3 Simple Organizational Tips for Students

Students desks can get very messy but when a student has difficulties with organizational skills it can be even more difficult.  Pencils roll away, worksheets get lost or crumpled and books are on the floor.  Here are three simple ways to clean up and organize that desk space:

1.  The Anti Roll Pencil - just put a velcro dot on the pencil and one on the desk.  Now each time the student puts the pencil on the velcro dot it will not be out of reach.  Have a student who likes to fidget with things?  Wrap a small strip around the pencil instead of just a velcro dot.

2.  The Fridge - If the student has a metal desk and they have not completed a worksheet or assignment, just hang it on the side using a magnet clip (just like you hang papers on the refrigerator).  The worksheet will not get wrinkled or lost among others paper.

3.   Backpack Chair - Grab a $1 jumbo stretchy book cover.  Put one side over the back of the chair and toss a book or folder in the other side.  Then the book is off the desk to make room to write but not out of arm's reach.

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Need more tips on modifying the classroom?  Check out Modifications and Interventions for School - Reporting Forms at http://yourtherapysource.com/modifications.html

Pipe Cleaners and Straws

Here are three fun, unique fine and visual motor activities using pipe cleaners and straws.  Start by having the child cut up straws and some pipe cleaners into smaller pieces.

1. Alphabet:  The straws are the straight lines of letters and the pipe cleaners are the curves.

2.  Modern Colander Art: Stick pipe cleaners into the colander and lace the cut up straws onto the pipe cleaners.

3.  Shapes:  Insert small pipe cleaner pieces into the straws and connect them to make different shapes.  Have fun creating abstract 3D shapes.

Do you have any other suggestions to add?

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Free Sample Pages for OT/PT Goals Aligned with Common Core Grades 3-5

IEP Goals Related to the Common Core for OT/PT Grades 3-5 has been published in electronic format.  

Head on over to http://yourtherapysource.com/commoncore35.html and scroll down to download some free goals suggestions.  There is one freebie for higher level gross motor skill goals related to English Language Arts for Grade 5.  The other freebie is for pre-writing/writing skill goals related to Math for Grade 4.  This document helps write educationally relevant IEP goals for grades 3-5.   

Flower Fine Motor Activities for Spring

Here are three different ideas using the same materials to encourage fine motor skills.  To find out how to make the activities go to Your Therapy Source at http://www.YourTherapySource.com/freeflowers

Research on a Collaborative Fine Motor Program

Ingrid King, OT, has written research on a collaborative fine motor program for 5 year old children in New Zealand.  A two phased mixed method design was utilized with 19 students in a 5 year old classroom (none of the students were receiving occupational therapy nor had a diagnosis).  To measure changes in fine motor skills a group pre- and post-test was performed.  A five year follow up study was completed to determine the teacher's perceptions.  The intervention consisted of a fine motor program for the entire class led by the occupational therapist (which were then repeated by the teaching staff) one time per week for 8 weeks.  Following the first 8 weeks, an additional fine motor program was completed for 12 weeks for only 6 of the students.  

The results indicated the following:

• a significant difference was found in the groups fine motor performance following the the collaborative teaching training


• the teacher continued to use the knowledge and activities after the training was complete.

You can read the entire study here http://docs.com/ZH6H.  Find out more about the fine motor program used for the study at www.myfantasticfingers.com

Reference:  King, I. Then and Now: Addressing Young Students' Fine Motor Needs Through a Collaborative Modelling Teacher Training Intervention.  Copyright 2014. Ingrid C. King www.myfantasticfingers.com

 



Need other ideas for a collaborative approach to school based occupational therapy?  Check out the Coleman Curriculum for School Based Occupational Therapy at http://yourtherapysource.com/coleman.html

 

Good Fine Motor Skills = Good Grades

New research that will be published soon in the Journal of Early Childhood Education and Development indicated that children who scored well on fine motor tasks when in pre-K had higher averages in second grade than those who scored lower on fine motor tasks in pre-K. Data was reviewed on 1000 second graders in Florida. The researchers looked at averages in 2nd grade and compared that to fine motor scores in pre-K. The results indicated the following:

2nd graders with an average GPA of 3.02 in math and 2.84 in reading – B averages, had received good grades in fine motor tasks in pre-K

2nd graders with an average GPA of 2.30 in math and 2.12 in Reading – C averages, scored poorly on fine motor tasks in pre-K

on the 2nd grade SAT the students with better fine motor scores in pre-k scored in the 59th percentile for reading and 62nd percentile for math

the students with poorer fine motor scores in pre-K scored in the 38th percentile on the Reading SAT and the 37th percentile for the math SAT

Although there is no cause and effect relationship is does make a good case for occupational therapy in the early years if delays are present.

You can read more about it at Florida International University website.

Reference: J Prenaud. Good handwriting and good grades: FIU researcher finds new link. Retreived from the web on 1/17/11 at http://news.fiu.edu/2012/01/good-handwriting-and-good-grades-fiu-researcher-finds-new-link/34934?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=good-handwriting-and-good-grades-fiu-researcher-finds-new-link

January Issue of Digital Magazine

Here is the latest issue of our digital magazine for pediatric occupational and physical therapy. You can read articles on goals for 2012, cerebral palsy, sensory processing and print lots of freebies. Check it out below. If you can not view the document below go to YourTherapySource.com and you can download a pdf copy.

Open publication - Free publishing - More cerebral palsy

Kids as Teachers?

Do you ever let the students that receive therapy services teach other students? Research has shown that the highest retention rate of what you have learned results from teaching others, with practice the skill coming in a close second. During therapy sessions, therapists spend hours working on practicing and learning new skills. When a child does reach a goal and learns a new skill it would be very beneficial for that same child to teach that skill to another child.

Here are the benefits of teaching others:

1. Demonstrates that you have full knowledge of the skill.
2. Forces you to review what you learned.
3. Provides you with a sense of accomplishment that you are helping others.
4. Helps to commit the information to long term memory and a permanent motor plan.
5. By teaching the skill, the child may have to research the skill even further to explain it properly so you are generating new knowledge.
6. The child will be seen as a role model since he/she was able to learn the skill.

Now of course in therapy there are some skills that would be hard for a child to teach but in general most skills could be taught by a child. In addition, the children may be able to offer tips and insights that adults can not.

Why not give it a try?

Punch Cards for OT/PT

Check out our latest freebie - Reward Punch Cards for Occupational, Physical and Speech Therapy.

You can download these business cards to encourage children to achieve their goals in therapy whether it be functional or behavioral. After 10 holes are punched, the child earns a reward.

Download the punch cards here.

June 2011 Digital Magazine

Check out our latest magazine for articles on the iPad, task analysis, physical activity in children, free personal hygiene rubrics, free outdoor bingo activity and more. If you can not view the magazine below you can download it here.

Open publication - Free publishing

Button Fine Motor Projects

If you need to work on fine motor, visual motor or button practice why not try some of these activity ideas?





Dressing Skills:

Step by step visual directions to teach children how to dress

List price: $4.99

S&H: Free

Find out more.

Type 1 Diabetes and Fine Motor Skills

A recent study in Pediatric Diabetes examined the neurocognitive functioning of 68 preschool children, 36 with Type 1 diabetes and 32 without any chronic illness. The two groups were administered a number of tools to assess cognitive, language and fine motor skills. The results indicated that the children in both groups performed similarly with skills in the average range. The children with Type 1 diabetes with poor glycemic control scored lower on cognitive skills and receptive language and had slower fine motor speed.

Reference: Patiño-Fernández AM et al. Neurocognitive functioning in preschool-age children with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Pediatr Diabetes. 2010 Sep;11(6):424-30. Epub 2010 Apr 23

Selecting Toys for Children with Special Needs

Parents and therapists recognize the importance of play in children. Through play children develop physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively. Children with disabilities may have limited access to play due to motor skill delays or other issues. Through guided play sessions, parents and therapists can help children to maximize their play skills. One of the most important steps in encouraging play is choosing the proper items to play with. There are many items from around the house that can facilitate play in addition to store bought toys. Here are several questions to answer to determine if a toy is appropriate for a specific child.

1. Is the child interested in the toy? The child must be motivated to actually use the toy.

2. Can the child physically use the toy (adapted if necessary)? If the child can not independently or with minimal assistance use the toy the child may not be motivated to explore the toy.

3. Is the toy appropriate for the child's cognitive level?

4. Is the play space at home or school appropriate for the toy?

5. Does the toy encourage social, speech, sensory or emotional development? Not every toy needs to accomplish this goal but it would be an added benefit.

Toys 'R Us produces a guide every year entitled Toys"R"Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids. To get more information on the guide visit the Toys 'R Us website.

Exercise Participation: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

To continue on with yesterday's topic, promoting participation in recreational activities for children with disabilities, today's topic will discuss specific recommendations for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Research has shown that children with JIA can participate in exercise regimens without exacerbating the disease. In addition, research has shown that exercise for at least 6 weeks decreases disease activity, improves quality of life and decreases pain. In general, it is recommended that children with JIA participate in moderate fitness and strengthening activities.

There are precautions necessary to consider when recommending exercise or sports participation for children with JIA. Depending upon where the JIA is located, various risks may be present. For example, cervical arthritis makes a child at greater risk for neck injuries and temporomandibular joint disease may result in dental injuries. JIA may results in visual impairments making a child more susceptible to eye injury. If children have been diagnosed long term with JIA, research has shown aerobic fitness to be lower than typically developing peers.

In addition to the precautions, the following recommendations should be considered when suggesting exercise programs for children with JIA:
1. participation in contact sports or impact activities are permitted if the disease is well managed and the child has the physical capacity to participate in the sport (cervical spine should be screened with x-ray prior to contact sports)
2. activities should be pain free
3. if the JIA flares up, return to regular activity should be gradual
4. jaw protection and proper eye protection should be utilized

Overall, children with JIA may benefit from moderate fitness, flexibility and strengthening activities and may participate in exercise and sports without exacerbating the JIA.

Reference: Philpott, John F MD, Dip Sport Med; Houghton, Kristin MD, Dip Sport Med; Luke, Anthony MD, MPH, Dip Sport Med Physical Activity Recommendations for Children With Specific Chronic Health Conditions: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, Hemophilia, Asthma, and Cystic Fibrosis Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine: May 2010 - Volume 20 - Issue 3 - pp 167-172 doi: 10.1097/JSM.0b013e3181d2eddd

June 2010 Issue of Your Therapy Source News

You can download the digital magazine at www.YourTherapySource.com/magazine if you can not view below.

Open publication - Free publishing - More cerebral palsy

Tree House Kids - Fine and Gross Motor Activity

Tree House Kids is a fun-filled, outdoor activity to encourage fine motor, gross motor and visual perceptual skills.

Want more activities like this? Motor Magic - Turning Fine Motor Skills into Gross Motor Skills.

Pediatric Occupational and Physical Therapy Magazine April 2010

If you can not view the magazine, go to www.YourTherapySource.com/magazine to download a copy.

Pediatric Occupational Therapy in the News

Pediatric occupational therapy is in the news again. Check out this news story.

 

March 2010 Digital Monthly Magazine for Pediatric Therapy

If you can not view the digital magazine go to www.YourTherapySource.com/magazine to download a copy.

NY Times Article on Pediatric Occupational Therapy

Today there was an interesting article in the NY Times entitled "Watch How You Hold That Crayon" The article discusses occupational therapists helping children with handwriting. It is definitely worth a read to see what is happening in some areas of the Country and pediatric OT services. After you read the article, would love to hear your comments regarding:
1. Parents fears that children's skills are not sufficient for preschool admission?
2. Is the focus too strong on grip and handwriting at such a young age?
3. Lack of information regarding all the other skills that occupational therapists are trained in?

Any other thoughts on the article?