Play is Important!
As therapists, teachers and parents we have to teach our children. But, don’t forget that children learn through play! Download your copy for inspiration at https://www.yourtherapysource.com/freeplayposter [subscribe2]
8 Ways for School Based Therapists to be Productive Over a Break
Over a summer break or a school vacation can be a great time for school based therapists to catch up. Here are 8 suggestions on how to be productive over a break. 1. Clean out – get rid of unnecessary paperwork and broken toys/ supplies. 2. Clean out your car – most likely if you […]
Motor Planning and Execution in Cerebral Palsy
Child Development and Neurology has published research on using magnetoencephalography (MEG) to examine the neural oscillatory responses of the sensorimotor cortices during the motor planning and movement execution stages of 13 children with typical development and 13 children with cerebral palsy (CP). The children had to perform knee extension while MEG recordings were acquired. The […]
Development of Motor Skills – Running
This post is the second in the series on the advanced development of motor skills. Just like walking, running skills progress from beginning skills to advanced running skills. Here is the progression for the development of advanced running skills: 1. Stride length increases 2. The increase in stride length results in greater forces being […]
30 Free or Low Cost Rewards for Pediatric Therapy
Sometimes students need some extra motivation to help them reach their goals in therapy. I am sure you can relate to spending extra money on stickers, candy and trinkets to keep on hand to help with behavior management and motivation. Here is a list of mostly free and a few low cost rewards to […]
Development of Locomotor Skills – Walking
Walking is the first in a series of blog posts on locomotor skills. Children can learn how to walk at a young age but to become an efficient walker the child’s abilities must progress. Here are the “steps” it takes to develop advanced walking: 1. The child’s stride length increases. This is due to […]
Just 12 Minutes of Exercise Improves Reading and Attention
A recent Dartmouth study of 85 participants (ages 17-21 years old) compared selective visual attention, reading comprehension and stress levels of low income and high income students following 12 minutes of jogging in place in the individual’s target heart rate zone. The following results were recorded: 1. both groups saw improvement in selective visual attention up […]
4 Free Summer Printables for Motor Skills
Need a summer motor activity in a hurry? Check out these freebies: 1. Watermelon Multisensory Handwriting Activity Page at https://www.yourtherapysource.com/mssummerfreebie.html 2. Hand Out on Fun Physical Activities for the Summer at https://www.yourtherapysource.com/summerfree.html 3. Summer Tic Tac Toe at https://www.yourtherapysource.com/summerfitnessfreebie.html 4. Outdoor Bingo at https://www.yourtherapysource.com/fmsummerfree.html Happy Summer!
Exercise Rocks!
Make some exercise rocks! Here the kids thought of some exercises and we wrote them on smooth rocks with metallic pens. Try these activities: 1. Scavenger Hunt: hide the rocks outdoors. When you find a rock perform 10 of the exercises on the rock and then return it to start. The person or team with […]
5 Suggestions to Increase Family Involvement
Here are some simple suggestions to increase family (child, parents, siblings, other care givers, etc.) involvement in a child’s therapy plan of care: 1. Ask the family what their goals are in terms of therapy. Collaborate to create appropriate goals. 2. Take your time and be attentive. Don’t rush the family when talking about the […]