Over the years as an occupational therapist, I have been giving parents hints here and there. Writing my e-book this fall, and preparing an e-course (coming soon) to support families makes me realize that some clients did not ask me very many questions while they were toilet training their child. So….Are there aspects of therapy…… Continue reading Low Tone and Toilet Training: How Your Child’s Therapists Can Help You
Category: sensory processing issues
Low Tone and Toilet Training: What You Can Learn From Elimination Communication Theory
Yes, those folks who hold a 6 month-old over the toilet and let her defecate directly into the potty, not into a Pamper. Elimination Communication (EC) has committed fans, as well as people who think it is both useless and even punishing to kids. I am not taking sides here, but there is one thing…… Continue reading Low Tone and Toilet Training: What You Can Learn From Elimination Communication Theory
Vestibular Fun For Infants With Motor Delays
Picture this: a dad swings his 6 month-old upside down, and she giggles and smiles from ear to ear. What doesn’t daddy know? He is stimulating her developing balance system and teaching her to love movement while they play. When babies have motor delays, whether due to prematurity, illness, or a brain injury such as…… Continue reading Vestibular Fun For Infants With Motor Delays
Low Tone and Toilet Training: Parents And Children Need To Work Together
This one is simple to explain, but not so easy to achieve with some kids. Children whose interactional pattern is defiance or whining are going to be much harder to train, regardless of whether or not they have significant issues with low muscle tone. In fact, I would rather coach a very physically unstable but…… Continue reading Low Tone and Toilet Training: Parents And Children Need To Work Together
Your Best Pre-Writing Activities List: Target Key Skills And Have Fun!
The school year is coming up fast, and parents are wondering what skills their preschoolers are going to need. Finding fun things to do with the rest of the summer that actually build skills, not just entertain the troops, isn’t easy, even for occupational therapists. Here are my current favorites: Bring out the scissors and…… Continue reading Your Best Pre-Writing Activities List: Target Key Skills And Have Fun!
Low Tone and Toilet Training: Kids Need To See How It’s Done
Low muscle tone creates more challenges for toilet training, but that means parents need to focus on getting all the parts of teaching and practicing down right. If your child is unfocused or inattentive when you speak about potty training, you can try books and videos. Sometimes the use of media will spark interest and…… Continue reading Low Tone and Toilet Training: Kids Need To See How It’s Done
Low Tone and Toilet Training: The 4 Types of Training Readiness
When clients ask me if I think their child is ready to potty train, my answer is usually “Tell me more about the readiness signs you believe you are seeing.” There are numerous factors to consider when assessing toilet training readiness if a child has low muscle tone. Here are the four types of readiness…… Continue reading Low Tone and Toilet Training: The 4 Types of Training Readiness
When Sensory Seeking Becomes Attention Seeking
As an occupational therapist, I see sensory-seeking kids every week who crash, jump, wiggle and hug their way through their days. If a couch is available, it is either a launching pad or a landing pad. Adults are for hanging on, landing on, or giving full-body hugs. Seeking unsafe or inappropriate movement and touch for…… Continue reading When Sensory Seeking Becomes Attention Seeking
Low Tone and Toilet Training: Transition to Using The Adult Toilet
Once the potty seat has been mastered, the question soon becomes: How is she going to use a regular toilet? Most younger children use a step stool and an insert to sit securely on an adult toilet. Kids with low tone often need a little more assistance to get up there and stay stable. Here…… Continue reading Low Tone and Toilet Training: Transition to Using The Adult Toilet
Teach ASD and Sensory Kids How to Manage Aggression
Little boys as young as 2 use play fighting, crashing, and even pretend killing in their play, without anger or intentional destruction or injury. Is this a very bad thing? I was challenged this week three separate times to explain why I would initiate physical play that can look aggressive (think crashing cars or our…… Continue reading Teach ASD and Sensory Kids How to Manage Aggression
How To Pick The Best Potty Seat For Toilet Training A Child With Low Tone
Kids with low tone benefit significantly from supportive seating for eating, playing, and yes, toileting. Picking the right training potty can make all the difference for them, and their parents. My new favorites for smaller children (smaller than the average 3-4 year-old) are the Little Colorado Potty Chair and the Fisher Price Custom Comfort Potty… Continue reading How To Pick The Best Potty Seat For Toilet Training A Child With Low Tone
Great Mechanical Pencils Can Improve Your Child’s Handwriting Skills
These pencils help students with the following handwriting issues: They use too much force while writing, and the pencil tips break frequently. They need more tactile information to achieve and keep a mature pencil grasp. They rarely notice that they need to sharpen their pencil to improve legibility. Getting up to sharpen a pencil distracts…… Continue reading Great Mechanical Pencils Can Improve Your Child’s Handwriting Skills
Easy Ways To Build Bilateral Hand Coordination for Writing
Why do we need to use two hands for writing? After all, you only need one hand to hold a pencil. Well, did you ever injure your non-dominant shoulder or wrist? Without a hand to steady the paper and move it accurately as you write across a page, an adult will write like a preschooler…… Continue reading Easy Ways To Build Bilateral Hand Coordination for Writing
Build Pre-Writing Skills With A Focus on Scribbling
The greatest criticism an older sibling can level at a young child’s drawing is to call it “scribble scrabble”. But wait! If you want to develop finger control for future handwriting success, then you want more scribbling and coloring! Random strokes aren’t going to move the needle forward for a child older than 3 years…… Continue reading Build Pre-Writing Skills With A Focus on Scribbling
Best Preemie Toy? Try An O-Ball Toy For Easy Grasping And Playing
Preemies often wait a long time to start playing. NICU life isn’t about fun, it is about survival. Once your preemie is home, you will want to get the party started. If she has a weak grasp or isn’t coordinated enough to easily hold every rattle and toy that you got for your shower,…… Continue reading Best Preemie Toy? Try An O-Ball Toy For Easy Grasping And Playing
Toe Walker? Why The Problem Usually Isn’t Touch Sensitivity
Kids that toe-walk after they have fully mastered walking and running (usually 24-30 months) are often accused of avoiding the feeling of their feet on the floor. It certainly looks that way. The truth is usually not so simple, and the solution not so easy to achieve. Getting a toe-walker to use a heel-toe gait…… Continue reading Toe Walker? Why The Problem Usually Isn’t Touch Sensitivity
Use The Fast Food Rule to Help ASD Toddlers Handle Change
Kids With ASD can react strongly to changes in their routines or environments. Even changing the location of furniture they don’t even use can create screaming and aggression. Why? Often they use their external concept of home and environment to provide internal consistency, structure, and spatial comprehension. We all do, in reality. Ask anyone who…… Continue reading Use The Fast Food Rule to Help ASD Toddlers Handle Change
Is Low Muscle Tone A Sensory Processing Issue?
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?
Which Spoon Is Best To Teach Grown-Up Grasp?
Using a spoon to scoop with a mature grasp (thumb on top, fingers curled under) and using a pencil to write are two preschool fine motor skills that last a lifetime. Did you know that the design of the spoon can make teaching mature spoon grasp easier? I had a discussion with a child’s speech…… Continue reading Which Spoon Is Best To Teach Grown-Up Grasp?
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