When we provide physical or occupational therapy to kids, we are often asking parents about their child’s participation in life. Are there areas that they aren’t able to participate in fully or things that are really important to the child or family? For instance, if they go to a playground, will they readily […]
The Value of Peer Play
I was recently at a school working with a kiddo. This child has made huge gains and is now easily able to access her school environment. The one area that is still a slight struggle is the play structure. She is able to do all points of access on all the play structures in her […]
Motor Groups and RTI
May is Better Hearing and Speech Month and Speech Language Literacy Lab has organized this blog hop with multiple professionals to discuss RTI. Being a physical therapy provider in the school district does not always provide the opportunity to become involved in Response to Intervention (RTI). We were lucky enough to be involved in with […]
Independent Exploration with Power Mobility
Independent exploration is an important part of a child’s development. Power mobility is one way kids with limited mobility can begin to independently explore their environment. Here is some information on one way to encourage early power mobility in an inexpensive way. Did you know that there is emerging research on the benefits of early […]
Using the Penguin Shuffle to Teach Turn Taking
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdAtw8Uabto&w=560&h=315] So, Penguin Shuffle is a board game by Milton Bradley from 1995 that is no longer in production. Our therapist loved it so much she bought it off of ebay and wants to start a campaign to get Milton Bradley to begin making it again (feel free to let us know if you […]
Water Squirt Toys – Some Colorful Ideas!
image retrieved from: amazon.com With the weather getting nicer and nicer, I love to come up with ideas that can be done outside. One of our OT’s actually thought of this idea and I loved it (and added a few twists). There are a plethora of squirt toys out there for kids and one of […]
Gross Motor Ideas for the Park
Now that nice weather is upon us its time to get outside and play with the kids! Parks are a great place for kids to effectively ‘burn off’ their energy while working on gross motor skills and socialization. Here are some of the great things about parks: There are other kids around to play with. […]
Beyond the First Jump
I love working with kiddos on learning how to jump. And then they finally master their first jump all by themselves and I want to jump with them (I usually do). I get so excited that I forget there can be so much more to jumping. Don’t get me wrong, jumping all by […]
Easter Egg Hunt for Motor Skills
Ok, now don’t judge, but the original inspiration for this idea came from a ski trip I took with some college friends (a year or two after graduation) over Easter weekend. Two of our friends arranged an ‘adult’ easter egg hunt with jello (of the adult variety) in each Easter egg. Well we were […]