Category: parenting

How an Occupational Therapist Can Help The Siblings of Special Needs Children

  The parent of one of my clients recently returned from a conference related to her youngest child’s genetic disorder, and she told me that the presentation on helping the siblings of special needs kids really only offered one niblet of advice: “Try to give each sibling 10 minutes a day of “just us” time.”…… Continue reading How an Occupational Therapist Can Help The Siblings of Special Needs Children

Does Your Toddler Fight Diaper Changes? End The Drama Today!

  I regularly field questions about this problem from the parents of children I treat.   If your 8 to 36-month old is fussy during diaper changes, and you know it isn’t from diaper rash, keep reading, because…  I have some information and ideas for you. Parents of kids with sensory processing issues or developmental…… Continue reading Does Your Toddler Fight Diaper Changes? End The Drama Today!

The JointSmart Child Series: Parents of Young Hypermobile Children Can Feel More Empowered and Confident Today!

My first book, The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone, was a wonderful experience to write and share.  The number of daily hits on one of my most popular blog posts  Hypermobility and Proprioception: Why Loose Joints Create Sensory Processing Problems for Children helped me figure out what my next e-book…… Continue reading The JointSmart Child Series: Parents of Young Hypermobile Children Can Feel More Empowered and Confident Today!

Why Injuries to Hypermobile Joints Hurt Twice

My new e-book, The JointSmart Child: Living and Thriving With Hypermobility, Volume I, is just about ready to launch.  One of the book’s major themes is that safety awareness is something that parents need to actively teach hypermobile young children.  Of course, physical and occupational therapists need to educate their parents first.  And they shouldn’t…… Continue reading Why Injuries to Hypermobile Joints Hurt Twice

Can The Parents of Kids in Early Intervention Have PTSD?

I wrote a post about the common complications seen with long-term neonatal medical issues The Subtle Ways Chronic Medical Care Affects Infant and Toddler Development, but the rest of the family isn’t immune to trauma reactions.  A difficult pregnancy or delivery, the shock of a unexpected genetic disorder diagnosis, or the crises that arise in…… Continue reading Can The Parents of Kids in Early Intervention Have PTSD?

Toilet Training Strategies to Help The Child With A Receptive Language Delay Succeed!

Even after writing my books on potty training, I continue to be aware that some parents (and therapists!) think that there are issues that can completely prevent successful training.  One of these issues is a receptive language delay.  This is when a child’s ability to comprehend language is not age appropriate.  It may be accompanied…… Continue reading Toilet Training Strategies to Help The Child With A Receptive Language Delay Succeed!

Pillowfort at Target: Should You Ask Your Child’s OT Before You Click “Buy”?

There are so many families out there that need great equipment for their sensory kids.  Pillowfort materials are on sale at Target, one of my favorite big box stores.  The items are affordable and stylish.  But are they what you really need?  In order to get the products that serve your child’s needs, you may…… Continue reading Pillowfort at Target: Should You Ask Your Child’s OT Before You Click “Buy”?

Is Benign Joint Hypermobility Syndrome (BJHS) All That Benign?

  Many of the children I treat every year have some degree of hypermobility.  Some of them arrive on my caseload with diagnoses such as Prader-Willi syndrome or Down syndrome.  Their low muscle tone is understandable, and their hypermobility has been easily observable since birth.  Some of them are almost certainly going to be diagnosed…… Continue reading Is Benign Joint Hypermobility Syndrome (BJHS) All That Benign?

How To Get Your Kid To Share (Hint: The Fast Food Rule Will Be Used)

Not a week goes by that a parent or nanny asks me how to get a young child, usually under 3, to share.  I get it; it is embarrassing when a toddler rips a toy away from another child, or has a death grip on a toy car while growling at their playdate friend. Sharing…… Continue reading How To Get Your Kid To Share (Hint: The Fast Food Rule Will Be Used)

Hypermobility Or Low Tone? Three Solutions to Mealtime Problems

    Many young hypermobile kids, with and without low muscle tone, struggle at mealtimes. Even after they have received skilled feeding therapy and can chew and swallow safely, they may continue to slide off their chair, spill food on the table (and on their body!) and refuse to use utensils. It doesn’t have to…… Continue reading Hypermobility Or Low Tone? Three Solutions to Mealtime Problems

How People Become Narcissists: They Were Raised That Way

You’ve met them, even if you didn’t know what you were looking at or listening to.  People who are full of entitlement and expectation, but lack a certain depth of empathy (Emojiis on Facebook after someone posted the loss of their pet doesn’t count).   Folk who are very conscious of where they stand in…… Continue reading How People Become Narcissists: They Were Raised That Way

How To Correctly Reposition Your Child’s Legs When They “W-Sit”

Hypermobile kids, kids with low muscle tone, and kids with sensory processing issues are champion “W-sitters”.  What’s that?  If your child sits with their thighs rotated inward, knees bent, and their feet rotated so their toes point outward, you have a W-sitter.   This sitting pattern isn’t abnormal if it is only one of many…… Continue reading How To Correctly Reposition Your Child’s Legs When They “W-Sit”

Does Your Older Child Hate Writing? Try HWT’s Double-Lined Paper

  This paper has been more useful to older kids (6+) that I see for handwriting help than any other paper on the market, and almost any other tool Problems With Handwriting? You Need The Best Eraser , Great Mechanical Pencils Can Improve Your Child’s Handwriting Skills .  Why?  Regular lined paper, and almost all worksheets, are usually jam-packed…… Continue reading Does Your Older Child Hate Writing? Try HWT’s Double-Lined Paper

Does Your Child Hate Big Spaces? There is a Sensory-Based Explanation for all That Complaining

When you see it, it looks like Helen Keller crossed with a Roomba.  A child enters a space, even a familiar space, and runs the perimeter without stopping to play or examine things.  They may trace the room with their fingers, or repeat this process many times before they “land” and engage in some kind…… Continue reading Does Your Child Hate Big Spaces? There is a Sensory-Based Explanation for all That Complaining

What To Say When Your Child Says “I Hate You!”

  It happens to almost every parent.  It could happen when your child is a fuming preschooler, or a haughty tween.  Doesn’t matter.  It still hurts.  A lot.  Even the sweetest child can hurl one of these statements out when they don’t get what they want or aren’t allowed to do something. The biggest question…… Continue reading What To Say When Your Child Says “I Hate You!”

How Long Term Medical Care Affects Infant and Toddler Development

  The good news:  more and more extremely premature and medically complex babies are surviving.  The bad news: there is a cost to the extended and complex treatment that saves their lives and helps them to thrive.  This post is an effort to put out in the open what pediatric therapists know only too well…… Continue reading How Long Term Medical Care Affects Infant and Toddler Development

Does Your Special Needs Child Have a “Two-tude”? Its Not Just the Age; Its Cumulative Frustration Minus Skills

  I spend a lot of my work week with toddlers, and they can be a challenge.  One minute sunny, the next screaming because their cookie broke.  Special needs toddlers can have a ‘tude as well, but many professionals sweep it under the rug.  They tell parents that this is normal, and that they should…… Continue reading Does Your Special Needs Child Have a “Two-tude”? Its Not Just the Age; Its Cumulative Frustration Minus Skills

Need to Support A Child’s Independence? Offer to Help Them!

  I know; it sounds like I am being sarcastic.  That couldn’t be farther from the truth.  Instead of telling children to “Give it another try” or “I know you can do it”, offering help to a young child can have the paradoxical effect of eliciting more perseverance and attention. It really isn’t all that…… Continue reading Need to Support A Child’s Independence? Offer to Help Them!

When Writing Hurts: The Hypermobile Hand

Many children resist doing their homework, but most kids say “Its so BORING!” not “My hand hurts too much”.  If a child is complaining of pain, and they don’t have a joint disease such as JRA, the first thought is hypermobility.  The good news is that there are a few fast fixes that can decrease…… Continue reading When Writing Hurts: The Hypermobile Hand

Why Is The Wilbarger Protocol So Hard To Get Right?

  The Wilbarger Protocol has been a staple of therapeutic treatment of sensory processing disorder for decades.  I will reveal my age, and admit that I learned directly from Pat Wilbarger.  She was an amazing teacher and a highly skilled clinician to see in action.  But I have lost count of the number of times…… Continue reading Why Is The Wilbarger Protocol So Hard To Get Right?