Whether you work in the schools or in the home, here are 5 reasons to provide push in therapy within a child’s natural environment: 1. You have the chance to see first hand during each session what functional tasks or skills need improvement. 2. The child’s normal daily routine is not interrupted. If it is […]
The majority of individuals shower or bathe independently for personal hygiene reasons and as a stress reliever. The calm, peaceful warm shower or tub can be very relaxing and purposeful. When motor skill deficits are present in children, bathing can be a very complicated, arduous task. When you stop and think about bathing and showering, […]
Gross motor activities that focus on postural control, trunk rotation, bilateral coordination, eye hand coordination, motor planning and balance skills are beneficial when it comes to developing independence with dressing. Here are 5 suggested activities: Play games where the child has to reach outside of his/her base of support without falling over. Practice in sitting […]
Here are 5 activity ideas to practice motor planning skills: Ninja Clothes Pin Clip Activity – find the matching Ninja, move your body like the Ninja and clip the Ninja to the circle. Download the Ninja Free Activity. Motor Planning with Pool Noodles – here is a super easy set up but challenging activity to encourage […]
Here are 3 fun elephant activities to play to practice fine motor, gross motor and visual motor skills. Big bonus – It is actually Elephant Appreciation Day! Who knew? Me! Only because I just heard it on the radio. Haha! But it did spark a few ideas for the blog. So here we go: Copy […]
As therapists, it is our job to determine a child’s areas of weakness then we have to report on that to teachers and parents. We do not get referrals regarding what children can do only for what children can not do. Do you ever feel like we spend so much time focusing on what […]
Connect the Dot activities are great fun for children the only problem is sometimes they can just be way TOO hard! Here are two free dot to dots from the latest download, Connect the Dots. There is an owl dot to dot with numbers 1-10 and a pony dot to dot with numbers 1 -20. […]
The Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools and Early Intervention published research examining the results of a online survey completed by 47 teachers and how they perceive the role of the occupational therapist. The results revealed the following: most of the teachers viewed occupational therapists as valuable team members. the teachers reported limitations to the system […]
Back to school time can be a wonderful, exciting time for some students and a frustrating, new experience for other students. School based therapists can help students develop strategies from a sensory motor perspective to remain calm when they get angry or frustrated A new, huge collection of visual images that includes 26 calming strategies […]
HeartSpace for Physical Therapy shared an informative article on pediatric orthotics compiled by the pediatric section of the APTA. If you are a new or a long time pediatric Physical Therapist this document provides an excellent overview. The article answers the following questions: What is an orthoses and who designs them? What are the characteristics of […]