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
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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 too happy either. They reach for the pencil they dropped, or lift up their backpack, and leak a little urine. Sometimes more…… 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
Teach a Child to Apologize Effectively
This is a skill that many adults haven’t mastered. They weren’t taught how, or they cannot bear admitting that they have wronged someone. Kids apologize without more than a “Sowwy” and rarely are required to do more than that. We fail them if we let that happen. It is a short trip from a hurried…… Continue reading Teach a Child to Apologize Effectively
Does Your Child Hate Hearing Hand Dryers and Flushing Toilets?
Hardly anyone finds public toilets a pleasant place when nature calls. But some kids (and adults!) react very poorly to the sounds of the public toilet. It might take some experience or some discussion to figure out that the sounds of the public toilet, specifically hand dryers and flushing, are what make them the most…… Continue reading Does Your Child Hate Hearing Hand Dryers and Flushing Toilets?
Teaching Special Needs Kids How to Write? I Wrote a Handout Pack for YOU!
My handout packs for pre-writing and handwriting with neurotypical kids have been a big success; lots of therapists, teachers, and parents have learned things that took me decades of professional experience and continuing education to master! NOW…it is time for children with special needs to get their own handout pack! I started with an expanded…… Continue reading Teaching Special Needs Kids How to Write? I Wrote a Handout Pack for YOU!
How to Communicate with Your Child’s School During Toilet Training
Later this month I will be speaking to a combined parent and staff group on special needs toilet training. This is a terrific opportunity to build bridges and help both groups learn more about my targeted sensory-motor approach. I am truly honored. Among the topics I have been asked to address is this one: how…… Continue reading How to Communicate with Your Child’s School During Toilet Training
Teens, Hypermobility, and Intimacy
I decided to write this post because there is so little out there for hypermobile teens who find being sexually active either painful or frightening. Volume III of the “JointSmart Child” series hasn’t been written yet; I have been too busy with other projects, personal and professional. Volumes I and II are available on Amazon…… Continue reading Teens, Hypermobility, and Intimacy
Angelman Syndrome and Toilet Training: Start Early with Targeted Pre-Training!!
Children with Angelman Syndrome routinely have daunting challenges around toilet training, with very good reason. Significant delays in mobility, language, and fine motor control are common. Hardly anyone is thinking about toilet training when a child can’t stand independently and uses PECS for two desired objects. There are a lot of issues between their current…… Continue reading Angelman Syndrome and Toilet Training: Start Early with Targeted Pre-Training!!