Therapro, the terrific source for a lot of handy therapy equipment and especially for items that help kids with sensory processing issues, has posted another piece from me on ADLs. Take a look: What Helps Special Needs Kids Tolerate Grooming and Hygiene?
“Activities of Daily Living” don’t have the cache’ of kineseotaping or therapeutic listening, but helping families improve the little things in life is something I haven’t ignored. The basics of life are still the basics, and when they are a struggle, life gets harder. Every single day.
Sometimes using SI techniques like the Wilbarger Protocol Can You Use The Wilbarger Protocol With Kids That Have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome? makes self-care activities better, but sometimes you need a targeted approach. This post describes some of my best strategies to make face-washing, tooth-brushing, dressing and bathing easier for kids to tolerate and they also help them to become independent at these important skills. After all, one of the best techniques to reduce defensiveness/aversion is to have a child do the task independently. They can control the pace, the amount of force and the timing. And they are empowered. So many kids with special needs develop the impression that they don’t have the ability to do things for themselves.
So check out my post on Therapro, and then go shopping for some of their terrific materials for your child or for your therapy practice!
