Tag: low tone

Reduce Potty Accidents in Hypotonic (Low Toned) Kids: Teach Them a Modified Valsalva Maneuver

  Lots of my pediatric clients with low muscle tone are toilet trained.  But…they still have bladder accidents well after being trained.  They are upset by this.  Their parents and their teachers aren’t too happy either.  They reach for the pencil they dropped, or lift up their backpack, and leak a little urine.  Sometimes more…… Continue reading Reduce Potty Accidents in Hypotonic (Low Toned) Kids: Teach Them a Modified Valsalva Maneuver

Why Hypermobility Makes it so Difficult to Build Strength

It is not impossible to build strength in hypermobile kids and adults.  But it is far more difficult than any hypermobile client or an inexperienced therapist really expects. If you took high school physics, you should be able to figure out TWO of the most important reasons why building strength is so tough for hypermobile…… Continue reading Why Hypermobility Makes it so Difficult to Build Strength

Toothbrushing Tools For Autism That Work!

Families ask me to come to their homes and teach their autistic kid how to correctly brush and floss their teeth.  As an occupational therapist, I know good tools can do half of my work for me (Shush:  don’t tell anybody that it isn’t always my many years of training and experience that make the…… Continue reading Toothbrushing Tools For Autism That Work!

Why Your Kid With hEDS Doesn’t Seem to Know They Need the Potty… Right Now!

    “Daddy….I gotta go.  Right NOWWWW!” No parent wants to hear this coming from the back seat of their car while driving down a freeway or on a rural road.  But it happens.  And it can happen to older kids with hypermobile Ehlers Danlos syndrome (hEDS), well past early childhood.  It can happen to…… Continue reading Why Your Kid With hEDS Doesn’t Seem to Know They Need the Potty… Right Now!

How To Start Toilet Training..Today

Many parents believe that their special needs child isn’t ready to train, and might not be for years. They have doctors and teachers who agree. That is a shame, because they can begin the process right away. Today. Regardless of whether a child has the neurological maturation or the receptive language to do “boot camp”…… Continue reading How To Start Toilet Training..Today

Low Tone In The Summertime Heat? 4 Reasons To Hydrate

Here in the northeast, we are simmering all day, every day.  The little ones on my caseload with low muscle tone are getting floppier and crabbier with each week at camp or daycare. We know why. The effects of heat on muscles is a big part of the problem.  Bring them indoors in the A/C,…… Continue reading Low Tone In The Summertime Heat? 4 Reasons To Hydrate

Diaper Sticker Shock? Train ‘Em Now!

The pandemic has created gaps in consumer staples and rising prices for everyday items.  One of those staples is…diapers!  Well, when things get harder, it is time to think out of the (diaper) box. If your child is over 18 months of age and has typical motor and cognitive development, there is a fair chance…… Continue reading Diaper Sticker Shock? Train ‘Em Now!

How To Pick A High Chair For Your Special Needs Child

My first Early Intervention home visit always involves seeing the child sitting in their high chair.  I learn a few very important things.  I learn how the child is handled by the parent or caregiver, including whether they use the available strapping to secure them.  Many don’t, and don’t realize that it is part of…… Continue reading How To Pick A High Chair For Your Special Needs Child

How Therapeutic Listening Enhances Motor Skills

My readers know that I am a huge fan of Quickshifts in treatment.  I have had some amazing successes with Quickshifts for regulation and modulation.  Their focus on combining binaural beat technology with instrumentation, rhythm, melody and tone makes these albums effective, and it eliminates the challenges of modulated music for very young or fragile…… Continue reading How Therapeutic Listening Enhances Motor Skills

Potty Training in the COVID-19 Age

  Parents are staying home with their toddlers and preschoolers now.  All day.  While this can be a challenge, it can also be the right time to do potty training. Here’s how to make it work when you want to teach your toddler how to “make” in the potty: You don’t have to wait for…… Continue reading Potty Training in the COVID-19 Age

Why Injuries to Hypermobile Joints Hurt Twice

My new e-book, The JointSmart Child: Living and Thriving With Hypermobility, Volume I, is just about ready to launch.  One of the book’s major themes is that safety awareness is something that parents need to actively teach hypermobile young children.  Of course, physical and occupational therapists need to educate their parents first.  And they shouldn’t…… Continue reading Why Injuries to Hypermobile Joints Hurt Twice

Hypermobility Or Low Tone? Three Solutions to Mealtime Problems

    Many young hypermobile kids, with and without low muscle tone, struggle at mealtimes. Even after they have received skilled feeding therapy and can chew and swallow safely, they may continue to slide off their chair, spill food on the table (and on their body!) and refuse to use utensils. It doesn’t have to…… Continue reading Hypermobility Or Low Tone? Three Solutions to Mealtime Problems

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

Is Your Hypermobile Child Sitting In An Awkward Position? No, She Really DOESN’T Feel Any Pain From it

Hypermobile children end up in some impressively awkward positions.  It can feel uncomfortable just to look at the way their arms or legs are bent.   It can be an awkward position with any part of the body; shoulders that allow an arm to fold under the body and the child lies on top of…… Continue reading Is Your Hypermobile Child Sitting In An Awkward Position? No, She Really DOESN’T Feel Any Pain From it

Picking The Best Bikes, Scooters, Etc. For Kids With Low Tone and Hypermobility

Welcome to the world of faster (and faster) movement! After mastering walking and possibly running, kids are often eager to jump on a ride-on toy and get moving.  If a child has had motor delays and has had to wait to develop the strength and balance needed to use a bike, they may be a…… Continue reading Picking The Best Bikes, Scooters, Etc. For Kids With Low Tone and Hypermobility

Should Your Hypermobile Child Play Sports?

This is one of the most difficult questions I field from parents of children over 5.  Every parent wants their child to receive the social, emotional and physical benefits from participating in sports.  They also know that there are greater risks for hypermobile kids. Kids with hypermobility fall on a very wide spectrum.  Some are…… Continue reading Should Your Hypermobile Child Play Sports?

How To Teach Your Child To Wipe “Back There”

Potty training is a process.  For most kids, the final frontier is managing bowel movements.  Compared to learning to pee into the toilet, little kids are often more stressed by bowel movements and have less opportunities to practice.  Most children don’t have more than one BM per day, but they urinate many times per day.…… Continue reading How To Teach Your Child To Wipe “Back There”

Teach Kids With Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Or Low Tone: Don’t Hold It In!

People who have read my blog are aware that I wrote a book on toilet training kids with low muscle tone, The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone. Children that have problems with muscle tone or connective tissue integrity (or both) risk current and future issues with incontinence and UITs…… Continue reading Teach Kids With Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Or Low Tone: Don’t Hold It In!

The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone: Potty Training Help Has Arrived!

                My most popular post,  Why Low Muscle Tone Creates More Toilet Training Struggles for Toddlers (and Parents!) inspired me to write a manual to help parents with potty training.  There was nothing in books or online that really helped families, just a few lines about being patient and…… Continue reading The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone: Potty Training Help Has Arrived!

Exit mobile version
%%footer%%