Yes. I did indeed say, “Vibrating Pool Noodle”. Occupational therapists that treat sensory processing disorders frequently see hypoarousal in our clients. But low somatic awareness and hypoarousal happens with mental health issues too. They can be just as disabling as hyperarousal. It is also harder to treat if you don’t understand the nervous system well.…… Continue reading Low Somatic Awareness, with Any Diagnosis? Grab Your Vibrating Pool Noodle!
Author: Cathy Collyer
I am a licensed occupational therapist, licensed massage therapist, and certified CBT-i sleep coach in private practice in the NYC area.
I have over 25 years of professional experience in adult and pediatric treatment. It has been a joy to help people of all ages improve their ability to grow and thrive! Occupational therapists are focused on enhancing a client's functioning in everyday life. We are practical healthcare providers, interested in teaching, adapting actions and environments, and building a client's useful skills for living their best life, regardless of their challenges.
I am the author of five books, including "Staying In The Room: Managing Medical And Dental Care When You Have DID" and "The Practical Guide To Toilet Training the Autistic Child". I lecture on many subjects, including sleep, trauma, and development. Contact me to learn more about how I can help you achieve YOUR goals!
7 Reasons Your Kid Autistic Kid Isn’t Sleeping Well
I treat kids on the spectrum every day. Parents have to understand where their sleep problem(s) are coming from: Many of my older kids are medicated for attention and anxiety. These drugs either are stimulants or have side effects that are stimulating. Sleep needs the opposite. Taking those medications too late in the day or…… Continue reading 7 Reasons Your Kid Autistic Kid Isn’t Sleeping Well
Kids and Sleep: 15 Handout Sheets That Will Immediately Make YOU an Expert!
I wrote my latest handout pack, “Kids and Sleep” for Your Therapy Source because it is the perfect melding of my training as a certified sleep therapist (thanks, UC Berkeley!) and my long career as a pediatric occupational therapist. Sleep is foundational for health. Full stop. Even though little kids can remain asleep while…… Continue reading Kids and Sleep: 15 Handout Sheets That Will Immediately Make YOU an Expert!
How to Get Sunscreen on Your Child Without Tears (From Anyone!)
It is time to think about sunscreen. Now, before anybody gets burned. Wirecutter ( the NYT product review site) just put up a piece on this, looking specifically at a cute little sponge applicator. Then they reviewed other sunscreens and application choices. The cute applicator was a FAIL. For effectiveness, for convenience, for hygiene, for…… Continue reading How to Get Sunscreen on Your Child Without Tears (From Anyone!)
Hypermobile? Don’t Sit Too Long on the Toilet!
A lot of hypermobile kids and adults get constipated. If they have low muscle tone along with their hypermobility or are couch potatoes, being constipated is even more common. This can lead to extended periods of sitting on the toilet to have a bowel movement. They bring in a screen (ewww!) or a magazine to…… Continue reading Hypermobile? Don’t Sit Too Long on the Toilet!
A Fun Game to Build Your Child’s Attention
Toilet training is, at its heart, building a child’s attention to their bodily needs and teaching them to physically manage them. They aren’t born knowing how far to push their pants down or how quickly they will need to get to the toilet after they sense urgency. The motivation will be there if they don’t…… Continue reading A Fun Game to Build Your Child’s Attention
Gifted Child? Help Them Manage Sensory Processing
I LOVE working with young gifted kids. Their sensory processing issues are unique, just like their amazing minds. Young gifted children are often easier to spot than you’d think. You look for a combination of intensity of focus and thought at an advanced level for age, persistently seeking and responding positively to complexity, and a…… Continue reading Gifted Child? Help Them Manage Sensory Processing
Hypermobile Child? A Simple Strategy for Safer Walking
Imagine walking on an icy sidewalk. Is NOW the time to speak with your CPA about your tax return? I think not. Then WHY do we insist that a hypermobile or hypotonic child listen to us while we walk with them? And then criticize their gait? Therapists that work with the elderly know not…… Continue reading Hypermobile Child? A Simple Strategy for Safer Walking
Do You Have a “Sensory” Kid Who Resists…Everything?
Sensory sensitivity often results in emotional sensitivity and sensory aversion. How could it not? They quickly learn that they get overwhelmed in situations that others do not. They don’t know how to handle being overwhelmed, and the adults around them might not know how to help them. Better to just avoid anything they don’t already…… Continue reading Do You Have a “Sensory” Kid Who Resists…Everything?
Struggling to Stay Dry All Night Long? What’s Different for the Child with Autism?
“Night training” is the training stage in which the goal is to achieve continence of urine overnight. This is accomplished by marrying awareness of physiological readiness with behavioral strategies. It is not something you wait for. It is something you actively work on with your autistic child. Just because your child won’t be dry at…… Continue reading Struggling to Stay Dry All Night Long? What’s Different for the Child with Autism?
How Do You Start Potty Training with an Autistic Child?
This question is fairly easy to answer: the adults build their OWN toilet training skills first! Why is that critical to success? Because kids with ASD will need trainers with better observational skills, better ability to adapt the environment and their prompts, and better understanding that the job isn’t done until the child is 100%…… Continue reading How Do You Start Potty Training with an Autistic Child?
Reduce Potty Accidents in Hypotonic (Low Toned) Kids: Teach Them a Modified Valsalva Maneuver
Lots of my pediatric clients with low muscle tone are toilet trained. But…they still have bladder accidents well after being trained. They are upset by this. Their parents and their teachers aren’t very happy either. They reach for the pencil they dropped, or they lift up their backpack, and leak a little urine. Sometimes…… Continue reading Reduce Potty Accidents in Hypotonic (Low Toned) Kids: Teach Them a Modified Valsalva Maneuver
Special Needs Kids CAN Cook; I Will Show You How!
My newest handout pack, Kitchen Skills Success, is on sale on my favorite site for therapists and parents, Your Therapy Source . It has a long history. I started writing this over 15 years ago, and then lost interest in turning it into a book. Now that YTS sells digital handout packs, its time has…… Continue reading Special Needs Kids CAN Cook; I Will Show You How!
How do You Get a Child with ASD to Know When They Need to “GO”?
First of all, knowing when you need to use the toilet is different from acting on what you know. Many autistic kids have the sense of elimination urgency. But not all. This is the feeling of heaviness/pressure in their lower abdomen or rectum. How do we know that they know? Because we see them crouch…… Continue reading How do You Get a Child with ASD to Know When They Need to “GO”?
Why Hypermobility Makes it so Difficult to Build Strength
It is not impossible to build strength in hypermobile kids and adults. But it is far more difficult than any hypermobile client or an inexperienced therapist really expects. If you took high school physics, you should be able to figure out TWO of the most important reasons why building strength is so tough for hypermobile…… Continue reading Why Hypermobility Makes it so Difficult to Build Strength
The Gifted Child Handout Pack has Arrived!
I have been treating gifted kids for years. At first, I didn’t know it. I thought they were quick learners, and I knew I needed to adapt my treatment strategies to get the best results, but I never added it all up. And then I did. So I wrote a handout pack for therapists and…… Continue reading The Gifted Child Handout Pack has Arrived!
The Expanded Second Edition of “The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child with Low Muscle Tone”, is Finally Here!
Low muscle tone is a symptom that makes potty training harder than anyone expects. Even experienced therapists don’t anticipate all of the challenges that arise. My most popular blog post is, and has always been, Why Low Muscle Tone Creates More Toilet Training Struggles for Toddlers (and Parents!) . There are good reasons for…… Continue reading The Expanded Second Edition of “The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child with Low Muscle Tone”, is Finally Here!
Can Your Special Needs Child Stay Dry through the Night?
Nighttime continence is one of the mountains to climb on the way to complete toilet training. I wrote two books on special needs potty training,( The Practical Guide to Toilet Training the Autistic Child: From Diapering Differently to Using Public Facilities and The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone:…… Continue reading Can Your Special Needs Child Stay Dry through the Night?
Teaching Special Needs Kids How to Blow Their Noses
This is one of the most difficult self-care skills to teach a special needs child; maybe the most difficult skill I teach as an OTR. Why? Three good reasons: When they need to do it, they are uncomfortable or sick. Not a great state for learning. It isn’t a daily ADL for most kids. Many…… Continue reading Teaching Special Needs Kids How to Blow Their Noses
Why Your Gifted Kid Has A Lot of Stuff
Gifted kids (and adults) are well known for their intense interests. Their interests can be broad in scope and advanced for age. The three year-old that can tell you everything you want to know about the Civil War. The 15 year-old that built her own kiln. The 5 year-old that decided Impressionism is…… Continue reading Why Your Gifted Kid Has A Lot of Stuff