Every now and then, I just want to share some parent feedback. This is an email I received from a parent who's child went through IM last spring, 10 months ago. Her older grade school age boy started IM through another provider and covered by insurance over a year ago, and then moved on to me a few months later. If your child can get coverage by Kansas Rehab, or Capper's (both under the insurance umbrella), I recommend that you do IM there first to help cut the costs, then come to me (an educator and not under the insurance umbrella -though some flex spending accounts are now covering IM with me.) You might as well get what you can for free. I think most children will need more IM after the amount insurance will cover.
Back to the story, the mom had seen some very nice gains from IM through the other provider, more focus, etc. and upon beginning IM with me, her son seemed to 'loose' some of those gains. He still had some significant sensory issues and the intense IM (He trained 5 days a week for 3 weeks in a school setting) caused his system to become unsettled for a while. (Actually a good sign that things are changing.) This was what I call the squirrellies. The mom was concerned, but reassured her that this unsettled phase would be short lived. I have watched enough children get out of sorts while going through IM, only to hear very positive feedback a few months later. I always value hearing the positive feedback though. Here is this families feedback 9 months post IM. Read her note.
"Lori- I feel IM has SIGNIFICANTLY changed J-----! This year he is able to do homework independently and is getting A,B and C's without any help from me. Last year I thought I was losing him. We decided this year he was going to have to do it on his own or we would repeat 7th grade again next year. J-----has not only been able to keep his grades up but has managed to move classrooms like 7th graders do. I won't say he hasn't had any missing work or bad grades but overall HUGE improvement.
I am telling everyone I know about you and giving your email out still. People seem very interested but then since they haven't heard about it kind of back off unless they have a kid that has very high needs and they are at their end. Keep me posted on what you are doing, it is exciting! Hope things are going good for you! "
Thanks for the feedback mom! I think it's worth noting that between insurance and my IM, this boy received more than just 15 sessions with in one year's time. He was at an age that if things did not change soon, some very negative events could have taken place in his life, assaulting his young self esteem. If the child is only 6 yrs old, I often recommend spreading the sessions out over a couple of years, rather than all in one year, though by 6th grade, you may need to act more swiftly as this family did.
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Back to the story, the mom had seen some very nice gains from IM through the other provider, more focus, etc. and upon beginning IM with me, her son seemed to 'loose' some of those gains. He still had some significant sensory issues and the intense IM (He trained 5 days a week for 3 weeks in a school setting) caused his system to become unsettled for a while. (Actually a good sign that things are changing.) This was what I call the squirrellies. The mom was concerned, but reassured her that this unsettled phase would be short lived. I have watched enough children get out of sorts while going through IM, only to hear very positive feedback a few months later. I always value hearing the positive feedback though. Here is this families feedback 9 months post IM. Read her note.
"Lori- I feel IM has SIGNIFICANTLY changed J-----! This year he is able to do homework independently and is getting A,B and C's without any help from me. Last year I thought I was losing him. We decided this year he was going to have to do it on his own or we would repeat 7th grade again next year. J-----has not only been able to keep his grades up but has managed to move classrooms like 7th graders do. I won't say he hasn't had any missing work or bad grades but overall HUGE improvement.
I am telling everyone I know about you and giving your email out still. People seem very interested but then since they haven't heard about it kind of back off unless they have a kid that has very high needs and they are at their end. Keep me posted on what you are doing, it is exciting! Hope things are going good for you! "Thanks for the feedback mom! I think it's worth noting that between insurance and my IM, this boy received more than just 15 sessions with in one year's time. He was at an age that if things did not change soon, some very negative events could have taken place in his life, assaulting his young self esteem. If the child is only 6 yrs old, I often recommend spreading the sessions out over a couple of years, rather than all in one year, though by 6th grade, you may need to act more swiftly as this family did.
