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Occupational and Physical Therapists Have Special Gifts

Ever notice how as pediatric occupational therapists and physical therapists, we observe children through a different lens than most?  You may see and analyze a child’s actions very differently than the teacher in the room or the parent at home.  This observational skill seems to improve vastly when you become a parent yourself and watch […]

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Self Regulation Skills and Developmental Coordination Disorder

The Journal of Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics published observational research on self regulation skills and developmental coordination disorder (DCD).  The study included 15 children, with and without DCD and examined the differences in children’s use of self-regulatory and metacognitive skill during motor learning.  The self regulatory behavior of the participants was observed using […]

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Work Station, Positioning and Keyboarding Skills

Young children and students continue to spend more and more time keyboarding for written expression.  Whether it be at home before children are school aged or sitting long hours typing away throughout a child’s educational career or even as adults, the work station must be set up efficiently to allow for proper positioning while keyboarding. […]

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Improving Gait Speed in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Physical Therapy published a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of interventions for improving gait speed in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy (CP).  Twenty four studies were divided into three categories of interventions: gait training (n=8), resistance training (n=9), and miscellaneous (n=7).  The analysis indicated that: gait training was effective in increasing gait speed. resistance […]

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Mindfulness and Yoga for School Children

Mindfulness can be defined as paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.  Research has indicated that mindfulness in school children may help to improve: 1.  emotional well being. 2.  learning  and  associated cognitive  processes,  such  as  attention,  focus  and  executive function skills. 3.  mental health. 4.  physical health (reduction in […]