Keep in touch with therapist?

[shygirl]

My 2.5 year old son has been seeing an occupational therapist ever since he came from the hospital, which was when he was 6 weeks old.  This therapist, let's call her Dawn, has been coming to our house, once a week for an hour (minus some holidays and illnesses), for the past 2.5 years, and played with my son to help mitigate any developmental delays.  Dawn has become one of my son's most favorite people EVER!  Whenever the doorbell rings, he'll say "Dawn?". 

We are going to have an evaluation to see if my son still needs/qualifies for this therapy (Early Intervention, for anyone familiar with this).  The general consensus is that he is not going to qualify, since he has improved greatly since his last eval, which was 6 months ago.

I'm starting to feel sad about it because although it means my son is doing fine regarding his physical and emotional development, it will mean that we won't see Dawn anymore. 

I'm sure she is busy, she probably sees a ton of kids every week.  So, while she is special TO US, we wouldn't necessarily be quite so special to her.  (But, I do think she enjoys her time with my son.)

What would be appropriate to ask her, in regards to keeping in touch?  Can I ask if she keeps a facebook account? 

I am planning to give her a card at our last session, and I could write in the card something like this:

Dear Dawn,

[paragraph about how she is best therapist ever, we love her, etc, etc]

Please look me up on facebook if you have an account as I usually post pictures of Son there, in case you ever miss seeing his chubby face!  Or if you ever need a reference, I would be happy to give a glowing one.  I can be contacted at shygirl@gmail.com

Love,  the Shygirl family

Would that be appropriate?

[BarensMom]

I think it would be appropriate.  It gives "Dawn" the option to stay in touch without pressure.  Offering yourself as a reference is a good touch.

[BeagleMommy]

I think you're fine asking her if she'd like to keep contact with you and your DS.  Please be understanding if she chooses not to do so.

[Lovemykids]

I worked in EI as a pediatric PT until my oldest was born.  I would love to hear from my old clients -- it would be lovely to know how they are doing.  Your note sounds wonderful.  And while you are correct that your therapist has likely worked with many children, I can say that I remember the vast majority of the kids I worked with, and those that I can't recall at the moment would be right there in my memory if someone mentioned their names.  She may keep her Facebook page for only family or friends, though, but you might think to send her a holiday card w/ a photo of your son each year, if you'd like to keep in touch.  My own son was in PT for a while when he was a baby and I send a card to the clinic each year just to thank them again for their help.

[MizA]

I would hesitate to ask about a Facebook account- Part of maintaining a therapeutic relationship is maintaining the division between personal and professional, and unless she has separate accounts, that might be a little too close.

However, the suggestions above with regards to cards and photos and whatnot are wonderful. I'm sure she'd love to be updated on her former clients and the progress they've made through their development

[GSNW]

I think giving her the option of looking you up on FB is fine.  It's left entirely up to her.  I get pretty attached to my students and I can imagine an OT might feel the same way.  I LOVE getting updates on how "my" kids are doing as I worry/care about them and am proud of their successes!  I think recognizing that Dawn may have a continued interest in your child's progress is a lovely thing I do.

[shygirl]

I worked in EI as a pediatric PT until my oldest was born.  I would love to hear from my old clients -- it would be lovely to know how they are doing.  Your note sounds wonderful.  And while you are correct that your therapist has likely worked with many children, I can say that I remember the vast majority of the kids I worked with, and those that I can't recall at the moment would be right there in my memory if someone mentioned their names.  She may keep her Facebook page for only family or friends, though, but you might think to send her a holiday card w/ a photo of your son each year, if you'd like to keep in touch.  My own son was in PT for a while when he was a baby and I send a card to the clinic each year just to thank them again for their help.

Thanks for your perspective!  I will definitely send cards to the central agency that she works out of, especially if she decides not to keep in touch through facebook.

[JoyinVirginia]

I like the wording you plan to put on the card.  Since your family will no longer be clients, she may be very happy to get emails or add you to Facebook. The way you have phrased things is fine.

[Roe]

We had the most awesome occupational therapist when my son was a toddler.  (also through EI)  She was more than a therapist and someone I considered a 'friend.'  She was invited to his birthday parties and whatnot.  Just today, I was talking about her to another friend and telling her about the great friend/therapist we had!  I no longer stay in touch with our OT because we've since moved, as did she, so we lost contact but I hope to find her on FB one day!

[Arrynne]

Congratulations on your son "graduating" from therapy. I know my son's therapists would love to see update letters showing how he's improving. Maybe you can take a picture of your son with his therapist to give to her. Or maybe make a scrapbook page with it for her.

[m2kbug]

Also know, if you don't already, at nearly 3, he can go to early preschool for continued therapy if he needs to.  Both mine had to have speech therapy and one occupational therapy, and I went through the school district for that.  Four years with the same teacher's aides, I was very heartbroken to say our goodbyes while we moved on to kinder.  Same as you, I was probably far more attached to them, than they to us.  I made a special trip a couple of times to the school to drop of a Christmas present and just to say hi.  I think what you're doing sounds great and maybe you can even have a little visit a couple of times while you transition out of this phase in life.  I'm sure the therapist would love to see some updates through FB or other means. 

[johelenc1]

I think it's fine.  I am FB friends with 2 of my girls' former therapist.  When one was moving out of state we arranged to have lunch with her.  Wording it the way you did is perfect.