This is the first in a 3-part series of articles about the kinds of problems addressed by pediatric occupational therapists. This article will define occupational therapy and then focus specifically on fine motor skills challenges and provide some suggestions for what you can do if you think your child is having difficulties in this area. […]
Want Your Child to Learn More? Better Get Moving!
Throughout childhood, abstract learning is an outgrowth of things kids learn in concrete ways in their own bodies, through movement. For example, understanding of math begins with a child’s experience of moving forward and backward in space. This is the basis for their understanding of addition and subtraction. The child who has difficulty moving backwards […]
Choosing Extra-Curricular Activities for Your Child
Everyone has different ideas about what kids should be doing in their after school and weekend hours. Some families have a different activity scheduled for each day of the week, while others may decide to limit activities to one or two days a week. How does one decide what is best? Occupational therapists are taught […]
The Importance of Support for Parents
“I feel funny taking him to regular playgroups because he just doesn’t do what the other kids are doing. Then all the other moms start asking questions.” “I try to talk to my family, and some of my friends are helpful but they don’t really know what to say to help me. They think I’m […]
What is Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)?
Sensory integration theory and practice is based on the work of Dr. A. Jean Ayres, who spent over 30 years bringing together her knowledge of neuroscience, development, learning, and occupational therapy to pioneer and create the theory, assessments, and treatment principles of sensory integration. Sensory integration is a process in which information from the environment […]
Helping Those “Fall Through the Cracks” Kids
Mike is an intelligent student, with good ideas. However, when he tries to write, he struggles to produce even one paragraph. Homework time is difficult-the classroom teacher says homework should take 30 minutes, yet Mike struggles for 90 minutes every evening; often these sessions end with tears and yelling. In class, he always fiddles with […]