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Vibration Threshold and Toe Walking in Children

Pediatric Physical Therapy published research comparing distal vibratory perception threshold and sensation in 11 children who toe walked and 15 controls.  The mean vibration perception threshold at the metacarpal and metatarsal phalangeal joints was calculated for each participant.  In addition, the Short Sensory Profile was completed by each participant’s parent or caregiver.  The results indicated […]

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Butterflies, Bugs and Blocks

Print this Butterfly, Bugs and Blocks freebie to practice fine motor, visual motor, visual closure and visual discrimination skills.  You can download the freebie at Your Therapy Source Inc. Need more building block ideas?  Check out the freebies and download with Building Block Patterns and Games.

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Handedness, Language and Autism

Did you know that about 90% of humans are right handed?  Did you also know that research indicates a decreased degree of right-handedness in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD)?  In addition, other research found that children with ASD tended to have more mixed-handedness, but that those who had a definite hand preference performed better […]

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Free App Friday Suggestions for Pediatric Therapists

Here are a few free app suggestions.  These apps are always totally free which is awesome.  I did test these out.  Gigglebug’s Face Race:  This app is super cute for some oral motor and motor planning fun.  Basically an animated creature makes a face and you copy it.  The app snaps a photo and then […]

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Kinesthetic Deficits in Children with DCD

Research in Developmental Disabilities published research comparing kinesthetic sensitivity in 30 children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and 30 typically developing (TD) children all between 6 and 11 years old. Each child put their forearms on a passive motion apparatus which extended the elbow joint at constant velocities.  The children had to focus on detecting […]

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5 Best Answers to a Child’s Questions to Encourage Executive Functioning Skills

Today’s post is by a guest blogger, Paige Hays, OTR.  She is an occupational therapist who provides in-home, pediatric occupational therapy services in the south metro area of the Twin Cities, MN through Paige Hays, Therapy Services, LLC. She is a mother of 2 girls, avid DIYer, and a highly skilled and experienced OT. She specializes in […]

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Free App Friday Suggestions for Pediatric OTs and PTs

Here are a few suggestions for your OT or PT app toolbox.  Marked as FREE today but never sure how long they will last…  Tesla Toy – just tested it out quickly.  Touch the screen with one finger to create a beautiful electric field which changes if you add more fingers.  Great cause and effect! […]

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Gross Motor Skills and the Development of Play in Children

The Functional Skills for Kids is a 12-month long series written by occupational and physical therapy bloggers on the development of 12 functional skills for children. This month the topic is play! Each month throughout 2016, we will discuss the development of one functional skill in children addressing the many components of that skill. The […]

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How to Play the Visual Perceptual Clothes Pin Games

I am so excited about this new download, Visual Perceptual Clothes Pin Games, that combines visual perceptual skills, hand strengthening and play skills. The first game is the Dinosaur Shadow Game.  It includes four different dinosaurs to pin your clothes pins on if your dinosaur matches the shadow on the board game. The next game […]