Working in occupational therapy and dementia care is such a rewarding area. OTPs can use a variety of tools to help our patients and using puzzles as an

This article discusses the pincer grasp, its importance, and how occupational therapy can help. Plus 30 pincer grasp exercises.

Use these occupational therapy teletherapy activities in planning online therapy for early intervention, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school.

Check out this list of 5 simple occupational therapy assessments to use with adults or older adults in settings such as SNF and home health.

As I am finishing up my Capstone of designing an occupational therapy pro bono clinic for a private educational institute, I am putting together a ‘protocol binder’ for the clinic that …

This Occupational Therapy Shirt / OT Shirt makes the perfect gift for the Occupational Therapist in your life - or buy it for yourself! You will love it! Comfort Colors Shirts are so comfy and cute, it will be sure to be a favorite! **UNISEX SIZING** ♥ W E L C O M E T O S K E T C H Y C A T D E S I G N S ! ♥ • This is a standard unisex garment-dyed 100% cotton shirt - Comfort Colors Tee with a relaxed fit. FOR AND OVERSIZED TEE, PLEASE SIZE UP!! Please review the size chart to ensure you receive the fit you want. ♥ Click here to return to our shop’s home page ⇒ https://www.etsy.com/shop/SketchyCatDesigns • Q U I C K • F A C T S • ♥ 100% cotton medium weight shirt ♥ Design is high quality digital print ♥ For long-lasting print results, wash inside out in cold water ONLY. ♥ For drying, I recommend laying flat to dry however, you may also throw in the dryer, just be sure to turn inside out and dry on the lowest heat setting ♥ Do NOT dry clean ♥ Do NOT iron • M A T E R I A L • 100% Ring Spun Cotton Preshrunk, soft-washed, garment-dyed fabric PIGMENT DYE REFERS TO WASHED DOWN COLORS THAT CONTINUE TO SOFTEN AND AGE WITH WASHING. PIGMENTS ARE INSOLUBLE COLOR PARTICLES ATTACHED TO THE SURFACE OF CLOTH USING A BINDING AGENT. SLIGHT SHADE VARIATIONS ARE INHERENT IN THE PIGMENT DYE PROCESS.DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE GARMENT DYING PROCESS, PIGMENT DYED GOODS SHOULD ALWAYS BE WASHED SEPARATELY BEFORE WEARING TO AVOID BLEEDING ISSUES. • S I Z I N G • ♥ Sizing is unisex so runs like men's ♥ Relaxed fit shirt ♥ Please see size guide in listing photos for all measurements and information • S H I P P I N G • T I M E S • ♥ Our items are individually made with love for each of our buyers. ♥ We’re work as quickly as possible, but we realize speed is important to our customers! Our processing time is UP TO 7 business days but typically 2-5 business days, plus standard shipping transit time.

Looking for occupational therapy activities using free or household materials? This list of OT activities supports development of OT goals.

Aimee Wagner, OT sees every diagnosis that comes through her therapy department and works across inpatient, outpatient and home health settings. Aimee sees a lot of CVA/stroke patients, but even…

Check out this massive list of 109 occupational therapy activities for kids stuck at home.

I am always looking for ideas to shake up my OT treatments and try to get creative with activity tolerance activities, because it is just NOT functional or

Learn about upper body strength, why its important, exercises to help improve upper body strength, and how occupational therapy can help.

If you're looking for interoception activities for kids to improve internal body awareness and self-regulation, these ideas will inspire you!

OT functional mobility is such a crucial aspect to address with impaired ADLs. In this article we'll cover how to focus on this area.

Curious about scaffolding in occupational therapy? Here is what it is and how you can use it and teach it in your practice.

Check out this massive list of 109 occupational therapy activities for kids stuck at home.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. It most commonly impairs one’s ability to gauge and execute movements (pivoting, turning, reaching, and stepping, to name a few). The Parkinson’s Foundation estimates that over 10 million people worldwide are living with PD every year. Physical and Occupational Therapy are standard interventions for PD, with programs like LSVT BIG leading the way. To supplement such programs, 5 balance exercises favorites are listed below from the Haas Balance Book: 100+ Exercises for PTs and OTs): Standing + Reaching Across Midline [Exercise 15] reinforces trunk rotations and improves balance during reaching to the side or behind midline. Targets are positioned laterally or posteriorly (behind patient) to challenge range of motion and balance. Functional carryover includes improved safety and ability to prepare meals, take showers, don clothes, etc. Reaching Overhead [Exercise 13] emphasizes standing and raising arms above one’s head, similar to motions of changing a lightbulb. This exercises challenges balance (center of gravity moves posteriorly) while also helping improve trunk extension and arm flexion motions. To integrate cognitive challenges with overhead reaching, add Balance Games [Exercises 88-93 & 95-97]. Randomized Turning [Exercise 78] requires patient to pivot, turn and face the colored target called out by therapist. Colored cards are used to randomize color order. The benefit of this exercise is on improving safety and stability when changing directions in standing and walking. Stepping On/Off Obstacle [Exercise 57] helps improve steadiness when lifting and setting foot on an obstacle, such as a curb or step. The patient is asked to set their foot on the obstacle and then return it back to the starting position while attempting to minimize balance deviations. The sequence is then repeated with the opposite foot. Selecting higher obstacles (second or third steps) is helpful for increasing step height and reinforcing movements into hip and knee flexion. Randomized Stepping (with Balance Dots) [Exercise 73] or Clock Yourself App [Exercise 75]. Random cues help simulate reactionary movements. Steadiness, quickness, and strength with stepping movements are important for balance recovery and fall prevention. For more information on stepping strategies see previous blog titled “Tips to Improve Stepping Strategies.” Other Balance Exercise Groups: 1. 5 Balance Exercise Favorites Following Hip Replacement

Learn about upper body strength, why its important, exercises to help improve upper body strength, and how occupational therapy can help.

This past fall we made the decision to seek out occupational therapy (OT) for Caroline. She was struggling a great deal with the act of writing and we also suspected she had some midline issues. With her permission, I'm going to write about our experience with occupational therapy for dysgraphia or writing problems. We strongly

These occupational therapy themes are great weekly themes for occupational therapy planning. Create a weekly lesson plan and go!

Tips for crossing midline from an Occupational Therapist. Discover what it is, what it looks like and activities to encourage it!

All About Me Shoe CraftGet to know your students by learning what it might look like to walk in their shoes! Use this craft for a beginning of the year bulletin board, get to know you activity, self-reflection, in occupational therapy sessions, or just for fun in the classroom. This is a great way t...

Coming up with OT fieldwork in-service ideas can be tough. For a list of 13 ideas for adult rehab fieldwork, we've got you covered here.

Many stroke survivors experience shoulder problems after stroke. Practicing shoulder exercises for stroke patients can help relieve pain and improve movement and strength of the shoulder joint. These improvements can help survivors return to completing their daily activities comfortably and independently. Both physical and occupational therapists are able to treat shoulder impairments and can guide […]

Use these occupational therapy teletherapy activities in planning online therapy for early intervention, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school.

Vertical surface activities are an easy way to work on core strength and postural stability needed for fine motor skills development in kids.

Looking for great occupational therapy apps for your adult patients? These apps cover cognition, coordination, vision and strength.

We're covering four new emerging practice areas occupational therapy to help inspire you to dive into something new.

Wondering if you should you do home health as a new grad? We'll share why home health it isn't always the best choice for new OT grads.

Curious about scaffolding in occupational therapy? Here is what it is and how you can use it and teach it in your practice.

Looking for the best splinting guide? The Orthotic Intervention for the Hand and Upper Extremity: Splinting Principles and Process is it!

5-15% of schooling children have difficulties in their sensory regulation to their environment. This means that some children may have more difficulties than others in processing the differences between emotional, motion and sensory stimulations that are required for their daily living.

It would be nice to feel better about how the day flows...to feel as if it actually DOES flow. Welcome to the internal dialogue that spurred a presentation at the Nebraska Occupational Therapy Association (NOTA) conference. The invitation to present came from an intention to address OT burnout.

Hand therapist Josh Albarado, OTR/L shares his go-to hand therapy interventions with protocols, treatment ideas and resources in this guide

If you're looking for interoception activities for kids to improve internal body awareness and self-regulation, these ideas will inspire you!

W-Sitting Infographic What is W-Sitting, what are the associated problems and what are solutions? Live in the Chicagoland area? Speak with an expert about your child. Complete the form below and one of our amazing staff members will be in contact with you soon.

These therapeutic exercises are easily incorporated into his learning and our days. Occupational therapy at home is most effective for my son.

If you use cones in therapy for reaching and/or balance exercises, check out the following 3 low and no cost ways listed below to help you get more out of them: 1. Add colored targets for reaching/placing tasks. Cones already come in different colors, so it is a natural extension to add colored targets (red, yellow, green, blue, etc.). The use of colors makes it easy to add matching elements. For example, ask patients to place cones on matching targets, e.g., place blue cones on the blue targets, green cones on the green targets, etc. If you are crafty, targets can be easily made from laminating construction paper or painting pie plates. If you’d rather not make targets, or want more durable targets, rubber ones are a low cost alternative. The balance challenge comes not from the cones, but from placing the targets in locations that challenge the patient (high, low, across midline, etc.). The further the targets are placed away from a patient, the bigger the balance challenge, e.g., it is easier to reach in front of the body than it is to the ground or overhead 2. Add balance games by using combinations of colored cones and targets. Balance games engage patients through cognitive challenges (memory, visual discrimination, pattern recognition, etc.) and motivational enhancements (patients want to complete games properly). Three common balance games are noted below (additional games listed in Haas Balance Book: 100+ Exercises for PTs and OTs or viewed online at www.ADLbalance.com): Match Maker: Using a diagram as a guide, the patient selects and places items on corresponding targets, e.g., items shown on diagram are placed on targets. It is possible all available items will not be used. At end of game, the items that are not used will remain in front of patient. Line Up: Using a diagram as a guide, the patient retrieves cones. In the same color order, or “lineup,” as shown on diagram, patient places cones on flat surface (counter, table, etc.). Cashier: Therapist explains the assigned values for colors to the patient: Red = 1₵, Yellow = 5₵, Blue = 10₵, Green = 25₵. The therapist then picks an arbitrary value between 1₵ and 123₵ (range of available values based on number of items) and instructs the patient to place the equivalent value in cones on the flat surface in front of patient (counter, table, etc.). For example, therapist picks 7₵ and patient sets 1 yellow & 2 red cones on flat surface. 3. Add equipment that incorporates use of cones. Instead of using bolsters, boxes, or stools (to set cones on), get more from equipment that is designed to challenge balance through reaching/placing tasks. Below are 2 pieces of equipment that emphasize use of cones, targets, and reaching/placing tasks: ADL Reach Trainer: A portable frame with four fixed-position targets. Place it on a table to simulate high reaches (cupboard, cabinets, closets, etc.) or set it on the floor for low reaches (shower, dishwasher, shoes, etc.). With four colored targets, the ADL Reach Trainer is compatible with balance games. ADL Balance Trainer: A large and sturdy frame with four adjustable-position targets. Adjustable targets allow for easy set ups (reaching high, low, across midline, or toward areas of neglect) and to grade/adjust levels of difficulty (turn knob and slide target higher, lower, nearer, or farther away). With sturdy construction and versatility for therapist to closely spot/facilitate patient, the ADL Balance Trainer is ideal for early reaching challenges in patients just learning to stand and balance again without help. Stop the menial madness of making and moving random stacks of cones in therapy. Rather, get more from your cones, targets, colors, games, and equipment and provide patients a better training experience by following the 3 tips above the next time you work on reaching to improve balance.