Currently, Mason has three therapy appointments a week. It's hard to explain everything they do at the appointments, so I am going to attempt to explain our view of the appointments.
His first appointment is with our speech therapist through Early On. The goal is to increase his engagement with others and increase his communication skills. We used to meet at our house, which was really up and down. If he had just woken up or was "off" in some way, he did not really engage with our speech therapist. He had some really great sessions where he would interact and work well, but other sessions he would have tantrums the majority of the time. Now whenever I say "tantrum," I mean screaming, hitting, throwing objects, and throwing himself around. These are not simple tantrums. They are all-encompassing, emotionally draining (for him and me!) tantrums. Our speech therapist is always so patient and helpful. She would give suggestions or educate/encourage me on how to improve Mason's engagement and communication in whatever mood Mason was in. Mason's last few sessions at the house were rough, so she came up with the idea of moving his speech sessions to the preschool that he will be attending in the winter. It's good that Mason is able to get used to going to the school because these last two sessions at the school have been rough. He has tantrumed without ceasing for 15-30 minutes during these past two sessions. Once he calms down, he has really enjoyed the different slides, balls, and other activities in the room. We are hoping that he gets used to being in the room, so he can have more time engaging with the speech therapist during our sessions. We have seen a huge improvement in his communication abilities. In March, he was measured at a 6-9 month level of receptive communication and a 9-12 month level of expressive communication. He is currently being tested again in his communication levels.
His second appointment of the week is with an Occupational Therapist. This OT focuses on having Mason do activities or other things to get the input his body needs to be regulated enough to learn. This is always a hard concept for me to explain to people. Some of the things they do include: jumping on a trampoline, therapeutic listening (music with the sounds adjusted), going into a ball pit, crawling in small spaces, going through a tunnel made of lycra material, going down slides, jumping into a pile of pillows/mattresses, going on swings, sand table, weighted vest, and many more things. Mason absolutely loves going here. It is his body's heaven. We have seen many improvements in him since starting here. He acknowledges his OT and includes her in his ideas. He slows down enough to notice things around him. This has been huge because he used to not notice steps or how high he was, so he could have injured himself. He uses more words. When you go to the appointments, it just looks like Mason is playing with all kinds of fun toys, but these different "sensory" experiences allow him to bring his body back to a place where he can learn.
His third appointment of the week is with different Occupational Therapist. We decided to take him to both OTs because they help him in different ways. Mason doesn't enjoy entering the building for these appointments and generally tantrums for 10-30 minutes of the sessions. Just like the speech appointments, after he gets past his tantrum, he tends to enjoy his time. I wish I could somehow help him during those tantrums! This OT also works on engagement with him to increase his social skills. She also uses reflex integration (http://masgutovamethod.com/). This is hard to explain as well. When Mason has calmed, she does different techniques that look like types of massages on him. It's very complex. She also teaches us techniques that we can do at home. Each technique has a different purpose in hopefully changing how he is wired. Some of the techniques can help his body become less tense after an intense tantrum, which is generally needed during the session! She helped me understand that Mason's body is constantly under stress because of how his body and mind are made up. This makes me sad to think about, but it helps me understand why he has such trouble when something doesn't go his way. When any of us are stressed to the max and something doesn't go our way, it can be really hard to cope with. This poor 2 year old constantly feels that way. Mason enjoys the techniques used, and he even communicates with us (in his own way) to do them at home.
Starting in January, Mason will attend special education preschool 5 days a week. This will take the place of his speech therapy appointments. I am really excited for this to start even though I am nervous on how he will do since he doesn't like new people or places. I hope this new routine and great teachers can help him make a lot of progress in his developmental delays and his emotional regulation.
Hopefully this helps you understand the gist of Mason's appointments. Like I said, I am not an expert at all. These are just my interpretations of the purpose of these appointments. I'm sure any expert would be able to explain any of these therapies so much clearer.
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