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Anyone ever have to "fire" their physical therapist?

mrsmorris1mrsmorris1
in Babies: 9 - 12 Months
My dd has been in p/t for 5 months for torticollis.  Her physical therapist is nice enough but is constantly suggesting other things might be wrong with dd.  Things that are obviously not true.  Double ear infection because she's crying, sensory issues because she's crying, hormone problems because she feels/looks like she has growing breasts.  Seriously.  She's crying because she's uncomfortable with what you're making her do.  She's independent and doesn't like being made to do things she doesn't like.  And her pedi told me she's just chubby and my p/t doesn't know what she's talking about.  All that to say--her tort is almost resolved and I just don't think it's worth going anymore.  Would you keep going?  Or find a different p/t?  I'm so frustrated.  Any my dd is at or ahead of all major developmental milestones--which is why we started in the first place. 
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Re: Anyone ever have to "fire" their physical therapist?

  • adamwifeadamwife

    My DH is my physical therapist and sometimes I wish I could fire him because he annoys the heck out of me Stick out tongue

    They are trained to look for those problems, so she is probably just trying to help.  But if you don't feel comfortable or are unhappy with her work I would find someone else.

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  • adri77adri77 member

    Yes- this was our OT experience last summer with DS1.  He was 18 months, and she asked me if he could pump his legs to swing himself????  She also suggested there was something "wrong" when I mentioned he loves milk and would drink it 24/7 if I let him.  She often made comments like "he should love doing_______ b/c all kids his age do" .  At 3 months, when we went over his goals (which he had met ALL of them) she asked me what other goals I had, and I said really, none, he was now walking, and that had been my primary worry.  She started making goals, and then flat out told me she was going to "stay on with us" through me having my baby (I was 7 months pg with DS2 at the time) b/c she thought I would need the extra "help" and said DS1 may regress with the new baby........that is when I called my service coordinator's supervisor (** I used to work for EI, so I knew her and just headed straight to the top) and told her I wanted to close out our case and explained why. 

     Has she had a recent eval so you could review her goals and see in the pt's own writing that she is meeting milestones?  Can you get your hands on the tool they use to assess where she is and see for yourself what else she should be doing?  I think you should also request a meeting to go over her plan.  But definitely do something, you have every right to speak up if you arent happy with your services  GL

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  • mrsmorris1mrsmorris1

    Thank you for the encouragment.  At our last weekly session my dd was re-evaluated and in our p/t's own words said that Rea is doing awesome and meeting/exceeding her milestones.  The issue is that she still tilts a bit.  She wants my dd to have no tilt.  I understand that but dd is doing great and it's not noticable to anyone untrained to look for it. She suggested a "tot" collar and I absolutely refuse to put my baby through that.  She's already been in a helmet!

    I think I need to just meet with her and share my frustrations.  I hate those kinds of conversations though.  Ugh. 

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  • adri77adri77 member
    How frequently does she have PT?  Can you suggest to dropping it down to a monthly "monitoring" session?  Where she can just pop in to assure she is continuing to progress as she should be?
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  • mrsmorris1mrsmorris1
    Yeah, we talked about that last time.  The other issue is that our insurance started a new fiscal year in June so our sessions went from $30 a week to $175 because we haven't paid our deductible yet.  I just can't see spending that much.  And I wasn't happy with my experience with EI when she was first evaluated (and it wasn't any cheaper) so we didn't go with them.  Now she wouldn't even qualify if we tried.  So money is an issue unfortunately.
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  • adri77adri77 member
    You would have had to pay for EI services?  That's a shame- in Pa it's 100% free- no matter how many services, how frequently.......well, good luck, it sounds like you are feeling more confident in what you need to do! 
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  • bananaQbananaQ
    imagemrsmorris1:

    Thank you for the encouragment.  At our last weekly session my dd was re-evaluated and in our p/t's own words said that Rea is doing awesome and meeting/exceeding her milestones.  The issue is that she still tilts a bit.  She wants my dd to have no tilt.  I understand that but dd is doing great and it's not noticable to anyone untrained to look for it. She suggested a "tot" collar and I absolutely refuse to put my baby through that.  She's already been in a helmet!

    I'm late to this, but figure I should contribute. I'm a physical therapist, although I do not specialize in peds. How bad is the tilt? It may not be noticeable to the untrained eye, but it could pose problems in the future. If she is meeting her milestones, ask what other goals she has for your LO. If the last issue is the tilt, ask about home exercises and stretches that you can do yourself, and maybe cut down therapy sessions while you do more and more of the exercises at home?

    I guess you can ask for family education and training, in preparation for discharge. If you were referred to PT because of torticollis, and if the problem seems to be resolving, I do not see a reason why a discharge would not be one of her goals. Be honest, and let them know how you feel. GL.

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