Holiday Tips for Supporting Children with Sensory Needs through Proprioceptive Input
Written by: Chandon Hines, M.S. OTR/L The holiday season is filled with excitement, but it can also bring overstimulating environments—crowded shopping malls, festive classrooms, and bustling family gatherings. For children with sensory processing challenges, these settings may feel overwhelming and frustrating. One way to help is by incorporating proprioceptive input into their daily routine. What is Proprioception? […]
Traveling with Children: Car Seat Safety
Written by: Sarah Duckworth OTR/L, OTD *These are general recommendations. For car seat and vehicle specific information, please read both your car seat and vehicle manuals or ask your local Child Passenger Safety Technician* Ensuring the safety of children in vehicles is a top priority for parents while traveling to school, therapy appointments, and around […]
Why Won’t My Baby Eat?
Written by: Martha Davis, M.S., CCC-SLP Helping your baby transition from liquids to solids is a common stressor for parents. In typical development, the transition between bottle or breast to purees/solids is fairly smooth. There may be some gagging or refusal, but after a short period of time (a couple of weeks), they get the […]
Handwriting Assessments in Occupational Therapy
Handwriting is an incredibly complex skill. Many times, the difficulties might get overlooked. Here is a list of what an occupational therapist might observe or assess during a routine handwriting assessment: Depending on your child’s specific needs including motivation level, age, current handwriting level, and ability to complete certain functional tasks, a therapist may observe […]
Visual Skills are not only about your “EYES”!
If you have been around OT for any period of time, you may have heard your child’s therapist talk about visual motor skills and include activities within their session to strengthen these skills, but visual skills go much further than just the eyes! I would like to provide you with a quick rundown of a […]
Indoor Sensory Play
We are all waiting for the sunshine and warmer days ahead to give our kids the benefits of playing outside. Until then, you may be wondering how to fill the time indoors on weekends or between school and bedtime. Let’s look at some options to help give kids the sensory experiences they crave without having […]
Sensory strategies for Halloween & Beyond:
‘Tis the season for Fall festivals, class parties, fun costumes and trick or treating with friends and family! The air is filled with excited chatter and yummy smells. Streets are lined with lights, pumpkins, and friendly or spooky sights! It is a fun time of year for families, but the Fall/Halloween season can also bring its fair share of hurdles: […]
Attachment Building at Home
As we have all learned over the past year of social distancing, relationships with other people are incredibly important. This is even more true for our children and teens. From day one, we all start building attachments with those around us: caregivers, family, friends, etc. Those relationships help us to learn about ourselves and the world […]
Seating Tips for Virtual Learning
Proper seating and positioning is essential for learning. Check out these tips from our physical therapists, Lacey Ellis and Laura Lee, to help get the most out of your child’s virtual learning experience. Lacey Ellis, PT, DPT Laura Lee, PT, DPT
Helping your child through COVID-19
Children feel stress and anxiety just like adults! They just express it in different ways. When children express anxiety or fears about the pandemic, there are some things parents can do to help. Model a positive outlook and be aware of what you discuss in front of your children. Children will take their cues […]
