The JointSmart Child series started off in 2019 with Volume One: The Early Years. It is finally time for the school-age child to have their needs addressed! Volume Two: The School Years is available now on Amazon as an e-book, filled with information to make life at home and at school easier and safer. This…… Continue reading A Practical Guide to Helping the Hypermobile School-Age Child Succeed
Tag: parenting
Should the PARENTS of Kids With Sensory Issues Use Quickshifts?
My clients and my blog readers know that I started using a therapeutic sound treatment called Quckshifts earlier this year Quickshifts: A Simple, Successful, and Easy to Use Treatment For Regulation, Attention, and Postural Activation. I haven’t lost my enthusiasm for this treatment. It has made easy sessions more effective, and difficult sessions workable. Kids that…… Continue reading Should the PARENTS of Kids With Sensory Issues Use Quickshifts?
Are You a Trauma Survivor AND the Parent of a Special Needs Child?
First, let me say that trauma survivors can be among the most loving and active parents I work with as a pediatric occupational therapist. How do I know they are survivors? Some parents share their histories openly, and some aren’t aware of what their actions and words reveal. Occupational therapists that have worked in psychiatry…… Continue reading Are You a Trauma Survivor AND the Parent of a Special Needs Child?
The Secret to Teaching Young Children to Share
It is the rare toddler that eagerly gives up a desired toy or snack to share with another child. Yup; your child isn’t any different from the great majority of kids out there. You may even have witnessed the “grab-and-go” move, where they take a toy from another child and then quickly escape to…… Continue reading The Secret to Teaching Young Children to Share
How an Occupational Therapist Can Help The Siblings of Special Needs Children
The parent of one of my clients recently returned from a conference related to her youngest child’s genetic disorder, and she told me that the presentation on helping the siblings of special needs kids really only offered one niblet of advice: “Try to give each sibling 10 minutes a day of “just us” time.”…… Continue reading How an Occupational Therapist Can Help The Siblings of Special Needs Children
The JointSmart Child Series: Parents of Young Hypermobile Children Can Feel More Empowered and Confident Today!
My first book, The Practical Guide to Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone, was a wonderful experience to write and share. The number of daily hits on one of my most popular blog posts Hypermobility and Proprioception: Why Loose Joints Create Sensory Processing Problems for Children helped me figure out what my next e-book…… Continue reading The JointSmart Child Series: Parents of Young Hypermobile Children Can Feel More Empowered and Confident Today!
How People Become Narcissists: They Were Raised That Way
You’ve met them, even if you didn’t know what you were looking at or listening to. People who are full of entitlement and expectation, but lack a certain depth of empathy (Emojiis on Facebook after someone posted the loss of their pet doesn’t count). Folk who are very conscious of where they stand in…… Continue reading How People Become Narcissists: They Were Raised That Way
How Long Term Medical Care Affects Infant and Toddler Development
The good news: more and more extremely premature and medically complex babies are surviving. The bad news: there is a cost to the extended and complex treatment that saves their lives and helps them to thrive. This post is an effort to put out in the open what pediatric therapists know only too well…… Continue reading How Long Term Medical Care Affects Infant and Toddler Development
Does Your Special Needs Child Have a “Two-tude”? Its Not Just the Age; Its Cumulative Frustration Minus Skills
I spend a lot of my work week with toddlers, and they can be a challenge. One minute sunny, the next screaming because their cookie broke. Special needs toddlers can have a ‘tude as well, but many professionals sweep it under the rug. They tell parents that this is normal, and that they should…… Continue reading Does Your Special Needs Child Have a “Two-tude”? Its Not Just the Age; Its Cumulative Frustration Minus Skills
Afraid to Toilet Train? Prepare Your Child… and Prepare Yourself
I spend an extra 30 minutes at the end of a session this week helping a mom build her courage and confidence so that she felt ready to start toilet training soon. Her child is over 3, has sensory and motor issues, but shows tons of signs for readiness: dry diapers for increasingly long periods,…… Continue reading Afraid to Toilet Train? Prepare Your Child… and Prepare Yourself
Sensitive Child? Be Careful How You Deliver Praise
Sensitive kids need encouragement as much as the next child, but they can have a paradoxical reaction when you praise them. What do I mean? You compliment your child by saying “GREAT job! I knew you could do it!”, and they react by becoming angry or even arguing with you. They may even try to…… Continue reading Sensitive Child? Be Careful How You Deliver Praise
What Psychologists Just Don’t Get About Raising Gifted Toddlers
I can’t take it any longer. If I hear one more professional on YouTube say that the difficulties begin when your gifted child enters school, I am gonna cry. Real tears. For those younger kids. And their parents. CNN just ran a story in which a psychologist suggested not telling kids that they are “that special”.…… Continue reading What Psychologists Just Don’t Get About Raising Gifted Toddlers
Parents With Disabilities Need The Happiest Toddler on the Block Techniques
I usually write about children with disabilities, but today’s post is about parents with challenges. As an occupational therapist that sees children in their homes through the Early Intervention program, I meet all kinds of parents. This includes parents with disabilities of their own. Some parents have vision or hearing issues, some have orthopedic issues…… Continue reading Parents With Disabilities Need The Happiest Toddler on the Block Techniques
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
Is Compulsive Gaming A Disorder…Or A Symptom?
The WHO has recently classified compulsive gaming a mental illness. I am not so sure. What I do believe is that doing anything compulsively is a big problem for developing brains. Is your child heading in the direction of using gaming or web surfing to deal with issues such as social anxiety or poor executive…… Continue reading Is Compulsive Gaming A Disorder…Or A Symptom?
Help Your Teen with a Chronic Illness Plan For a Career
It is graduation time here in the U.S. Kids (and parents) are thinking about the future. But when your teen has chronic health conditions, the future can be uncertain and the decisions more complicated. I know that the saying “Do what you love and you won’t have to work another day of your life” is…… Continue reading Help Your Teen with a Chronic Illness Plan For a Career
Negotiating With Toddlers? Why They Think That 90/10 Is A Good Deal
Toddlers can make you doubt your sanity. They really can. How can a crushed cookie be the end of the universe as they know it? Why do they think you can make more cookies appear on demand? And how to explain to this person that thinks you hung the moon that you simply cannot…… Continue reading Negotiating With Toddlers? Why They Think That 90/10 Is A Good Deal
Low Tone and Toilet Training: What You Can Learn From Elimination Communication Theory
Yes, those folks who hold a 6 month-old over the toilet and let her defecate directly into the potty, not into a Pamper. Elimination Communication (EC) has committed fans, as well as people who think it is both useless and even punishing to kids. I am not taking sides here, but there is one thing…… Continue reading Low Tone and Toilet Training: What You Can Learn From Elimination Communication Theory
First Father’s Day? You Might Be the Best Baby Calmer In The House
Fathers are often the partners that jump right into practicing the Happiest Baby on the Block techniques. They “shush” loud and long, they do the quick jiggle (for swinging) with enthusiasm, and they can usually use just one arm to support a newborn on it’s side to calm them. Moms are in awe of their…… Continue reading First Father’s Day? You Might Be the Best Baby Calmer In The House
Teach ASD and Sensory Kids How to Manage Aggression
Little boys as young as 2 use play fighting, crashing, and even pretend killing in their play, without anger or intentional destruction or injury. Is this a very bad thing? I was challenged this week three separate times to explain why I would initiate physical play that can look aggressive (think crashing cars or our…… Continue reading Teach ASD and Sensory Kids How to Manage Aggression