Stair Climbing App Review

Here is a fun, free app to add to your iPhone or iTouch – Monumental.  It keeps track of how many stairs you climb using the phones accelerometer.  Holding the iPhone at your hip, you hit the GO button.  Start climbing the stairs. It will keep track of how many steps you climb.  When you […]

Lined Paper and Letter Formation in First Graders

A recent study in the Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention assessed two groups of first grade students with the Minnesota Handwriting Assessment. The first group printed on a four-lined writing grid that included top, middle, base, and descender guidelines. The second group printed on double lined paper that provided middle and base […]

Pediatric OT and PT for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Research will be published on the focus and amount of pediatric occupational and physical therapy services for 399 children, ages 2-6 years old, with cerebral palsy.  Parents completed a questionnaire over the telephone with therapists reporting the child’s Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level.  The results indicated the following regarding the amount of services: […]

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Postural Control and Ankle Foot Orthotics

Recent research studied the effects of ankle foot orthotics on trunk postural control and lower limb coordination in 20 children (ages 4-12) with and without cerebral palsy.  The results of tridimensional trunk kinematics and thigh, shank, and foot elevation angles while walking barefoot and with ankle foot orthotics indicated the following: significantly greater trunk excursions […]

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Visual Monitoring and Handwriting

The Edie Neurolearning Blog posted information on some research on the brain basis of dysgraphia.  It appears to be very interesting although there is not a reference.  It confirms what many pediatric therapists observe – many children require extensive visual monitoring of letter formation.  Functional MRI’s compared “good writers” with “bad writers”.  The testing revealed that […]