I love Halloween, but not everyone does. Kids with sensory sensitivity top THAT list! The strange transformation of their classrooms, homes and yards aren’t exciting; they are disorienting. The masks and loose costumes? Pure Hell. But at least here in America, it often seems like it is almost unpatriotic to shun this holiday unless you…… Continue reading Halloween is Coming: For Sensory Sensitive Children, It’s No Celebration
Tag: autism
Not Making It To the Potty In Time? Three Reasons Why Special Needs Kids Have Accidents
If your special needs child isn’t experiencing a medical reason for incontinence (infection, blockage, neurological impairment) then you might be facing one of these three common roadblocks to total training success: Your child has limited or incomplete interoceptive awareness. What is interoception? It is the ability to sense and interpret internal cues. The distention of…… Continue reading Not Making It To the Potty In Time? Three Reasons Why Special Needs Kids Have Accidents
Teaching Safety Awareness To Special Needs Toddlers
Parents anxiously wait for their special needs infants to sit up, crawl and walk. That last skill can take extra months or years. Everyone, and I mean everyone, uses walking as a benchmark for maturity and independence. They shouldn’t. A child with poor safety awareness isn’t safer when they acquire mobility skills. Sometimes they are…… Continue reading Teaching Safety Awareness To Special Needs Toddlers
Why Pediatric Occupational Therapists Need The Happiest Toddler On The Block Techniques: Neurobiological Regulation
Pediatric occupational therapists are usually all-in when it comes to using physical methods to help children achieve affective modulation. We use the Wilbarger Protocol, Astronaut Training, Therapeutic Listening, and more. But are we using Dr. Harvey Karp’s Happiest Toddler on the Block techniques? Not so much. All that talking seems like something a teacher…… Continue reading Why Pediatric Occupational Therapists Need The Happiest Toddler On The Block Techniques: Neurobiological Regulation
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
Help Your Special Needs Toddler Make The Transition To School Routines
Many developmentally delayed toddlers move their therapeutic and educational services to a toddler developmental group, A.K.A. special needs program, when they are between 18 and 30 months old. Not all of them slide into the routine easily. There can be a few tears and a lot of complaining about fitting into a schedule…… Continue reading Help Your Special Needs Toddler Make The Transition To School Routines
Lining Up Toys Doesn’t Mean Your Toddler Has Autism
After head-banging (see Why Head Banging Doesn’t Make Your Toddler Autistic), this is the other common behavior that seems to terrify parents of young children. Seeing a row of vehicles on the carpet makes parents absolutely sprint to search online. Well, I want ALL of you parents to take a deep breath, and then exhale. The…… Continue reading Lining Up Toys Doesn’t Mean Your Toddler Has Autism
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
Teaching Children To Use Utensils to Eat: Use Good Tools, Good Food, and Good Timing
I gave a crash course in utensil instruction to an interested dad recently. Speaking with him, answering his questions, made me realize that I had spent years refining my approach to teaching young children how to use spoons and forks. I had never written it all down. Select your tools carefully. Many parents and…… Continue reading Teaching Children To Use Utensils to Eat: Use Good Tools, Good Food, and Good Timing