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
Category: sensory processing issues
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
Better Posture and More Legible Writing With A “Helper Hand”
What is it? Handwriting Without Tears (HWT), the handwriting instruction program, introduced me to the concept of the “helper hand”. The helper hand is a child’s non-dominant hand. I am a righty, so my left hand is my helper hand. Here is why it matters more than you (and your child’s teacher) think it does.…… Continue reading Better Posture and More Legible Writing With A “Helper Hand”
Low Tone and Toilet Training: Teaching Toddlers to Wipe
The parent that inspired my most popular post ever, Why Low Tone Creates More Toilet Training Struggles for Toddlers (And Parents!) , suggested that I write another about the most useful advice she says I ever offered her. Not the most glamorous topic, but teaching children to wipe their tushies is important.…… Continue reading Low Tone and Toilet Training: Teaching Toddlers to Wipe
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
Why Low Muscle Tone Affects Pencil Grasp
Low muscle tone can cause a child to struggle with holding crayons and pencils. Those little fingers wrap around them, fold over them and sometimes ball up into a fist to hold a pencil. How a child holds a pencil does not automatically mean that his handwriting will be illegible, but it almost always makes…… Continue reading Why Low Muscle Tone Affects Pencil Grasp
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
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
Low Muscle Tone and Dressing: Easy Solutions to Teach Independence
When a child says “I do it myself” most adults are thrilled. Kids with low muscle tone want to do things like the big kids too, including dressing themselves, but they often end up in a tangle of sleeves or twisted pant legs. Here are a few suggestions to make learning to get dressed and…… Continue reading Low Muscle Tone and Dressing: Easy Solutions to Teach Independence
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
Halloween With Sensory Sensitive Kids: The (Sensory) Tricks of the Holiday
Sensory sensitive kids aren’t always able to handle the excitement of Halloween without a little support. Here are some strategies to help parents create as much fun as possible, and what to do when there are more bumps in the night (or day) than expected: Costumes, especially masks and hats, aren’t always willingly worn. Your…… Continue reading Halloween With Sensory Sensitive Kids: The (Sensory) Tricks of the Holiday
Preschool Pencils That Develop Hand Control (and with tips that won’t constantly break!)
Most preschoolers with older siblings are aware that the “big kids” use pencils for their homework. Just like the fight to avoid the booster seat, older toddlers and preschoolers aspire to the next stage of development. The problem with using #2 pencils before kindergarten? Many children do not have the required small muscle strength and…… Continue reading Preschool Pencils That Develop Hand Control (and with tips that won’t constantly break!)
Kids With Low Muscle Tone Can Sit For Dinner: A Multi-Course Strategy
Low muscle tone can create so many different issues during mealtime. Staying still and safe in a chair can be a real issue for these kids, and yet many are seen to be just “behaving badly”. They are probably not given the motor and sensory support they need. Here is your roadmap to navigate mealtimes…… Continue reading Kids With Low Muscle Tone Can Sit For Dinner: A Multi-Course Strategy
Why Head Banging Doesn’t Mean Your Toddler Is Autistic
I have worked with so many toddlers who terrify their parents with a tendency to bang their heads on the floor when frustrated. Their parent’s first question is almost always “Do you think he could be autistic?”. Sometimes the answer is yes, but it isn’t because of the head banging. It turns out that head…… Continue reading Why Head Banging Doesn’t Mean Your Toddler Is Autistic
Children with Autism Stop Screaming When You Use The Fast Food Rule to Communicate
Children on the spectrum who scream instead of “using their words” are often perceived as manipulative, on sensory overload, or incapable of better behavior until they learn more language. Try using Dr. Karp’s Fast Food Rule and watch your screaming toddler miraculously find his words. In minutes… or less. This isn’t a guarantee, but…… Continue reading Children with Autism Stop Screaming When You Use The Fast Food Rule to Communicate
Special Needs Kids and Toothbrushing, Part 3; The Sensory-Motor Experience and the Behavioral Strategies that Support Success
Now that you know what issues your child have that made toothbrushing difficult, and you have made brush and paste/rinse choices, it is time to think about the influence of timing, the environment, and the approach to the task. I often recommend that families practice skills outside of their natural timing. Let’s face it; running…… Continue reading Special Needs Kids and Toothbrushing, Part 3; The Sensory-Motor Experience and the Behavioral Strategies that Support Success
Special Needs Kids and Toothbrushing, Part 2: Selecting Your Tools for Success
Once you have recognized the issues that contribute to your child’s difficulties, it is time to think about what brushes and toothpastes you are using. The choices you make could improve or aggravate your situation. Toothbrushes come in a wide range of styles and designs. Motorized toothbrushes frighten some kids but enchant others. Sensory…… Continue reading Special Needs Kids and Toothbrushing, Part 2: Selecting Your Tools for Success
Kids With Sensory Differences and Toothbrushing, Part 1: What You Need to Know
Brushing your child’s teeth and/or teaching them to brush can seem overwhelming. Toddlers with special needs are even more likely than typically developing kids to throw monumental fits when the toothbrush comes out. Parents can tell themselves that this isn’t the issue to battle over tonight. Or the next night. Or tomorrow morning. It can…… Continue reading Kids With Sensory Differences and Toothbrushing, Part 1: What You Need to Know