, , , , , , ,

5 Fine Motor, Gross Motor and Visual Tracking Activities with Pool Noodles

I LOVE pool noodles. So cheap and so versatile to encourage fine motor, visual and gross motor skills. Here are some things we have done with pool noodles to practice motor skills: 1. Pool Noodle Parts and Colored Chips   2. Pool noodle stick 3. Pool noodle seat 4. Motor Planning and Pool Noodles   […]

, , , , , , ,

3 Simple Mandalas to Color to Help Relieve Stress – Free!

Mandala means “circle” or “center.” Coloring mandalas can help to encourage relaxation, relieve stress, facilitate creativity and balance the body.  Here are three simple mandalas to color to help to calm the body.  They are perfect to add to a quiet corner or calm down kit in the classroom. Check out Yoga Cards at https://www.yourtherapysource.com/yogacards.html […]

, , , , , , ,

5 Must Reads for New School Based Therapists

Are you new to the world of school based therapy?  If so, here are 5 blog posts that will help you hit the ground running.  8 Getting To Know You Activities for School Based Therapists – pick a few of these ideas to get to know your students and for your students to get to […]

, , ,

Do What You Love Every Day

This poster is a great inspirational quote for an OT room.  Occupational therapy can help you to continue to enjoy and do whatever it that you love everyday through adaptations, modifications, practice and education. Find out more information on this high quality, full color 11″x17″ poster at https://www.yourtherapysource.com/posterOT1.html or check out the other inspirational posters here. [subscribe2]

, , , , , , ,

Motor Skills, ADHD and Medication

Research in Developmental Disabilities published a review of 45 research articles analyzing the motor skills of of children (between 6-16 years old) with ADHD  and the influence of medication on their motor skills. The results indicated the following: 1.  more than half of the children with ADHD have difficulties with gross and fine motor skills. […]

, , , , , , ,

Color By Copy – Visual Motor and Visual Spatial Activity

Download these free visual motor and visual spatial activities.  Simply color the picture on the right exactly like the picture on the left.  You can download color by copy freebie here https://www.yourtherapysource.com/freecolorbycopy [subscribe2]       Title: Color Coding By: Your Therapy Source Summary: 40+ pages to encourage visual discrimination and visual motor skills with color coding […]

, , , , , ,

Strengthening Versus Balance Exercises for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

The American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation published research on 30 children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) comparing the effects of muscle strengthening exercises versus proprioceptive-balance exercises on lower extremity function. Each child was evaluated for pain, passive range of motion, muscle strength, balance, and functional abilities using the Numeric Rating Scale, goniometer, handheld […]

, , , , , , ,

8 Simple Tips to Empower Students to Reach Their Goals

Here are 8 simple tips to help students reach their goals: 1. Change up the tools, toys or activities that you are doing. It may be just as simple as approaching the skill using a different tool or material. 2. Change the environment. Perhaps trying accomplishing the skill outdoors, in a quiet room or with […]

,

5 Key Themes that Parents View as Important in OT Assessments

The British Journal Of Occupational Therapy published research to determine what parents view as important, relevant, and understandable in occupational therapy assessment reports, and to explore evidence for best clinical report-writing practices in pediatrics. This study comprised of only 10 parents but in-depth interviews were carried out to determine parent perspectives on reports written for their children. […]

, , , , , , ,

Educate! Educate! Educate!

As pediatric occupational and physical therapists we always need to remember that one of the most important, if not the MOST important, aspect of our job is to educate.  We need to let students, teachers, school staff and parents know what we do and why we do it.  Without buy in from all team members […]