There are a few equipment and toy recommendations that every home-based pediatric OTR makes to a child’s parents: Play-Doh, puzzles, tunnels, …and a vertical easel. Found in every preschool, children from 18 months on can build their reach and proximal (upper body) control while coloring and scribbling on a vertical surface, rather than a tabletop.…… Continue reading Using A Vertical Easel in Preschool? WHERE Your Child Draws on it Matters!
Month: March 2020
Egg Crayons And Fingertip Crayons: When Good Marketing SLOWS DOWN Fine Motor Skill Development
Now that COVID -19 is pushing EI into telehealth, I see exactly what parents have at home when they hunt around for pre-writing tools. These egg-shaped crayons, and crayons where the child pokes a finger inside a cone-shaped crayon, are popping out of bins and drawers like little spring flowers. I (mostly) hate them. Why?…… Continue reading Egg Crayons And Fingertip Crayons: When Good Marketing SLOWS DOWN Fine Motor Skill Development
Need a Desk Chair for Your Hypermobile School-Age Child? Check out the Giantex Chair
One of my colleagues with a hypermobile third-grader told me this chair has been a great chair at school for her child. It hits a lot of my targets for a good chair recommendation, so here it is: The Giantex chair. Why do I like it so much? It is a bit adaptable and it…… Continue reading Need a Desk Chair for Your Hypermobile School-Age Child? Check out the Giantex Chair
Potty Training in the COVID-19 Age
Parents are staying home with their toddlers and preschoolers now. All day. While this can be a challenge, it can also be the right time to do potty training. Here’s how to make it work when you want to teach your toddler how to “make” in the potty: You don’t have to wait for…… Continue reading Potty Training in the COVID-19 Age
Stress Relief in the Time of Coronavirus: Enter Quickshifts
My clients know that I use therapeutic music called Quickshifts and Gearshifters in many pediatric therapy sessions. They use binaural beat technology (Binaural Beats and Regulation: More Than Music Therapy ) to induce an alpha brainwave state. This is the brain’s calm-alert state. Due to the unprecedented stress we are all under, I am using them…… Continue reading Stress Relief in the Time of Coronavirus: Enter Quickshifts
Is Your Toddler Home From School Because of COVID-19? Save Your Sanity With Fun Routines
Many families have toddlers that are not attending daycare or preschool now. They are at home. All day. They are off their schedules, and sometimes seem off their rockers! Here are some ideas to help their parents retain their sanity: Create a routine for them. This means that they get snacks at a certain time,…… Continue reading Is Your Toddler Home From School Because of COVID-19? Save Your Sanity With Fun Routines
Joint Protection And Hypermobility: Investing in Your Child’s Future
Parents of hypermobile kids are taught early on not to pull on limbs while dressing them or picking them up. It is less common to teach children how to protect their own joints. In fact, parents may be encouraged by their child’s doctors to let them be “as active as they want to be,…… Continue reading Joint Protection And Hypermobility: Investing in Your Child’s Future