school, your child attends, can do wonders in getting special consideration. Even if they are already in a special needs program under an IEP or just the 504 plan. Occupational therapy is simply a means to help your child cope with every day life. The Therapists will work on helping your child succeed in a task they find difficult and yes they are there to help in preparing your child for a job if that is necessary. I think it is obvious what the difference in Physical therapy and Occupational therapy is. Take advantage of both to the extent you can. Especially while your child is young and more apt to be able to adapt. Also while they are covered under your insurance as a child. Once they hit that 18 years old mark services will drop dramatically so take advantage of all you can while you can. Your Therapists can be exceptional advocates for your child. They may not have the time nor the inclination to go beating down doors but we have never found them unwilling to write letters and send emails on our behalf. Getting DSHS or DDD to take notice is a whole other mater which requires a lot of time and effort on your part. If you happen to have money you can usually get what you want through a lawsuit but if you have the money for a Lawyer you probably would be better off buying the damn thing yourself and save the aggravation of dealing with bureaucrats whose sole purpose is to make your life miserable while they draw a paycheck. BUT if you feel it is worth fighting for then by God fight. You may not win but this is your child we are talking about and you are most likely the only person who cares enough to put in the time to fight the system. You may not win but at least you can say you tried. And another thing don't take the first NO as an answer. In fact don't take the first dozen NO's as an answer. You keep fighting. Sometimes you can wear them down. Use your Therapists and Doctors letters and threaten lawsuits if you feel it appropriate. DDD dropped Amber when she was about 11 years old. I immediately filed a complaint and started the process for Court action. I hadn't the funds for a Lawyer so I was defending myself. I spent nearly 4 months in preparation and had a folder 5 inches thick with letters and tests and documentation of every aspect of Ambers life. I got a call the evening before the Court date stating DDD was dropping the case. I've never again had DDD say they were dropping Amber from their roles. Though we haven't ask for, nor received anything from DDD in several years, I wasn't going to let them just arbitrarily drop her. I would have won. I had an ace in the hole in a piece of paper that showed Ambers WISC III test scores when she was in 3rd grade was a 69. This alone was cause to keep her on DDD, though I had plenty of other ammunition. What really pissed me off was their dropping the case the afternoon before the trial. They had either never intended to go to trial and were just bluffing me in hopes they would be able to drop Amber and I would sit back and do nothing or at the last moment they knew I had them beat. How they would have known is beyond me as I never told them anything. I will assume they were bluffing and so should you. Take them to court if you have to. It is the only way to know for sure if your child will qualify or not. DDD like all governmental bureaucracies are not interested in you the individual. They are interested in their own job security and their budgets and occasionally they will do something of worth to justify their existence. Do NOT allow them to bully you. If you feel your child has been denied unfairly their are generally protocols in place to protest and you can always go over their heads and if necessary sue them. But I digress. Sorry I tend to go off like that. If you have any other questions of Occupational Therapy I would suggest you post to the Forums or hit the links. The best place for information is from the Therapists themselves. Most Hospitals have them and if you make an appointment they are usually willing to answer all your questions. Occupational Therapy, like Physical therapy, is all about Quality of Life / Standard of Living Your Child deserves every opportunity to be independent and baring that the absolute best Quality of Life / Standard of Living You can provide. Occupational Therapy is just another of the Treatments that can help to meet those goals. Good luck and remember never give up. I would suggest you read the page on this site called " More Information of CP provided by NINDS As it delves deeper into CP and its causes and treatments than I do on this page. If you have questions post them in the forums.
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Donations/Gifts are graciously accepted, Just log on to www.Paypal.com , Click "Send Money" tab and follow the instructions to send money from an existing Paypal account or by any major Credit Card. Use the email address below to make a Donations/Gifts on Paypal.
If you do not see an email address it is because you need to enable javascripts. The email is in javascript to foil the spambots. You can also mail a Donation/Gift to Tami Taormina P.O. Box 4463 Spanaway, WA. 98387 I cannot force
any to use the forums but I would encourage you to do so if you have
questions you would like answers to or have a statement you would like to
make. I know that having to register and using the anti-spambot code makes
you have to do one more step than most, but it also insures that the
forums are not bombarded by spambots posting crap on the site. I try to
check the forums at least weekly (often daily) and I have to say that so
far I am disappointed that none have chosen to take advantage of this free
opportunity to get and give information. I built this site to help the
disabled get information and the use of the forums and sharing your
stories is a huge part of that endeavor. Please help one another and I
will try to answer what I can as well. We are a community of the disabled
or parents of disabled children and we should do whatever we can to help
each other gain the upper hand or help each other cope with difficult
situations. Just go to the forums page and write down the answer to the
anti-spambot question and enter it on the registration page. You only need
do this once to have full access to the forums. If you have a
site that deals with any disabilities then consider either joining
CPFSN.org (it is totally
free) and having a link to your site on the appropriate page (e.g. State,
County) as well as the ‘Members’ page or doing a simple link exchange
and having your site appear on the ‘CP Family’ links page, if you or
your child has CP or any disability. If you do not
have CP or a child with CP or have a site devoted to any disability you
can still have a reciprocating link placed on the Non-CP related links
page. A link exchange would not only show your support of this site but
would increase your ranking with search through having another outside
link (SEO). Use the ‘Contact Us’ page and email Robert if you are interested in any link exchange or joining CPFSN.org. Send the information of the site you want us to link to and the code you would like entered. I cannot guarantee that all requests will be honored but I will take a personal look and make a fair and unbiased decision.
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