Here is a fun idea to celebrate occupational therapy month this April. Have you heard of the hit television show Minute to Win It on NBC? Basically, the contestants are given challenges that they must complete in 60 seconds. The challenges usually involve sensory motor skills of varying degrees of difficulties. The materials for the […]
Here is a video tutorial on how to create a set of tactile alphabet cards. If the children are able, they can help make this beautiful set of letters cards using materials from around the house such as index cards, needle and thread. Create the whole alphabet, a child’s name or a monogram. Download Alphabet, […]
With Spring upon us, why not get children started with some gardening. Gardening offers children excellent sensory motor exploration. Think of all the senses that are involved in gardening: Tactile – touching the rough seeds, feeling the dry dirt, experiencing cold, wet mud, handling the soft fuzz of a green bean or the smooth skin […]
I previously posted on an article that was written by David Brown, from the California Deaf Blind Services, on The Forgotten Sense – Proprioception. Well, David Brown recently commented on that post to let us know that he has just posted all of the 6 articles he had written on The Forgotten Senses: * The […]
Recent research compared two groups of children with cerebral palsy with and without Kinesio® taping. Fifteen children with cerebral palsy (Levels III, IV and V) received Kinesio® taping and physical therapy for 12 weeks. The control group of 15 children, again Levels III, IV and V, only received physical therapy for 12 weeks. Initially and […]
Two graduate students from Germany hacked into a Kinect game controller to create a auditory and vibrational device to help guide the visually impaired. It may look bulky but it is super cool! View it in action below.
Dexteria is a new app released by Binary Labs for fine motor skill development which retails for $9.99. I have just finished testing this app for about a week now. This app includes three activities – Write It, Tap It and Pinch It. Progress on each of the activities can be tracked, reported and even […]
CanChild has a research based, informative hand out for school staff and parents on whether children with coordination problems should learn how to use a word processor or continue to focus on handwriting. It answers questions such as: Why should children with DCD use a computer or word processor? Does keyboarding mean we are giving […]
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology published research on mirror therapy in children with hemiplegia. Mirror therapy involves the use of a mirror to provide the illusion that the paretic arm is functional. This type of therapy has been used with adults who have had a stroke. For this pilot study, 15 children with hemiplegia were […]
CanChild, Centre for Childhood Disability Research has published a great flyer to provide to physical education teachers of students with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Then hand out explains DCD, describes the symptoms, and offers teaching tips. Check it out below or here.