Did you have a good day? It isn’t always the innocent question it sounds like. Most of the time when we ask people, “How was your day?” we are asking about how they feel about their day, not about the choices they made that were good or bad. For instance, if they got mad at the vending […]
How (Not) To Ask The “Naughty” Child About His Day Read More »
Check out this interesting study. It’s probably worth exploring this strategy more. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy published a study that showed that children with auditory processing disorder were better able to attend and listen in a classroom with a Frequency Modulation system (FM system), which amplifies the teacher’s voice. What is auditory processing
Will An Amplifier Help Your Child with ADHD? Read More »
As an occupational therapist I am frequently asked about the way children hold their pencils. Most parents and teachers know that this is important for their handwriting. Most people also know that the ideal pencil grasp looks like this: The thumb, index and middle fingers should be doing the work to move the pencil. There are
The 5 Best Fixes for an Awkward Pencil Grasp Read More »
I was compelled to write this because as an occupational therapist who works in the schools I know that there tends to be a philosophy (among therapists primarily) that once a child leaves elementary school that direct OT services tend to stop or be changed to consultation. This change is often appropriate. Some reasons: 1)
When Should Students Get OT in Middle School? Read More »
Did you know that an occupational therapist can often address anxiety? First, understand that a child who has “behavior problems” often reacts as they do because they are anxious. Children are not willfully bad and will do well if they can. When children feel safe and supported, behaviors are much easier to address, so responding with
Occupational Therapy Treats Anxiety Read More »
Did you know that research that shows that 10-20 minutes (depending on the study) of cardiovascular exercise has positive effects on a child’s ability to focus throughout the day if the child has ADHD? Yes! The studies have been with children who are diagnosed, but it likely has a positive effect for all children, not
Before I became an occupational therapist, I worked as a nursing aide in a psychiatric hospital where there was one ward for women who were diagnosed with a personality disorder. Most, if not all, had a history of abuse and extreme anxiety. Ultimately the professionals in charge determined that hospitalizing these women together was not
An Untraditional Way To Help Anxiety Read More »
“Good job!” We all say it to children. We probably think it has more power than it actually does. I used to work with a child who consistently took two sessions to learn to make a lower case letter. Thinking of him inspired me to write this post because his persistence has been amazing. I
How to Give a Compliment to Children: Moving Beyond “Good Job.” Read More »
For whatever goals we may have for children, one of the most successful tools we have to help them is to give positive feedback. Sometimes this is easier said than done. Because we are bombarded by bad news in the media and because our brains tend to naturally notice negatives this can be challenging for
The Power of Positive Reinforcement Read More »
When people talk about “social skills” and the difficulty their children have with them I always want more information. This is such a broad area and the needs can vary greatly from child to child. So, not every social skills group is the right fit for every child. For instance, do they need to learn
Finding the Right Social Skills Group Read More »
