The WHO has recently classified compulsive gaming a mental illness. I am not so sure. What I do believe is that doing anything compulsively is a big problem for developing brains. Is your child heading in the direction of using gaming or web surfing to deal with issues such as social anxiety or poor executive…… Continue reading Is Compulsive Gaming A Disorder…Or A Symptom?
Category: occupational therapy
Is Automaticity The Key To Handwriting Success?
I know that this is a bold statement. Handwriting is a complex skill, with visual-motor coordination, perceptual, cognitive and postural components. But when I evaluate a child’s writing, and I watch them having to think about where to start and sequence movements to form a letter and place it on a line, and then decide…… Continue reading Is Automaticity The Key To Handwriting Success?
For Hypermobile Kids, “Listen To Your Body” Doesn’t Teach Them To Pace Themselves. Here’s What Really Helps.
I ran across a comment piece online that recommended parents teach their hypermobile children to “listen to your body” to pace activities in an effort to avoid fatigue, pain or injury. My reaction was fairly strong and immediate. The sensory-based effects of hypermobility (HM) reduce interoception (internal body awareness) and proprioception/kinesthesia (position and movement sense,…… Continue reading For Hypermobile Kids, “Listen To Your Body” Doesn’t Teach Them To Pace Themselves. Here’s What Really Helps.
Help Your Teen with a Chronic Illness Plan For a Career
It is graduation time here in the U.S. Kids (and parents) are thinking about the future. But when your teen has chronic health conditions, the future can be uncertain and the decisions more complicated. I know that the saying “Do what you love and you won’t have to work another day of your life” is…… Continue reading Help Your Teen with a Chronic Illness Plan For a Career
Boost Pincer Grasp With Tiny Containers
These days I am getting pretty…lazy. My go-to items are designed so that children automatically improve their grasp or their posture without my intervention. I am always searching for easy carryover strategies to share with parents too. As with most things in life, easy is almost always better than complicated. My recent fave piece of…… Continue reading Boost Pincer Grasp With Tiny Containers
Why Pediatric Occupational Therapists Need The Happiest Toddler On The Block Techniques: Neurobiological Regulation
Pediatric occupational therapists are usually all-in when it comes to using physical methods to help children achieve affective modulation. We use the Wilbarger Protocol, Astronaut Training, Therapeutic Listening, and more. But are we using Dr. Harvey Karp’s Happiest Toddler on the Block techniques? Not so much. All that talking seems like something a teacher…… Continue reading Why Pediatric Occupational Therapists Need The Happiest Toddler On The Block Techniques: Neurobiological Regulation
The Cube Chair: Your Special Needs Toddler’s New Favorite Seat!
Finding a good chair for your special needs toddler isn’t easy. Those cute table-and-chair sets from IKEA and Pottery Barn are made for older kids. Sometimes much older, like the size of kids in kindergarten. Even a larger child with motor or sensory issues will often fall right off those standard chairs! Should you use…… Continue reading The Cube Chair: Your Special Needs Toddler’s New Favorite Seat!
The Hypermobile Hand: More Than A Strength Problem
I just received another referral for a kid with “weak’ hands. His mom wants private OT services. This is how she describes her son: Can’t hold a pencil correctly. Can’t make a dark enough mark on paper when he writes or colors. His mom says he has a solid grip on an object…… Continue reading The Hypermobile Hand: More Than A Strength Problem
When Should You Begin To Teach Handwriting? (You May be Surprised!)
Many formal handwriting programs begin at 4 years of age. Handwriting Without Tears, Fundations, and others begin with children tracing letters and quickly progress to writing. But the foundational skills for handwriting actually begin early. Before your child’s first birthday. Yes, that early. And, believe it or not, that is when you could be teaching…… Continue reading When Should You Begin To Teach Handwriting? (You May be Surprised!)
Can You K-Tape Kids With Ehlers-Danlos and Other Connective Tissue Disorders?
The short answer: some of these kids, some of the time. The long answer: To use K-tape effectively, you need to understand the mechanics of tape on the skin and underlying tissues, how connective tissue disorders disrupt skin healing, how to minimize skin shear and inflammation, and that only using one type of tape may…… Continue reading Can You K-Tape Kids With Ehlers-Danlos and Other Connective Tissue Disorders?
Improving Daily Life Skills for Kids With Special Needs
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,…… Continue reading Improving Daily Life Skills for Kids With Special Needs
Which Improves Pencil Grasp Best: A Pencil Grip Or A Thicker Pencil?
As a pediatric occupational therapist, I am often asked to weigh in on this debate. Not often enough, it seems, based on the pencils I see being used by kids who are struggling to write. There are a lot of kids out there using pencils with wonky grasp patterns because no one…… Continue reading Which Improves Pencil Grasp Best: A Pencil Grip Or A Thicker Pencil?
For Kids With Sensory Issues and Low Tone, Add Resistance Instead of Hand-Over-Hand Assistance
One of my most popular posts, Why “Hand-Over-Hand” Assistance Works Poorly With So Many Special Needs Children , explains how this common method of assisting children to hold and manipulate objects often results in rejection or even aversion. This post tells you about my most successful strategy for kids with low muscle tone and limited sensory…… Continue reading For Kids With Sensory Issues and Low Tone, Add Resistance Instead of Hand-Over-Hand Assistance
How Hypermobility Affects Self-Image, Behavior and Activity Levels in Children
As rehabilitation therapists, OTs and PTs are focused on skill building and reaching functional goals with our clients. But feelings influence behavior, and so therapists have to be aware of more than joints and muscles when looking at function. In this post, I would like to address the many ways that hypermobility can create social…… Continue reading How Hypermobility Affects Self-Image, Behavior and Activity Levels in Children
OXO for Kids: Great Tableware For Older Kids With Sensory and Motor Issues
Does your child knock over her milk on a daily basis? Do utensils seem to fly out of your son’s hands? I treat kids with hypermobility, coordination and praxis issues, sensory discrimination limitations, etc.; they can all benefit from this terrific line of cups, dinnerware and utensils. Yes, OXO, the same people that sell you…… Continue reading OXO for Kids: Great Tableware For Older Kids With Sensory and Motor Issues
Should Your Hypermobile Child Play Sports?
This is one of the most difficult questions I field from parents of children over 5. Every parent wants their child to receive the social, emotional and physical benefits from participating in sports. They also know that there are greater risks for hypermobile kids. Kids with hypermobility fall on a very wide spectrum. Some are…… Continue reading Should Your Hypermobile Child Play Sports?
How To Talk So Your Gifted Child Will Listen
I have written a few posts about identifying giftedness in very young children ( Your Bossy Baby or Toddler May Be Gifted. Really. Here Are The Signs You Are Missing! , How To Help Your Gifted Child Handle Frustration and How To Spot A Gifted Child In Your Preschool Class (Or Your Living Room!) ) but I want…… Continue reading How To Talk So Your Gifted Child Will Listen
What Helps Sensitive and Autistic Kids Handle Haircuts?
Depending on your child’s age and issues, getting a haircut can be anything from a chore to a dreaded event that you put off, and then put it off a bit more. So many kids fear them: kids with ASD, kids with sensory issues, children that have had multiple hospitalizations or procedures, children with anxiety…… Continue reading What Helps Sensitive and Autistic Kids Handle Haircuts?
Have More Fun When You Use Drawing To Develop Pre-Writing Skills
Why should learning to write mean a pile of boring worksheets? It shouldn’t! This week, try teaching your preschooler to draw fun shapes that mirror correct letter formation, start/sequence and connections, and watch their handwriting skills take off! Why draw? Because some kids need more practice, avoid writing due to fear of failure, or…… Continue reading Have More Fun When You Use Drawing To Develop Pre-Writing Skills
How Parents Can Teach Healthy Body Boundaries To Young Children
One of the greatest horrors of the Larry Nasser story is that parents were often mere feet away from these girls while they were being molested. The people most invested in a child’s safety had no idea that anything violent was occurring, and these girls did not reveal their discomfort at the time. These…… Continue reading How Parents Can Teach Healthy Body Boundaries To Young Children