The SitRite chair might be for you. After sending parents to the Stokke website for years, it became clear that this chair wasn’t “all that” for every kid. No armrests, a really hard seat, and once a child pushed away from the table or desk, they needed an adult to help them get closer…… Continue reading Finally… A Desk Chair For Your Hypermobile Kid, And it Has a Footrest!
Category: toy/equipment review
Like The Cube Chair? Here Is a Table and Chairs Set For Younger Toddlers!
My post on the classic Cube Chair The Cube Chair: Your Special Needs Toddler’s New Favorite Seat! has been popular, but it isn’t always a great choice for the smaller toddler that was a preemie (they tend to stay smaller in size). So…enter the next choice for toddlers that need some back support and need…… Continue reading Like The Cube Chair? Here Is a Table and Chairs Set For Younger Toddlers!
Doing Quickshifts? Modulated Music? Therapeutic Listening? Get These Affordable, Comfortable, Kid-Size Bluetooth Headphones From PURO!
Wirecutter, owned by the New York Times, just did a piece on great gifts. The PURO BT2200 models were featured because they are child-sized NOISE-LIMITING headphones with a BUILT-IN MIC, which is great for virtual school participation. I am recommending them because they will not destroy your child’s hearing. They max out at 85 decibels.…… Continue reading Doing Quickshifts? Modulated Music? Therapeutic Listening? Get These Affordable, Comfortable, Kid-Size Bluetooth Headphones From PURO!
Need a Desk Chair for Your Hypermobile School-Age Child? Check out the Giantex Chair
One of my colleagues with a hypermobile third-grader told me this chair has been a great chair at school for her child. It hits a lot of my targets for a good chair recommendation, so here it is: The Giantex chair. Why do I like it so much? It is a bit adaptable and it…… Continue reading Need a Desk Chair for Your Hypermobile School-Age Child? Check out the Giantex Chair
Stress Relief in the Time of Coronavirus: Enter Quickshifts
My clients know that I use therapeutic music called Quickshifts and Gearshifters in many pediatric therapy sessions. They use binaural beat technology (Binaural Beats and Regulation: More Than Music Therapy ) to induce an alpha brainwave state. This is the brain’s calm-alert state. Due to the unprecedented stress we are all under, I am using them…… Continue reading Stress Relief in the Time of Coronavirus: Enter Quickshifts
Binaural Beats and Regulation: More Than Music Therapy
Binaural beat technology isn’t new. But it is powerful. This post is designed to answer some questions about how it works, why it works, and how I use it effectively in the treatment of sensory processing issues. For people who have read about or tried Quickshifts Quickshifts: A Simple, Successful, and Easy to Use Treatment…… Continue reading Binaural Beats and Regulation: More Than Music Therapy
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”?
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
The Not-So-Secret Solution for Your Child With Motor And Sensory Issues: Dycem
In adult rehab, occupational therapists are regularly providing patients who have incoordination, muscle weakness or joint instability with both skill-building activities and adaptive equipment such as Dycem. In pediatrics, you see a predominance of skills training. Adaptive equipment shows up primarily for the most globally and pervasively disabled children. I think that should change. Why? Because…… Continue reading The Not-So-Secret Solution for Your Child With Motor And Sensory Issues: Dycem
The Best Ride-On Toy For Younger (or Petite) Toddlers
As an occupational therapist, I have always found it difficult to recommend a toddler ride-on toy for younger or smaller kids with low muscle tone and hypermobility. Most of these toys have such a wide seat that children must propel themselves with their knees rotated out and pushing forward on their toes. Exactly the…… Continue reading The Best Ride-On Toy For Younger (or Petite) Toddlers
Deluxe Water Wow Pads Offer More Challenge And More Fun To Preschoolers and Kindergarteners
My clients and colleagues know how much I love the original Water Wow books. They are reusable and mess-free fun for kids at home, at the doctor’s office, the restaurant and the plane ride. These bigger books are going to be even more fun for preschool kids and kindergarteners! Here are some great reasons…… Continue reading Deluxe Water Wow Pads Offer More Challenge And More Fun To Preschoolers and Kindergarteners
DUPLO’s My First Number Train Set Is An Easy Way to Build Grasp in Toddlers!
I really like this set from LEGO. The DUPLO line is intended for children 18 months to 5 years old, but I think older kids will enjoy it as well when they combine pieces to make more complex designs. The #1 reason I like this set is that the great majority of the…… Continue reading DUPLO’s My First Number Train Set Is An Easy Way to Build Grasp in Toddlers!
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
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!
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
Automoblox: For the Discriminating Preschool Gearhead
These cars and trucks are so well crafted and have such sophisticated styling that they even impress adults. They certainly have made me a big fan! Automoblox are small vehicles that your 3-6 year-old child assembles by themselves or with some initial help. They have small pieces, so they are not for children…… Continue reading Automoblox: For the Discriminating Preschool Gearhead
The Elf on the Shelf Could Get Your Child to Write a Letter to Santa!
‘Tis the season, and Elf On The Shelf is back for more fun! Some parents adore the concept and cannot wait to move that little elf around the house every night, and others mock him and his expanding merchandising. Now that he is getting kids to write and draw, and parents will be able…… Continue reading The Elf on the Shelf Could Get Your Child to Write a Letter to Santa!
Make Wiping Your Child’s Nose Easier With Boogie Wipes
It is cold and flu season here in the states, and I have already seen my share of snot-caked little faces. Little children get more colds than older kids and adults, and they can turn into an agitated mess when you say “Honey, I need to wipe your nose”. These wipes are going to make…… Continue reading Make Wiping Your Child’s Nose Easier With Boogie Wipes
Review: Kumon Sticker Books For Toddlers
Children love stickers. Kumon has created great sticker books for the 2’s or children performing at that level. I have the vehicle-themed book, but they have a zoo-themed book as well. I use their scissor books every week, maybe even every day with the 3’s and 4’s. I wanted to see what they came up…… Continue reading Review: Kumon Sticker Books For Toddlers
Color Wonder Paper Will Boost Creativity and Save Your Walls
Nothing ruins the fun of scribbling like the frustration of discovering that clothes, skin and walls are also covered with “creativity”. It is important to teach children that we color only on specific surfaces, but messes will happen on the path to full comprehension and compliance. Crayola has just about solved this problem…… Continue reading Color Wonder Paper Will Boost Creativity and Save Your Walls