Children develop body awareness and emotional regulation through more than just sight, sound, and touch. Two lesser-known but essential sensory systems, interoception and proprioception, play a critical role in helping children navigate the physical and emotional demands of daily life. These systems influence how children move, how they manage their energy, and how they respond […]
Helping children navigate their emotions is an essential part of supporting their development—whether at school, at home, or during therapy sessions. While emotional regulation is often associated with social skills, communication, or behavior management, there’s growing awareness of the role that sensory processing plays in a child’s ability to manage their emotions. What does the […]
Students can benefit from proprioceptive input and heavy work activities to help get the body in a ready to learn state. Proprioception is the ability of your muscles and joints to determine where they are in space. The proprioceptive nerve endings in the body provide us with the information of where our hands, arms, and […]
What is proprioception? Proprioception is the ability of your muscles and joints to determine where they are in space. The proprioceptive nerve endings in the body provide us with the information of where our hands, arms, and legs are in space without having to look at them. The specialized proprioception receptors in the body tell […]
As pediatric therapists, we all know how beneficial proprioceptive activities are for children. These heavy work exercises help provide students with sensory information about body awareness and positions. They help to calm and regulate a student. Proprioceptive activities can also help to wake up the muscles getting our bodies in an alert state to be […]
Gum chewing is occasionally recommended for children as part of a sensory diet therefore I thought this research regarding gum chewing and headaches was important to mention. Pediatric Neurology will be publishing research on 30 patients between 6-19 years old who had chronic or migraine headaches and chewed gum daily. The medical doctor, Dr. Watemburg, […]
Occasionally, a new toy comes along that really excites me as a pediatric physical therapist. I received an email from Fat Brain toys recently about their new product Squigz. I ordered it right away. This is a great toy to add to your therapy tool box. It is basically a bunch of two or three […]
Here is a super simple and super economical activity to encourage the pincer grasp. Recycle and clean a Styrofoam tray. Draw some simple shapes, letters, numbers or just let the child make a free form sculpture. Put the toothpicks next to the tray in a container. Poke the toothpicks into the tray around the shapes […]
The American Journal of Occupational Therapy published research on proprioceptive processing difficulties among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and developmental disabilities. A total of 86 children (32 with ASD, 26 children with development disabilities but not ASD and 28 neurotypical children) were scored on the Comprehensive Observations of Proprioception (COP). The COP observes 18 […]
Print this free activity to encourage visual perceptual skills, proprioceptive input and physical activity. You can download it at YourTherapySource.com.