10 Awesome Ideas to Start the New Year for Pediatric Therapists

10 Awesome Ideas to Start the New Year for Pediatric Therapists

Do you like to start fresh in the new year?  Do you set goals for yourself to accomplish during this time of year? Being a school-based therapist is a wonderful job but one of the most difficult aspects of the job is managing crazy schedules in a very tight time frame.  It can be a struggle to fit in paperwork time on top of therapy sessions so setting goals to work smarter not harder can be amazingly helpful for pediatric therapists.  Here are 10 awesome ideas to start the new year for pediatric therapists:

5 Ways to Improve Productivity – read tips on how to work smarter not harder

School-Based Therapy Resolutions – read about past resolutions and how they went

Self Improvement to Help Achieve Goals:  this is a self-improvement worksheet to complete to establish what steps need to be taken to achieve a goal.

Helping Children to Establish Healthy Resolutions  – kids need new goals for overall health

5 Quick Fixes to Improve Therapy Sessions  – from room arrangement to timing these tips will help with each session

Integrate Therapy Goals into the Curriculum  – infuse therapy into the curriculum

How to Be a Successful Pediatric Therapist Coach – A huge benefit to coaching is providing parents and teachers the skills to support their child’s learning throughout daily routines, which can lead to an increase in the caregiver’s involvement and follow through.

5 Simple Tips to Help Children Reach Their Goals and 5 Tips on Tackling Big Goals:  easy suggestions to help the children reach their goals

What is a Growth Mindset? Learn how about self-perception and how it can help you succeed.

5 Reasons to Use Student Generated Data Collection – This method can help cut down on paperwork time and maximize goal achievement.

What do you hope to improve this school year?  Start out by finishing this statement – “This year I will…”

Need a laugh when you look back over the years as a pediatric therapist?  Play Have You Ever Therapist Style.

 

 

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Top 10 Blog Posts from 2017 at Your Therapy Source

Top 10 Blog Posts from 2017 at Your Therapy Source

Ever wonder what people read the most here at Your Therapy Source?  Well, here is your answer from 2017.  Here are the top 10 blog posts from 2017:

10. Color, Cut, Glue Summer

9. Norms for Core Strength in Children

8.  26 Calming Strategies for the Classroom

7.  Writing SMART Goals for School-Based OTs and PTs

6.  Find and Color Christmas Doodle Find

5.  Practice Scissor Skills – Color, Cut, Glue Spring

4.  Five Tips to Help Children Develop Body Awareness

3.  Fifteen Free Visual Spatial Printables

2.  Self Regulation Activities

And the number ONE blog post from 2017 was…

 Ten Fun Games to Practice Self Regulation Skills

 

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December 2017 Edition – Digital Magazine for Pediatric OTs and PTs

Digital Magazine for Pediatric OTs and PTs – December 2017 Edition

After a short hiatus, the Your Therapy Source digital magazine is back up and running.  The magazine is a great way to catch up on recent research, activity ideas and freebies from the previous month all in one location.  View this month’s edition below.

Table of Contents
Your Therapy Source Digital Magazine December 2017

HOW TO GET STUDENTS READY TO LEARN AFTER BRAIN BREAKS OR RECESS
MOTOR PLANNING AND CEREBRAL PALSY
LINK BETWEEN READING, VISUAL PERCEPTION, AND VISUAL–MOTOR INTEGRATION
ONE SIMPLE WAY TO IMPROVE PARTICIPATION
TEACHING THROWING AND CATCHING TO CHILDREN WITH DCD
FINE MOTOR SKILLS LINKED TO NUMERICAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT
MOTOR OVERFLOW IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
EFFECTS OF YOGA ON AUTISM SYMPTOMS
HOW TO WRITE A SOCIAL STORY WITH VISUAL SUPPORTS
FINE MOTOR SKILLS, VISUAL FUNCTION, AND READING IN CHILDREN
LESS AFFECTED HAND IN UNILATERAL CEREBRAL PALSY
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS, POSTURAL STABILITY, AND AUTISM
YOUNG PEOPLE’S ATTITUDES ABOUT STANDING FRAMES
COLOR CUT GLUE FOR DECEMBER – SCISSOR SKILLS PRACTICE
ELEPHANT HOLIDAY HAT – SCISSOR AND FINE MOTOR ACTIVITY
DIRECTIONALITY WORKSHEET – WHICH WAY IS THE ANIMAL FACING?  

 

Sign up to receive our email newsletter to access the magazine.  If you already receive our emails, just enter your email address again and you will have access to the magazine.  A new tab will open with the FREE PDF version of the magazine.  To stay updated daily follow the blog.

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How to Create a Professional Development Library

 

How to Create a Professional Development Library

We all know how expensive professional development resources can be especially in the therapy world. Textbooks can be pricey along with individual research articles. For school based therapists, why not create a collaborative PD “library”.   

Try to create a real collection where all the therapists in your district bring in their resources.   Store them all on a book shelf with a simple check out system.   Set a time limit on how long an item can be checked out i.e. two weeks or four weeks.   Make sure everyone writes their names clearly on the resource material.   When borrowing an item write down your name, the title and the date you borrowed it on an index card.   Slip it in a box and read away.   Return the item within the designated time frame.

Another option is to create a virtual library. Create a list of what resources everyone owns. When someone wants to borrow an item, contact the owner and make a borrow request.  The owner of the resource knows exactly who has it then and can keep track of it.   Remember to still add a due date so no one has the resource for too long or forgets to return it.

Lastly, keep a running wish list.  Are there certain titles you have found that you would love to buy but are too expensive?  Write it down to remind yourself in the future where you can find the title.

Not only can this system work for a professional development library it can also work for games and activities.  Organize a list of all therapy games and activities (especially the higher priced items or larger items).  Therapists can check out different games and activities to keep therapy sessions fresh and fun.

Need continuing education courses to help improve your professional development?  Check out the online listings here.

 

 

 

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Trunk Control Measurement Scale for Children

The Trunk Control Measurement Scale is a clinical tool to measure trunk control in children with cerebral palsy.  Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology recently published research examining the reliability of the Trunk Control Measurement Scale (TCMS) with its subscores, in children with neuromotor disorders.  In addition, the discriminative validity of the TCMS was assessed by comparing the TCMS scores with the Functional Independence Measure for children.

The participants in the reliability study included 90 children, ranging in age from 5 years to almost 19 years old and 50 participated for the discriminative validity study. The results indicated the following:

• reliability was excellent.
• change in the TCMS total score of six points (10%) can be considered a true change.
• TCMS subscores appeared to be clinically relevant because children with less than around 80% of the static balance score, less than 55% of the dynamic reaching score, or less than around 35% of the selective movement control score needed support for daily life activities.

The researchers concluded that the TCMS is a reliable and clinically relevant assessment for children aged 5 years and older with different neurological impairments.

Click here to view the full Trunk Control Measurement Scale.

Reference:  Marsico, P., Mitteregger, E., Balzer, J., & Hedel, H. J. (2017). The Trunk Control Measurement Scale: reliability and discriminative validity in children and young people with neuromotor disorders. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 59(7), 706-712.

If you need core strengthening activities for children check out:

The Core Strengthening Handbook:  This download includes 50+ activities including:

• Quick and Easy Core Strengthening Activities for Kids
• Core Strengthening Exercises With Equipment
• Core Strengthening Play Ideas

FIND OUT MORE.

The Core Strengthening Exercise Program: This digital download includes exercises to help make core strengthening fun and entertaining for kids while promoting carryover in the classroom and at home!  FIND OUT MORE.

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How To Be a Successful Pediatric Therapist Coach

Are you confused by the question, how to be a successful pediatric therapist coach?  Maybe you don’t coach basketball, baseball, tennis, etc so you are baffled.   Think of coaching as another word for educate.   If you are a pediatric therapist, you are involved with families, teachers and school support staff.  Whether you work in the home as an early intervention provider, in a clinic or in the schools, a major part of your job is to educate parents or teachers on how to help children.  Instead of a one time discussion or phone call with a parent or teacher to educate them on something regarding a child, coaching is an ongoing process.  Most likely you are doing some form of coaching already you probably just didn’t call it that, you just called it your job!

Here are additional details about coaching.  The basics of coaching include:

1. modeling of the desired behavior or outcome – therapist shows the parents, teacher or staff how to teach a certain skill.
2. opportunities for practice by the learner – the parent, teacher or school staff practices the same skill you modeled while you are watching.
3. providing feedback – you offer suggestions, tips and more demonstration if necessary to help scaffold learning.

To put these three basics into practice is not as easy as it seems as you probably know already.  Time constraints is probably the biggest hurdle.  Schedules are overpacked and sessions run overtime so the day is frequently spent running or playing catch up.  Here are a few suggestions to become the best pediatric therapist coach you can be.

To begin with establish the learning goals that have been identified as a priority by the parents, teachers or children based on your setting. To work on a goal that you think is super important as the therapist but the children, families and teachers see as no issue is a waste of time. The top goal is to ensure you are all on the same page about the goal.

Try providing the coaching and practice within relevant contexts.  This is the hardest part as a pediatric therapist due to our time and location constraints.  This is easiest in an early intervention setting.  Get creative here and try changing IEP requirements to minutes over a certain amount of days versus 30 minutes/3 times per week.   Push into the classroom inviting school staff to model your behavior. Invite parents into the school so they can observe you directly.  If these are still not an option, video yourself and the child (with permission) and provide a copy to the parent.  Provide handouts and directions to the parents and teachers.

Make sure there is time for evaluative feedback and self-reflection.  After you model teaching the desired skill, take the time to observe and provide feedback.  Ask questions to the parents, teachers and children such as: what helped the most? did the handouts help? what can we improve? what are suggestions for the future?

A huge benefit to coaching is providing parents and teachers the skills to support their child’s learning throughout daily routines, which can lead to an increase in the caregiver’s involvement and follow through.

Reference:  Branson, D. PhD. A Case for Family Coaching in Early Intervention. Young Exceptional Children. Vol 18, Issue 1, pp. 44 – 47. First published date: January-27-2015. doi 10.1177/1096250615569903

If you need hand outs and resources to provide to parents and teachers to provide a review of the skill set or additional information, check out all of our resources here.  Some specific hand out titles include:

What? Why? How? Series 1-4 Collection

Therapeutic PLAY Activities for Children

25 Tip Sheets for School Based Therapists

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Using Toys to Support Development in Infants and Toddlers

Using Toys to Support Development in Infants and Toddlers: Children develop physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively through play.  And of course, children of all ages enjoy playing with toys. Providing the proper toy selection to support development in infants and toddlers can be a difficult and overwhelming task especially for new parents, therapists or teachers.  Here are suggestions to make the right choices when it comes to using toys to support development in infants and toddlers:

The main goal is to select toys that are safe and suited to the child’s age, abilities, and interests.  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?

Select toys that encourage development within and across the domains of childhood development such as language, fine motor, gross motor, social, emotional and cognitive skills.

Creativity using basic, household materials can stimulate play and encourage infant and toddler development across all domains.

In order to facilitate childhood development, toys selection should be intentional.  For example, select simple play materials for infants and toddlers to encourage cause and effect skills, tactile input, vocabulary development, motor skills and more.  Try the following ideas to start:

• Construction type toys – i.e shoe boxes, cereal boxes, fabric blocks, plastic blocks, wooden blocks, etc.
• Open ended toys – i.e. large cardboard boxes to explore, scraps of fabric to pull and touch, fabric for peek a boo games, pots and pans, plastic “tupperware” type containers, etc.
• Books – Board books are wonderful for little hands to explore.  Read to children starting at birth at least 20 minutes per day.
• Puzzles – For young children, a puzzle can be trying to fit an object into a muffin tin, a ball into a basket or stuffed animals into shoeboxes.  For older children, you can increase the difficulty but decreasing the size of opening.

When parents, day care providers, teachers and therapists are informed about proper toy selection, play and developmental skills are stimulated across all domains.

If you need more information about infant and toddler development check out these great resources:

The Infant and Toddler Handbook, written by Lauren Drobnjak PT and Claire Heffron MS, OTR/L,  is a 30-page downloadable ebook packed with reader-friendly information about the developmental motor milestones you can expect in kids ages 0 through 5.

The second half of the book is full of development-boosting fine motor, gross motor, and sensory activities divided by age range so you can find exactly what you’re looking for depending on the ages of the kids in your therapy practice, classroom, or home.  Find out more.

Developmental Milestones Handout Pack, written by Lauren Drobnjak PT and Claire Heffron MS, OTR/L, is the ideal resource for sharing information about baby, toddler, and preschool development with parents and caregivers.  Find out more.

Reference:  Guyton, G. (2011). Using toys to support infant-toddler learning and development. YC Young Children, 66(5), 50.

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May Issue – Magazine for Pediatric OTs and PTs

The May Issue of the digital magazine for pediatric OTs and PTs has been posted.  It includes the following articles:

CHILDREN’S HIGHER PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED DEPRESSION
5 REASONS TO USE A THERAPY PLANNER
ASD: COMMUNICATION DEFICITS AND MOTOR SKILLS
3 STEPS TO HELP CHILDREN IMPROVE SELF CONTROL AND FOCUS
MOTOR SKILLS IN PRESCHOOLERS FROM LOW SOCIOECONOMICS
5 REASONS TO USE RUBRICS FOR SCHOOL BASED THERAPISTS
WHAT IS A GROWTH MINDSET?
5 ACTIVITIES TO PREPARE CHILDREN FOR SCISSOR USE
ARE YOU THE BEST THERAPIST FOR THE JOB?
7 FEATURES OF EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM RULES
3 STRATEGIES TO HELP CHILDREN WITH ANXIETY
MOTHER’S DAY MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES
6 BODY AWARENESS ACTIVITIES AND PRINTABLES – FREE!
WISHING YOU A HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY FINGERPRINT CRAFT
EASY MAZES – FREEBIE!
BLUE BIRD COLOR, WRITE AND DRAW FREEBIE
FIND AND COUNT THE BEES FROM BRAIN WORKOUTS

You can view and download the entire FREE issue here.

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5 Reasons to Use a Therapy Planner

Ever wonder what you can do to make your life easier as a school based therapist?  Whether you are a school based occupational therapist, physical therapist, speech therapist or counselor, it can be very difficult to stay on top of all the paperwork requirements, scheduling and tasks.  Here are 5 reasons to use a therapy planner:

Reason #1:  It will help you to stay organized.  School based therapists have a tough job in terms of keeping all the paperwork requirements in an organized fashion. With large caseloads and different schools it can be a daunting task to keep it all in order.  A planner can help you to keep all your information in one location.

Reason #2:  It will help with documentation.  The Therapy Planners for 2017-2018 help you to keep track of attendance, evaluations that need to be completed, daily to do lists, weekly planning, scheduling and more!

Reason #3:  It will help motivate you.  By creating lists and notes, it will help you to be more productive and achieve that feeling of self satisfaction when you can check a task off as completed.

Reason #4:  It will help you with memory retrieval and formation.  I know for myself, if I write something down then I am more likely to remember it.  And if I do forget it, I can easily look up what I need to do in a planner.

Reason #5:  It will help you to decrease your stress level.  I always feel less overwhelmed if I break down tasks into smaller more manageable chunks.  It helps me to be prepared and plan ahead versus stressing out right before a report, paperwork or presentation needs to be completed.

The new, updated planners are ready for you to get started on organizing your work life.  The planners start in July 2017 and go through June 2018.  Wow, I can’t believe we are even talking about the next school year already!  The planners will be on sale for a limited time so grab it at the lowest price now.

FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ON THE THERAPY PLANNERS AND SEE THE DESIGNS

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5 Reasons to Use Rubrics for School Based Therapists

Rubrics are an excellent tool for school based therapists to utilize throughout the school year for ongoing assessment of a student’s skills.  A rubric is a scoring guide to judge performance on a specific task. A skill is broken down into different components and a numerical value is given to each component. The performance is then scored by totaling the sum of the numerical values.

Here are 5 reasons why you should use rubrics for school based therapists:

1. A rubric informs the individual of what is expected of a task.  It clarifies step by step what is required for proficiency.  The student will know all the steps that are needed to complete a task.
2. It provides a standard to assess the quality of how a task is completed.
3. The score on a rubric can determine if changes (improvements or regression) have occurred over time. It is a great tool to use after a long weekend, absences or school vacation to determine if regression has occurred to justify summer services.
4. It can help increase the consistency of scoring.  Instead of documenting minimal, moderate or significant progress, you can document an actual score to have a more quantitative measure.
5. Use a rubric to compare the abilities of a student with a peer to determine if the student’s skills are functional.

Need some examples?  You can download some free rubrics:

1.  Dressing Rubric – Putting On and Taking Off Socks
2.  Overall Personal Hygiene Rubric
3.  Meal Time Rubric – Using a Spoon
4.  Mobility Rubric – Walking in a Line
5.  Overall Handwriting Rubric
6.  Proper Positioning for Keyboarding Rubric

 

For a limited time, you can also download free Scissor Skill Rubric today.  It’s the perfect tool to have on hand to measure baseline performance as well as progress over time.  You’ll have a way to quantify performance in this area and to show that your scissor skill strategies (and the child’s hard work) are paying off.  This is all to get ready for the launch of The Scissor Skills Book on May 1st.

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Are You The Best Person for the Job?

Do you ever ask yourself if you are the best person for the job? For any children who receive related services, hopefully this question is asked frequently. When teachers create class lists for the following school year, they usually make a recommendation based on the student and the teacher’s style. The students move from grade level to grade level with different instructors. Does this get done for therapy services as well? When a new skill needs to be taught do you ever consider changing therapists? Or perhaps a goal is not being accomplished – do you ever consider it may be the therapist and not the child?

For some reason in the “therapy world”, occupational, physical or speech therapists may see the same child for years. For some children this is beneficial. For example, children who are medically fragile and their families may benefit from the continuity of the same therapist from year to year. Perhaps families feel comfortable with the same therapist since a bond has been created between the therapist and the child.

Many times the therapist’s experience is taken into consideration when creating caseloads. For young children with cerebral palsy, a part of therapy is usually neurodevelopmental treatment. Using their hands, the therapist attempts to facilitate proper movement patterns while inhibiting abnormal muscle tone. One therapist may be able to facilitate a child’s movement patterns very differently than another. Perhaps ones hand placement is just slightly different or hand size is significantly different this can influence neurodevelopmental treatment. Many time parents or teachers will say “I don’t seem to do it as good as you”. Therefore, something to consider when a child is not reaching a specific goal is to think about changing therapists. It is not to say that the current one is not good, but you never know what a different set of hands may illicit. If you do not want to change completely, another idea is to ask for another therapist to consult on the child. Maybe the therapists could do one co-treatment session to see if a different set of hands can help the child to achieve the goal.

What about different diagnoses? Some therapists work very well with children with certain diagnoses. Just like some teachers prefer to teach math over reading, some therapists prefer to work with children with autism instead of cerebral palsy or ambulatory children versus non ambulatory children. Therapists should look closely at what type of child they work best with and offer to help if that is their “niche”.

What about the goal? If the goal requires a significant amount of assistance who might be best for the job? A small therapist may not be a good match. If the goal requires a significant amount of patience like learning to ride a bicycle, an individual with a short fuse may not be a good fit. If the goal is climbing the jungle gym to the highest point, a nervous individual may not be the best person for that job.

What about carry over at home or in the classroom? It is not always possible to have a choice of which adult can help, but if it is possible consider the adults’ strengths and weaknesses. When teaching a skill like toilet training patience is a virtue. Teaching a child to do the monkey bars or a to use a fire pole, requires some strength and is not for the faint at heart.

Therefore, when a child is learning a new skill consider the therapist’s style and experience in addition to the child’s goals and diagnoses to create the best fit possible.

If you are a pediatric occupational or physical therapists, check out all of our resources, hand outs and forms to help make your job more efficient.  We know how hectic your day to day job is  – work smarter not harder!

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April 2017 Digital Magazine for Pediatric OT and PT

The April 2017 Digital Magazine for Pediatric Occupational and Physical Therapy has been published.  You can view articles on the following topics:

RESEARCH: CONSTRAINT INDUCED MOVEMENT THERAPY IMPROVES UPPER LIMB ACTIVITY
SENSORY BEHAVIORS IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM AT HOME
FOOD TACTILE PLAY AND FOOD PREFERENCES
SENSORY PROFILES OF CHILDREN IN THE GENERAL POPULATION
INFLUENCE OF TIME PRESSURE ON HANDWRITING IN CHILDREN WITH ASD
BALANCE AND COORDINATION OF BOYS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY
3 EVIDENCE BASED REASONS TO INCORPORATE MOVEMENT INTO CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION
10 TIPS FOR WRITTEN EXPRESSION FOR STUDENTS WITH WORKING MEMORY DEFICITS
SPEECH PRODUCTION AND CONSTRAINT-INDUCED MOVEMENT THERAPY
NEW BOOK ON IDIOPATHIC TOE WALKING
RESULTS FROM HANDWRITING AND KEYBOARDING SURVEY
NEW FINE MOTOR BUILDING BLOCKS: PLUS-PLUS
PREWRITING LINES AND STROKES HOT AIR BALLOON
ARE YOU READY TO WORK CLIP CHART FREEBIE
HAPPY OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY MONTH FREE POSTERS TO PRINT
FUNNY FACES FREEBIE

Go to YourTherapySource to download and view your FREE copy of the April 2017 Digital Magazine for Pediatric OT and PT

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New Book on Idiopathic Toe Walking

Renowned Occupational Therapist, Ileana S. McCaigue, OTR/L  and author of Typical Classroom Sensory-Based Problem Behaviors & Suggested Therapeutic Interventions and Autism Sleeps™, has written a new book entitled Taming Idiopathic Toe Walking: A Treatment Guide for Parents and Therapists.  This new book provides a non-invasive, efficient and effective sensory treatment strategy for children and adolescents that display atypical toe walking.   It serves as a definitive manual for children and adolescents that display atypical toe walking behaviors. Inspired by the overcoming of toe walking by numerous children during her years of practice, McCaigue’s professional expertise and personal experiences are fused into a vitally, powerful resource.

This book is an easy-to-read guide for parents and pediatric, rehabilitation therapists with information on the categories and treatment of atypical toe walking behaviors. This manual explains when toe walking is considered developmentally unusual for a child’s age, and idiopathic or done for no known reason. Idiopathic toe walking is often associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, Specific Learning Disabilities, Developmental Delays and other disabilities with sensory processing difficulties, but can occur with typical children, as well. This book serves as a thorough resource for use of an alternative treatment strategy to “calm” the toes, and enable a typical walking pattern in those challenged with idiopathic toe walking.  The ultimate goal is the prevention of tendon shortening and resultant limited motions of the ankles and feet from prolonged toe walking that can ultimately lead to the need for injections, bracing or at worst, surgery, to remediate the muscular imbalance.

Taming Idiopathic Toe Walking: A Treatment Guide for Parents and Therapists provides step-by-step instruction of how to make “Toe Tamers”, a unique remediation tool that provides the sensory input that a child or adolescent with idiopathic toe walking needs to overcome this potentially serious problem behavior. A protocol and usage guide is available for: 1) How heavy to make the Toe Tamers, 2) How to apply them, 3) How often they should be worn, and 4) How long to use them to calm the toes. This would enable relaxation of the feet to stand with full weight bearing on the floor with or without socks and shoes.  In addition, a HOME Program sheet is included in English and Spanish to instruct parents on the rationale for applying the Toe Tamers, as well as when and how to effectively use them.

Additionally, forms are available for logging the impact of the Toe Tamers. A record and graphs are included to track progress on the length of time, as well as the reduction of heel height, as the Toe Tamers effectively help the toes to lower the entire foot onto a flat surface.

As the author explains, her book introduces a sensory treatment strategy for idiopathic toe walking that all should consider exploring.

“Children with idiopathic toe walking whose feet are always bouncing on their toes, seem to calm their bodies down after their feet are relaxed. If you think about it, when your feet hurt or figuratively scream at you internally, you cannot relax your body. So, it would make sense that by calming the toes and relaxing the feet, that these children’s bodies would relax overall, as well! It is by providing the sensory input needed by these children’s feet, that their toes can lower and enable a typical pattern of walking.  Using a holistic, sensory strategy in lieu of more traditional interventions will give their feet the input needed to help them overcome this problem behavior,” says McCaigue.

The book is unique in the marketplace due to the author’s own successful use of its methods over a lifetime of experience.  “I personally implemented the strategies outlined in this book over the past 27 of my 40 years as an Occupational Therapist working with children. I hope this easy-to-make, therapeutic, sensory strategy will help many children with idiopathic toe walking, and prevent the need for surgery or other more invasive treatment techniques. My goal is to help children with the least restrictive, most effective and efficient way to remediate atypical toe walking,” McCaigue explains.

About the Author:

A 1977 summa cum laude graduate from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia, Ileana S. McCaigue, OTR/L.  She is a nationally certified/ registered and licensed Occupational Therapist, author, program developer, holistic clinician and educator with 40 years of experience. Her professional career and expertise include a continuum of care. These range from the neonatal intensive care unit to pediatric concerns in the home, school and community for developmental delays, especially for strategy implementation to manage sensory-based problem behaviors.

Ileana has worked in a variety of pediatric settings that included over 20 years with Special Education students in public schools at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. She currently works with children in several clinics and at community sites. Ileana also sees private clients with special needs to provide home and community based treatment as needed, including sensory integration therapy, interactive metronome and other brain-based interventions to improve sensory-based problem behaviors. She also serves as a holistic consultant providing recommendations to facilitate the development of a “wellness home” environment for children and adults.

Ileana was the recipient of the Barbara S. Grant Award from the Georgia O.T. Association for her dedication and lifetime of outstanding service, as well as a recipient for the Maddak Award in the area of physical disability.

PURCHASE Taming Idiopathic Toe Walking: A Treatment Guide for Parents and Therapists

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Balance and Coordination of Boys with Intellectual Disability

Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly published research examining the balance and coordination of 123 boys (ages 8-18) with intellectual disability (ID) but without Down syndrome.  The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2) was used to measure 6 items for balance, 5 items for upper limb coordination, and 6 items for bilateral coordination.

The results indicated the following:

• mean scores for balance,upper limb coordination and bilateral coordination were consistently below BOT-2 criteria for the boys ages 8-18.

The researchers concluded that overall motor skills of males with ID are below the competence expected for children and adolescents without disabilities.

Reference:  Pitetti, K., Miller, R. A., & Loovis, M. (2017). Balance and Coordination Capacities of Male Children and Adolescents With Intellectual Disability. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 34(1), 1-18.

 

 

25+ Bilateral Coordination Activities – Download of 28 bilateral coordination exercise sheets including QR codes with links to video demonstration of exercises. Also includes hand out explaining bilateral coordination.  FIND OUT MORE.

 

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Where is the Therapist Clip Charts

Check out these adorable, new Where is the Therapist clip charts to indicate where you are in the school building.  Therapists are frequently traveling throughout the school from classroom to classroom or traveling from school to school.  These signs will certainly come in handy for when school staff needs to ask a question or stop by for a visit during the day.  They are only $1 per discipline!  It includes 5 signs for each related service – 3 in color and 2 in black and white.  The black and white versions have a similar pattern to the popular adult coloring pages if you are feeling crafty.  The last sign can be edited to include 8 different phrases that you choose.  You can type or write the phrases.

You will want to print the signs on card stock and laminate for durability.  Just grab a clothes pin and indicate where you are.  Color in the black and white version if you want or have the students help you color it in!

Get more information on the clip charts.

 

 

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Sensory Profiles of Children in the General Population

Child: Care,Health and Development published research on sensory profiles of children in the general population.  The cross-sectional study used a large sample of 3-14 year old children (n = 1132) gathered from a larger study of the reliability and validity of the Sensory Profile 2nd Edition.  The community sample included children with and without developmental conditions.  The researchers used latent profile analysis to determine what sensory subtypes are present in a large community-based sample.  The results suggested that five sensory subtypes characterized a large community-based sample of children with and without conditions.  The five sensory subtypes were:

1.  Balanced sensory profile – characterized by evenly distributed and low frequency of sensory behaviors.   These children may explore different sensory stimuli and easily engage in different sensory experiences. The majority of typically developing children fell into this subtype (88.6%), 35.1% of children with ASD, 53.1% of children with ADHD and the majority of children with other conditions also were in the balanced sensory profile subtype.
2. Intense sensory profile – characterized by high frequencies of all sensory patterns.  The children concurrently showed high avoidance, sensitivities, registration and seeking. Children in this profile may dislike many sensory experiences and also have difficulty with registering sensory stimuli. They may engage in sensory-seeking behaviors.  Only 2% of typically developing children fell into this subtype.  For children with ASD, 19.5% had this subtype and 10.4% with ADHD.
3. Vigilant sensory profile – characterized by increased sensitivity and avoidance. The children likely avoids sensory experiences and shows aversion to different types of sensory stimuli.  Typically developing children had the lowest percentage in this subtype with only 1 1% and the highest percentage of participants with ASD (24.7%) and ADHD (12.5%).
4. Interested sensory profile – characterized by increased sensory-seeking behaviors with other sensory patterns in the expected range.  This profile was the significantly youngest group. Children in this group may be seeking out different sensory stimuli, such as movement, tactile or auditory, and enjoy intense sensory experiences.   Statistically, 6.1% of typically developing children, 8.9% of children with ASD and 13.5% of those with ADHD fell into the interested sensory profile.
5. Mellow until… sensory profile – characterized by increased scores in avoidance and registration. Children in this profile may not exhibit low registration although when a stimulus becomes enough for the child to notice, the stimuli may quickly avoid it.  Statistically, 2.3% of typically developing children, 11.7% of children with ASD and 10.4%% of those with ADHD fell into the mellow until… sensory profile.

The researchers concluded that sensory experiences are universal because every individuals’ daily activities and routines include sensory stimuli. This study suggests that there are 5 sensory subtypes occur across the general population of children including those with and without various developmental conditions.  They recommend future research on intervention strategies and environmental supports for children and their families based on their responses to sensory stimuli as opposed to a diagnostic category alone.

Reference:  Little, L. M., Dean, E., Tomchek, S. D., & Dunn, W. (2017). Classifying sensory profiles of children in the general population. Child: care, health and development, 43(1), 81-88.

BrainWorks Online Membership – an exciting online tool for creating effective sensory diets for children, teens, and adults. BrainWorks takes pride in being USER-FRIENDLY, from start (selection of what you need) to finish (empowering the child to select appropriate activities). Our web-based product allows you to print out visual sensory diet tools, helpful forms, and activity picture cards. FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION.

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March Digital Magazine Pediatric Occupational and Physical Therapy

The March 2017 issue of the Your Therapy Source digital magazine for pediatric occupational and physical therapy has been published.  The table of contents includes:

PROPRIOCEPTION AND HANDWRITING
LETTER REVERSALS AND ADHD
MATH, MOVEMENT AND MOTOR SKILLS
MANUAL MOTOR SKILLS, DAILY LIVING SKILLS AND AUTISM
MOTOR SKILLS AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
YOGA AND ADHD
BRAIN ACTIVATION AND BALL SKILLS
SELF ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST FOR IN CLASS BEHAVIOR AND SELF REGULATION
NEW WAYS TO PLAY CANDYLAND INCLUDING EXERGAMING
POSITIONING FOR PLAY
HOW TO ESTABLISH A BRAIN BREAK ROUTINE
10 TIPS FOR HELPING CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY DURING PLAYTIME
VISUAL SPATIAL AND WORKING MEMORY TASK
SHAVING CREAM TRACKS – FINE MOTOR AND SENSORY ACTIVITY
SIDE STEPPING BALL DROP ACTIVITY

View the magazine below or download the PDF here.

Open publication – Free publishing

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Fresh Air Fitness Aerobic Activity

It is almost that time of year, when we can start heading outdoors everyday to enjoy the fresh air (although today when woke up it was only 14 degrees out).  While we dream of warmer days, try this Fresh Air Fitness routine from the Spring Packet.  Practice it indoors until you can bring the kids outdoors to perform this short work out.  This activity makes a wonderful brain break for during the school day, pre-homework exercise to get the brain ready to work or just some plain, old aerobic fitness that requires no equipment.

FRESH AIR FITNESS – head outdoors if possible.  Complete the exercises in place, if indoors.

1. March with knees high for 2 minutes
2. Jog for 2 minutes
3. Mountain climbers for 30 seconds
4. Lunges for 1 minute
5. Side to side jumps for 1 minute
6. Arm circles while marching for 1 minute
7. Run for 2 minutes
8. Jumping jacks for 1 minute
9. Squats for 1 minute
10. Take 10 deep breaths

DOWNLOAD THE FRESH AIR FITNESS ROUTINE.

Spring Sensory Motor Packet – Practice fine motor, gross motor, visual perceptual activities with this NO PREP, fun, Spring themed packet. This is an excellent activity packet for in class activities, therapy sessions, class parties, carry over activities, brain breaks, early finishers and indoor recess.  FIND OUT MORE.

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Therapeutic Effects of Horseback Riding

The American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation performed a research review to determine whether therapeutic riding and hippotherapy improve balance, motor function, gait, muscle symmetry, pelvic movement, psychosocial parameters, and the patients’ overall quality of life.  Following a literature search, 16 articles were included in the review.  Assessment revealed:

1. most of the studies showed a trend toward a beneficial effect of therapeutic riding and hippotherapy on balance and gross motor function.
2. the meta-analysis showed improvement in both the Berg Balance Scale and the Gross Motor Function Measure in therapeutic riding and hippotherapy programs.

The researchers concluded that therapeutic riding and hippotherapy are a suitable intervention for individuals with balance, gait, and psychomotor disorders.

Reference:  Stergiou, Alexandra; Tzoufi, Meropi MD; Ntzani, Evangelia MD; Varvarousis, Dimitrios MD; Beris, Alexandros MD; Ploumis, Avraam MD. Therapeutic Effects of Horseback Riding Interventions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation: Post Author Corrections: March 1, 2017. doi: 10.1097/PHM.0000000000000726

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Exercise and Working Memory in School Children

Pediatric Exercise Science published research examining the role of exercise on the cognitive development in children including working memory (WM) and inattentiveness in a large sample of 2897 schoolchildren (7-10 years old).  Data was collected using the n-back task (2- and 3-back), the attentional network task (ANT) and parent questionnaire with information about the extracurricular exercise of their child and commuting to school.

The results indicated that:

• exercising twice per week or more was associated with higher working memory scores and inattentiveness scores at baseline when compared with exercising only once per week or less.
• active commuting for more than 50 min was associated with better 3-back scores at baseline, as compared with passive commuting.
• no consistent associations were found between physical activity and cognitive growth.

The researchers concluded that children with high levels of physical activity performed better in cognitive tasks.

Reference:  López-Vicente, M. et. al. (2016). Physical Activity and Cognitive Trajectories in Schoolchildren. Pediatric exercise science, 28(3), 431-438.

50 Sensory Motor Activities for Kids – This is an electronic book of 50 sensory motor activities that get children moving. This collection of creative, fun filled activities promote fundamental motor skills, sensory processing, motor planning and body awareness. The book is divided into three sections – Games to Play in Small Spaces (classroom or small room), Games to Play in Large Spaces (gymnasium or outdoors) and Games to Play with Bean Bags. The activities require simple equipment such as bean bags, hoops, rope, balls, etc.  FIND OUT MORE.

 

 

 

 

 

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