Two Year Old Refuses to Cooperate at Physical Therapy

Is there anything there that he does like? My son had to have therapy also, and wasn't crazy about it. There was a apparatus there that was a suspended barrel (think bull riding practice) that he loved. So his reward for doing the rest of the therapy was to ride on that barrel. The place also had a once a month reward for the kids (in summer it was water guns, splash pool, etc) that he loved to participate in, so that was a big motivator. His therapists were very skilled at getting him to comply. He would actually do better if I wasn't in the room, have you tried that? As for doing the exercises at home, have you tried a good old fashioned bribe? I would take my son to the dollar store as a reward and let him buy one item of his choice. He loved that! Good luck!

Not a suggestion, exactly, but a thought. Many kids (not all, but plenty) with muscle tone issues also have sensory sensitivities. So something that pushes their boundaries, in terms of touch or just moving muscles, actually really hurts for them, even if it seems like it "shouldn't."

Really, a good pediatric OT (PT?) should be schooled in these issues and should know how to work around toddler resistance. So I guess my first thought is to see if you could switch to someone else.

If that's not an option, then maybe you could work on getting the therapist to be more understanding? I mean, think how she would feel if she were a 2-year-old in a world where everything hurt. She'd get pretty resistant too.

I haven't been through this, but I wonder if another PT might be a good idea? Seriously, he's not even 3 yet, he's not going to understand why he needs to do this stuff. THE ADULTS need to make this fun. It's HER JOB to figure out what to do to motivate him, or to figure out WHY he isn't doing the stuff. Is something uncomfortable? Is there something he loves? Is there a person he WILL do the activities for? It should NEVER be a discipline issue - he's 3.

It might be worth googling and seeing if you can find blogs of other parents that have similar issues. I did a quick search and found this - http://www.themotorstory.com/The_Motor_Story/Blog/Blog.html.

I know there are tons of blogs by parents who have autistic kids. If your child has a particular diagnosis, see what you can find. There are parents out there who have gone through similar challenges and may have some great pointers/suggestions. Good luck!

I just wonder if there is something physical he enjoys doing???

Have you tried swimming? The buoyancy is usually quite a thrill for kids. What about simply walking around a park or zoo, not focused on being at the park, and collecting things like leaves?

Even pushing your son in a swing, is excellent for core development as he learns to pump his legs. And he might not pump his legs just yet. Just sitting there swinging back and forth is calming.

And I played a lot of 'airplane' with my kids where I put them on my feet, then raised my feet above my hips, naturally I'm laying on my back on the floor, and then they pretend they are superman or an airplane, holding their arms and legs out.
Being 2 is pretty consistent with not wanting to cooperate.

Stay out of the room. Don't go in there at all, make her be the boss in that room. She needs to figure out how to get him to do this. It may be that she needs to step aside and let a more experienced person take your son.

How long has he been doing PT? Our therapist called it "PT burnout" when we went through that with our son (he started PT at 13 months of age). She would then mix things up a bit for him to make it more exciting - we'd go to the playground instead of inside, we'd work outside instead of inside, etc. She was excellent at making what he wanted to do into therapy. (Which is why we held onto her through EI and CPSE. She even went to his pre-school to incorporate his PT into his pre-school program and help his teachers do what they could to help him...)
If your son usually gets PT during the summer, too, take a summer off. Take a week or two off, and see if he is more motivated. Our DS is now 8, still gets PT at school (and aquatherapy and hippotherapy that we provide) and as long as the PTs change it up a bit, he's fine.
HTH.

You need a new therapist. One that knows how to handle young kids and how get the job done. One with authority and persuasiveness.

Your presence and participation during sessions should be minimal to none.

How does he respond with other children around?

Usually 2 year olds are more independent during play etc.. but our daughter would respond when we would show her another child or a "Big kid" doing things. Maybe an older "buddy".

Our daughters reward was books and reading. If I promised to read her 2 more books, I could get her to practically mow the yard.. So I used this for all sorts of things.

What is your sons "Treat"?

I am sure you already make sure your child is rested, fed and all of that. to make sure he is in top attention form.. I wonder if his dad took him, If that could make a difference?

great advice so far,

probably my biggest suggestion is to ask the therapist if you being in sight of your son is helping or hurting. maybe if he "thinks" they are alone he would be more cooperative.

Bribe bribe bribe.

at home, I know it's hard but you need to center yourself first and not try to squeeze it in etc. but plan the time and really set it up so that you will enjoy it. I don't know if lighting a candle up high, and giving him a massage w oils and then doing a few excercises might work.

toddlers are highly distractable so that shouldn't be a big deal she should be trained to deal w that, short little excercises and repeat again later in the session.

But I do have to say if he is having these motor issues doesn't that possibly signify other cognitive issues? even super high intelligence, but poor social skills?? I can't tell from what you wrote. but that might make a difference.

My dd did PT and at first it was through an agency and was WONDERFUL, then she aged out and when we needed it again, it was through a different group and it was really blah, so maybe shop around.

as for doing it at home it is HARD! I get it. we tried to find fun ways to do it. but still it was rough.

good luck, i'll be thinking about your little guy. and kudos for addressing this early!!!