In my first e-book, The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone, I wrote almost a full chapter just on clothing management. If your child needs you to pull clothing on and off, they are NOT fully trained. And if they have clothes that make it impossible for them to…… Continue reading Toilet Training? Your Child Needs the Right Shorts!
Tag: low muscle tone
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
Three Ways To Reduce W-Sitting (And Why It Matters)
Children who sit on the floor with their thighs rolled inward and their calves rotated out to the sides are told that they are “W-sitting”. Parents are told to reposition their kids immediately. There are even garments like Hip Helpers that make it nearly impossible to sit in this manner. Some therapists get practically apoplectic…… Continue reading Three Ways To Reduce W-Sitting (And Why It Matters)
For Kids With Sensory Issues and Low Tone, Add Resistance Instead of Hand-Over-Hand Assistance
One of my most popular posts, Why “Hand-Over-Hand” Assistance Works Poorly With So Many Special Needs Children , explains how this common method of assisting children to hold and manipulate objects often results in rejection or even aversion. This post tells you about my most successful strategy for kids with low muscle tone and limited sensory…… Continue reading For Kids With Sensory Issues and Low Tone, Add Resistance Instead of Hand-Over-Hand Assistance
Hypermobile Toddlers: It’s What Not To Do That Matters Most
Do you pick up your toddler and feel that shoulder or those wrist bones moving a lot under your touch? Does your child do a “downward dog” and her elbows look like they are bending backward? Does it seem that his ankles are rolling over toward the floor when he stands up? That is…… Continue reading Hypermobile Toddlers: It’s What Not To Do That Matters Most
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
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?
Hypermobility in Young Children: When Flexibility Isn’t Functional
Your grandma would have called it being ” double jointed”. Your mom might mention that she was the most flexible person in every yoga class she attended. But when extra joint motion reduces your child’s performance or creates pain, parents get concerned. Sometimes pediatricians and orthopedists do not. Why would that happen? A measure…… Continue reading Hypermobility in Young Children: When Flexibility Isn’t Functional
Low Tone and Constipation: Why This Issue Delays Toilet Training Progress
Kids with low tone and sensory processing disorders are not the only children who struggle with constipation, but it is more common for them. The reasons are many: low abdominal and oral tone, less use of available musculature because they use compensatory sitting and standing (the schlump, the lean, the swayback) patterns, and even food…… Continue reading Low Tone and Constipation: Why This Issue Delays Toilet Training Progress
Low Tone and Toilet Training: How Your Child’s Therapists Can Help You
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
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
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?