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 […]
Looking for some easy, fun ideas for hand strengthening activities for kids that require little to no equipment and no, extensive preparation? Check out these free sample pages from The Hand Strengthening Handbook. Who knew you could do so many fun games and activities with donkey kicks? How about using rubber bands in some creative […]
Recent research examined changes in speech skills of children who have hemiparesis and speech impairment after participation in a constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) program. The participants in the study included 18 children with hemiparesis and co-occurring speech impairment who participated in a 21-day clinical CIMT program. The Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation-2 (GFTA-2) was used to evaluate […]
The Ready, Set, Scan Animal Freebie (download below) is an awesome activity to challenge visual scanning, visual discrimination and visual motor skills. Start the time, scan from left to right and top to bottom to mark off the correct animal. Stop the timer when done and record your time. See who can complete the task […]
This Funny Faces Freebie is great fun to download, print and create for the kids. To start, download the freebie (see below). Once you print the Funny Faces Freebie page, cut apart the rectangles. You can either have the children cut apart the cards to practice scissor skills or an adult can cut apart the […]
Here are 3 evidence based reasons why teachers should incorporate movement into classroom instruction: increases student interest, motivation (Vazou et al., 2012), and learning (Braniff, 2011). improves content knowledge, skills, and test scores in core subjects such as mathematics and reading fluency (Adams-Blair & Oliver, 2011; Erwin, Fedewa, & Ahn, 2013; Browning et al., 2014). […]
Each year I have been creating new posters to print to wish everyone a happy Occupational Therapy month in April. This one happens to be one of my favorites but perhaps I say that every year. It is a Helen Keller quote – “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much”. […]
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 […]
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 […]
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders published research on the influence of time pressure on the handwriting of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of the current study was to determine the handwriting profile of children with ASD across both non-speeded and speeded conditions, with particular focus on spacing difficulties and handwriting errors. In […]