Parents are an integral part of the special education team. They know the most about their children’s strengths, weaknesses and personal preferences. Therapists and other school staff need to include parents in all decision making for children. Here are some tips on improving your communication with parents: 1. Always start off a conversation stressing a […]
Are you familiar with electronic medical records abbreviated as EMR? For most school based occupational and physical therapists, electronic medical records are not being used in school districts. Some school districts do run software programs to generate and monitor progress for students’ IEPs. I recently had the chance to view a demonstration of an EMR […]
Self regulation skills at school require the ability to tolerate sensations, situations and distress and form appropriate responses. Simply stated, it is the ability to control emotions, thinking, behavior and motor actions in different situations. In children, self regulation matures just like other developmental processes. Children get older and learn to think before they act. Research indicates […]
When back to school starts, school based therapists have to hit the ground running. There is rarely time to organize supplies, review IEPs or even go to the bathroom haha! Most therapists start the school year off with scheduling. This is BY FAR THE WORST part of being a school based therapists in my opinion. […]
Pediatric therapists, parents and teachers use homemade play dough recipes daily. Here is a collection of fun ones from the Internet to explore. 1. Recipes for Sensory Fun: This is a nice 5 page download created by a therapy company to hand out to parents. 2. Nuture Store – Let’s Play with Dough – includes […]
Can you use your visual discrimination and visual scanning skills to find and circle the five differences in this picture? Download this freebie from the Find the Differences Packet. The best thing about this puzzle is that it is not too difficult. Some of the puzzles that are available for children to spot the differences […]
As pediatric therapists we may be involved in helping children return to activity and/or school following a concussion. Of course, you should always work in conjunction with a physician but there are specific guidelines to follow. CanChild has done a great job of creating evidence based resources to return to activity and school for youth […]
The June issue of the Your Therapy Source digital magazine is now available for free as usual. This month’s issue includes articles on yoga and self regulation, in class sensory strategies, video prompting for ADLs, developmental progression of playground skills and more! Happy reading!
Frontiers in Psychology published research examining the relationship between motor coordination and handwriting skills, and to identify differences in handwriting between children without and with coordination difficulties with a focus on visual–spatial skills. Motor coordination, graphic abilities, visual–motor integration, visual–spatial skills, and other cognitive abilities (memory and planning) were assessed in 83 children aged 7–10 years. […]
As school based therapists, we are frequently working on gross motor skills in small spaces. In my experience, I have worked in crowded classrooms, hallways, under stairwells and even closets. You have to come up with creative ideas to get students moving without the benefits of a large gym or outdoor space. Here are 5 […]