Only if you think that sensing your body’s position and being able to perceive the degree/quality of your movement is sensory-based. I’m being silly; of course low tone creates sensory processing issues. It isn’t the same sensory profile as the child who can’t pay attention when long sleeves brush his skin, nor the child who cannot…… Continue reading Is Low Muscle Tone A Sensory Processing Issue?
Category: behavior issues
End Toddler Biting Using Clear But Compassionate Messaging
I couldn’t resist it. Nip. Biting. Bud. But toddler biting is no joke. According to one of my clients, a child can be asked to leave preschool or daycare if they are a repeat offender. The problems that lead to biting are easy to see, the solutions are not. Here are my explanations for why toddlers bite,…… Continue reading End Toddler Biting Using Clear But Compassionate Messaging
Why “Go The F**K to Sleep” Resonates With Parents of Special Needs Toddlers
I have been asked to teach a short class on sleep and special needs kids this spring, so of course this funny little book came to mind. Truthfully, when I heard of it, I laughed out loud. But bedtime struggles are not fun when you are in the middle of a tantrum at 11…… Continue reading Why “Go The F**K to Sleep” Resonates With Parents of Special Needs Toddlers
Why Cutting Nails Is Such a Challenge for Autistic and Sensory Kids
Most children resist nail trimming. But kids on the autism spectrum, kids with sensory sensitivity, and children with significant language delays can turn this simple grooming task into an epic contest of wills. Parents tell me all too often that it is two-person job for them. It can be the hardest thing they do all…… Continue reading Why Cutting Nails Is Such a Challenge for Autistic and Sensory Kids
Get Your Toddler And Preschooler To Sleep Faster When You Use Happiest Toddler Techniques at Bedtime
The Happiest Toddler on the Block has a unique perspective to bedtime sleep training: it starts right after breakfast. One of the cornerstones of THTOTB is Patience Stretching. In my post Stretch Your Toddler’s Patience, Starting Today! I wrote about Dr. Harvey Karp’s fabulous technique, and how parents have to use a little creativity and…… Continue reading Get Your Toddler And Preschooler To Sleep Faster When You Use Happiest Toddler Techniques at Bedtime
Improve Transitioning Skills in ASD By Helping Kids Pay Attention To The Sounds Around Them
Kids with ASD often have limited auditory awareness and processing. Imagine your life if you struggled with this: Should I pay attention to the hum of the fan or your voice? That ringing; is it a doorbell, a toy, or a phone? I didn’t notice you speaking to me, and now you tell me that…… Continue reading Improve Transitioning Skills in ASD By Helping Kids Pay Attention To The Sounds Around Them
Teach Yoga Breathing To Calm Toddler Frustration
Toddlers live lives filled with drama, but can they really learn to do deep breathing to calm down? Yes, but you have to spin in so they can understand what to do and when to do it. You will have to demonstrate it and show that you do it too. Will you have to remind…… Continue reading Teach Yoga Breathing To Calm Toddler Frustration
Toddlers Too Young For Time Out Can Get Simple Consequences and Kind Ignoring
Children under 2 or special needs kids with cognitive and language skills under the 2 year-old level usually aren’t capable of understanding what a “time out” really is. It isn’t punishment, it is making a point that the behavior they just exhibited isn’t acceptable and that they need to take a break and cool off.…… Continue reading Toddlers Too Young For Time Out Can Get Simple Consequences and Kind Ignoring
Preschoolers Can Welcome a New Baby With Help
Preschoolers look so grown up sometimes. When a new baby comes home, all that can change. They can have very strong responses to becoming an older sister or brother, and not all of their reactions are easy to decipher or deal with. Here are a few explanations for their responses and some suggestions to make…… Continue reading Preschoolers Can Welcome a New Baby With Help
Self-Regulation in Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder: Boost Skills By Creating Routines and Limits
Occupational therapists are routinely asked to help young children that have poor self-regulation or modulation skills. What do difficulties regulating alertness and arousal look like in a very little person? Big shifts in excitement/agitation over seemingly minor events, sleep that isn’t very deep or very long for their age, and difficulty switching between locations/activities. Often…… Continue reading Self-Regulation in Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder: Boost Skills By Creating Routines and Limits
When Kids Climb Into Mom’s Bed at Night
I recently chatted with a single mom who works long hours. Her 5 year-old wakes in the middle of the night and climbs into her bed. She wanted some suggestions and some reassurance that the “snuggle time” they got (and the loss of sleep for both of them) wasn’t a bad idea. Her son’s behavior…… Continue reading When Kids Climb Into Mom’s Bed at Night
Good Posture for Kids With Feeding Issues Matters
Feeding challenges are a huge source of concern for parents of children with low tone, autism, and a host of other issues. Improving how a child sits when eating isn’t magically going to solve every problem for every child, but ignoring the benefits of good positioning will make most feeding problems worse. Even problems not…… Continue reading Good Posture for Kids With Feeding Issues Matters
Toddler Demands? Give it in Fantasy!
When a toddler wants pizza for dinner every night or to stay home and play on the iPad instead of going to school, you have to decide what to say. Your basic choices are: ridicule: “That’s silly! “I’d like a fancy car, but this is reality.” reason and clever repackaging: “If you want to grow…… Continue reading Toddler Demands? Give it in Fantasy!
Toddlers and Holiday Decorations: Another Approach to “Don’t Touch That!”
I watched a toddler laugh in unbridled glee yesterday, amazed at the garland and lights draped on his staircase. You don’t get more holiday cheer than that sound! He wanted to touch every nutcracker and every candle. I had to think on my feet when answering his grandmother’s question: “How do I get him to…… Continue reading Toddlers and Holiday Decorations: Another Approach to “Don’t Touch That!”
Sensory Differences and Holiday Events: Simple Life Hacks for Happy Memories
Kids with sensory sensitivities may need some assistance to enjoy the holiday season. Here are some simple ways to make it merry and bright for all! Select your holiday celebrations with the spatial, sound, and visual complexities in mind. Many children are completely overwhelmed with large spaces (auditoriums, church halls, etc.) and the multi-sensory experience…… Continue reading Sensory Differences and Holiday Events: Simple Life Hacks for Happy Memories
Stretch Your Toddler’s Patience The Easy Way, Starting Today!
I spent some time yesterday with the mother of a spirited toddler who pointed out that even though she saw that The Happiest Toddler on the Block technique of patience stretching works, she found it hard to be cheerful and upbeat after hours of her son’s whining and hanging on her legs. At the end…… Continue reading Stretch Your Toddler’s Patience The Easy Way, Starting Today!
Defiant Kids Can Change With Dr. Kazdin’s Simple Plans
Dr. Alan Kazdin wrote “The Kazdin Method for Parenting the Defiant Child” in 2008. His follow-up book, “The Everyday Parent Toolkit” came later. He is the director of the Yale Parenting Center, and he has seen some hardcore kids. You do not get the feeling that he has treated a lot of children younger…… Continue reading Defiant Kids Can Change With Dr. Kazdin’s Simple Plans
Transition Your Toddler Without Tears
Transitioning is a huge concern for parents and educators of toddlers, both for the typically developing and special needs kids. Struggling to get their child to leave the playground, come to the dinner table, or enter/leave the tub are very high priority concerns for a lot of the parents I meet as an occupational therapist.…… Continue reading Transition Your Toddler Without Tears
Low Tone At Preschool: How Tone Affects Safety and Play
Low muscle tone can create safety issues and difficulty using toys at school. Here are some reasons why things can fall apart (literally, sometimes!) and how small changes make the difference between success and failure at school. First, there are good reasons that children with low tone struggle to sit, stand or move around the…… Continue reading Low Tone At Preschool: How Tone Affects Safety and Play
Prepare Your Toddler Before Bringing a New Baby Home
Look at it as if your spouse announced that a new, younger, and more vulnerable wife was joining your family: ” She will need a lot of my close attention at first. That doesn’t mean I don’t love you just as much, sweetie, but I won’t be as available to you as I used to…… Continue reading Prepare Your Toddler Before Bringing a New Baby Home