Kids big and little are anticipating Halloween, but this holiday isn’t always enjoyable for children with ASD, SPD, anxiety or motor issues. Putting on a costume can be difficult for some kids to tolerate and nearly impossible for kids that have mobility issues. Kids with endurance and mobility issues struggle to walk up to…… Continue reading Have More Halloween Fun When Kids Don’t or Can’t Trick-Or-Treat
Category: sensory processing issues
An Affordable Sensory-Friendly Clothing Line Has Arrived!
Here in the US, kids are getting ready to start the school year. A mom mentioned to me that Target is now carrying sensory-friendly clothing by Cat and Jack; attractive and functional clothes for kids who find tags, seams and textured clothing uncomfortable. I went to check them out online. Here is what I…… Continue reading An Affordable Sensory-Friendly Clothing Line Has Arrived!
Hypermobility and ADHD? Take Stability, Proprioception, Pain and Fatigue Into Account Before Labeling Behavior
ADHD is a disorder that is diagnosed clinically. This means that there are no brain examinations, no measures that are not behavioral, when determining whether or not to give a child this label. The younger the child, the less accurate behavioral measurements are. But the risks in quickly giving a child this label are significant.…… Continue reading Hypermobility and ADHD? Take Stability, Proprioception, Pain and Fatigue Into Account Before Labeling Behavior
How to Help Sensitive Kids Handle Greeting People (Including Their Own Parents!)
Many kids with ASD and SPD struggle with agitation and even tantrums when people enter their homes. It can happen when their parent returns home from work, eager to scoop them up. These kids become shy, run away, even hit! Many, even most parents, believe that this is “bad behavior”, being defiant, or expressing…… Continue reading How to Help Sensitive Kids Handle Greeting People (Including Their Own Parents!)
Is is Sensory Or Is It Behavior? Before 3, The Answer Is Usually “Yes!”
If I had a dollar for every parent that asked me if head banging when frustrated means their child has a sensory processing disorder…well, I would be writing this post from a suite in Tahiti! Modulation of arousal is the most common sensory processing concern for the parents that I see as a pediatric occupational…… Continue reading Is is Sensory Or Is It Behavior? Before 3, The Answer Is Usually “Yes!”
Can Hypermobility Cause Speech Problems?
As a pediatric OT, many of my clients have speech and feeding problems that are attributed to low muscle tone. Very often, that is where assessment ends. Perhaps it shouldn’t. Joint hypermobility can also create issues such as dysarthria, disfluency and poor voice/breath control. It isn’t only about oral muscles and muscle coordination for feeding.…… Continue reading Can Hypermobility Cause Speech Problems?
Problems With Handwriting? You Need The Best Eraser
A good eraser can make a frustrated child more willing to fix writing errors. A bad eraser confirms their failure as a writer. Occupational therapists in some schools hand out HWT pencils and a variety of pencil grips like candy, but many forget about how important it is for kids to erase mistakes…… Continue reading Problems With Handwriting? You Need The Best Eraser
Taping The Paper To The Table For Your Child? Stop!
Many young children between 2 and 5, especially children with low muscle tone or postural instability, will struggle with bilateral control. In preschool, one way to notice this is to see the paper sliding around the table while a child colors. The common response of teachers (and parents) is to tape the paper down. Oops!…… Continue reading Taping The Paper To The Table For Your Child? Stop!
Gifted at Preschool: How to Support The Young Gifted Child In Class
Gifted children often cannot wait to go to preschool. They may follow an older sibling into their classroom and cry when they have to leave. After all, look at all those books, art supplies, and science stations to explore! Things can go right off the rails, however, if the teacher and the classroom…… Continue reading Gifted at Preschool: How to Support The Young Gifted Child In Class
The Difference Between Special Needs and Typical Potty Training Approaches: Address Sensory/Behavioral Issues and Use Consistent Routines
After writing The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone, I have been asked what was different about my book. There must be 100 books on potty training special needs kids. What did I do differently? Simple. I am an occupational therapist, so I have no choice but to use my…… Continue reading The Difference Between Special Needs and Typical Potty Training Approaches: Address Sensory/Behavioral Issues and Use Consistent Routines
Sensitivity and Gifted Children: The Mind That Floods With Feeling
Gifted children are often the most emotional and empathic toddlers in the room. They are the kids who cry when the ASPCA runs those tearjerker commercials. They are the teens who want to develop an NGO to provide clean water in developing countries. Gifted children don’t do this to get a boost on…… Continue reading Sensitivity and Gifted Children: The Mind That Floods With Feeling
Are YOU A Sensory Sensitive Parent?
If you fill out the Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile for your child and see yourself on the page too, don’t be too surprised. Actually, you might feel relieved, and even a bit excited. Because now you know that you aren’t “crazy” or “weird” or even “difficult”. If you have some sensory processing issues of your own,…… Continue reading Are YOU A Sensory Sensitive Parent?
Parents of Formerly Picky Eaters Can Feel Like The (Food) War is Still Going On
What do parents of children who have had successful treatment for oral sensory sensitivity have in common with Vietnam veterans? Parts of them do not know that the war is over. Raising a child that can become unglued over the texture or taste of a new food is like walking through a minefield. As a…… Continue reading Parents of Formerly Picky Eaters Can Feel Like The (Food) War is Still Going On
Want A Stronger Pencil Grasp? Use a Tablet Stylus
The trick? They need to use a short stylus and play apps that require primarily drag-and-drop play. Stop them from only tapping that screen today, because tapping alone will not make much of a difference in strength and grading of force. Why will drag-and-drop play work? The resistance of the stylus tip on the…… Continue reading Want A Stronger Pencil Grasp? Use a Tablet Stylus
Wait Out Your Whiner Before Reacting And Everybody Wins!
Whining/whinging can drive a calm parent to the edge. Like nails on a chalkboard, the effect of a small person squealing their demand may unhinge you. Add refusal to comply with a reasonable request, and you have a recipe for disaster. OK, maybe not disaster, but how your react can inflict damage on the warm…… Continue reading Wait Out Your Whiner Before Reacting And Everybody Wins!
Hypermobility and Proprioception: Why Loose Joints Create Sensory Processing Problems for Children
When most parents think of sensory processing issues, they think of the children who hate clothing tags and gag on textured foods. Joint hypermobility, regardless of the reason (prematurity, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, head injury, etc) can result in kids who stumble when they move and wobble when they rest. They are seen by orthopedists and…… Continue reading Hypermobility and Proprioception: Why Loose Joints Create Sensory Processing Problems for Children
Your Bossy Baby or Toddler May Be Gifted. Really. Here Are The Signs You Are Missing!
Very young children can be a challenge at times. Tantrums over broken cookies, insistence on hearing “Goodnight Moon” for the 11th time in one night, etc. They can be adorably cute and amazingly difficult in the same 15 minute period! Lurking inside all that chaotic behavior may be signs of genius. Here are some…… Continue reading Your Bossy Baby or Toddler May Be Gifted. Really. Here Are The Signs You Are Missing!
Infants With Sensory Sensitivity: When Your Fussy Baby Takes Over Your Life
fpsyg-08-00789 Parents are often the first to suspect that their infant’s constant and intense complaints are more than just fussiness. Sometimes pediatricians pick up on a pattern of edginess that cannot be explained by all the usual suspects: teething, food sensitivity, temperament. Having a baby who complains bitterly about the most common events, such…… Continue reading Infants With Sensory Sensitivity: When Your Fussy Baby Takes Over Your Life
Child Writing Too Lightly on Paper? It Might Not Be Hand Strength Holding Him Back
If your child barely makes a mark when he scribbles or writes, most adults assume that grasp is an issue. Today’s post suggests that something else could be the real reason for those faint lines. Limitations in postural and bilateral control contribute far more to lack of pressure when writing than most parents and teachers…… Continue reading Child Writing Too Lightly on Paper? It Might Not Be Hand Strength Holding Him Back
Does An Atypical Pencil Grasp Damage Joints or Support Function In Kids With Hypermobility?
As a pediatric OTR, I am often asked to assess and teach proper pencil grasp. Once you start looking, you see a lot of interesting patterns out there. When a child clearly has low muscle tone and/or hypermobile joints, the question of what to do about an atypical pencil grasp used to puzzle me. I…… Continue reading Does An Atypical Pencil Grasp Damage Joints or Support Function In Kids With Hypermobility?