Creative and fun pediatric core strengthening exercises. A ton of great choices for and unique exercises to choose from. Kids love these activities.
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.
Resources, Forms, and Tools for planning and documenting Pediatric Occupational Therapeutic Interventions and Data Collection/Progress. Includes Assessment Checklists and Documentation Forms for Ongoing Intervention.
this blog contains affiliate links take me to the exercises, please. Below is a group of categorized exercises for primitive reflexes, but if you are looking for more information on what primitive reflexes are, whether primitive reflexes are normal to have, how these exercises help, and why
Embarking on a career in pediatric occupational therapy, especially for those transitioning from an adult setting, often brings with it the challenge of crafting effective and occupation-based goal…
Pediatric Yoga: Benefits for the Mind Body, and Soul. Includes FREE printable Pediatric Yoga Pose and Instructions!
Learn what retained primitive reflexes are, why we should test to see if kids have them, and how to help them integrate these reflexes so they don't interfere with development. A must-read for pediatric occupational and physical therapists.
Whether your child has sensory sensitivities, struggles with fine, gross, and/or visual motor skills, or needs help with handwriting, these occupational therapy activities will not disappoint!
Welcome to a treasure trove of creative and effective occupational therapy activities tailored specifically for pediatric occupational therapists. Within these 100 activities, you’ll find a w…
I couldn't live without a scooter board at work or home. There are endless uses and developmental benefits for children who engage in scooter board
Occupational Therapy for Down Syndrome Diagnosis, treatment, early intervenrtion, fine motor/gross motor activities, sensory processing
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
Pediatric feeding therapy can be complex, but it can also be a lot of fun! Check out these effective feeding therapy tips, techniques, and activities.
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.
Babies should have good head control by about 3 months of age. If your baby cannot yet hold their head up, check out these tips from an OT!
Looking for occupational therapy activities using free or household materials? This list of OT activities supports development of OT goals.
These beginner cutting activities are great for helping young kids learn how to snip paper and move scissors across paper.
Discover over 45 vestibular activities that can calm, regulate, and improve attention in your child. Plus, get vestibular exercises for...
Learn the 8 best calming ideas for kids! These 8 ways are sensory based and help calm kids down when they feel anxious or over active.
Guess what? It's the weekend! Two glorious days of sleeping in and lazing about (I wish!). And boy, do I deserve them after the week I have had with my precious treasures. :) The first few weeks of Prep (or Kindergarten if you're not from 'round these parts!) are always tough as the kidlets get used to the routines and rules of school. Throw in a handful of boys with 'tricky' behaviour and you've got yourself a recipe for days that feel like they go on forever... during which you use your 'cranky voice' more than once. This week I found myself using a few behaviour management ideas that are truly 'magic' in a slightly desperate attempt to get things in my classroom back on track. Day-to-day I use the famous 'clip chart', known in my room as the 'peg chart', for kidlets to monitor their behaviours. I use the Monster Manners pack from Growing Kinders as a springboard for moving up (to the pink card - Super Kid!) or down the chart. Seriously, you need this pack! So cute and so effective (also helps that it's free)! I refer to my display daily and the kids get it. Within a day, one of my precious treasures said "You sit criss cross, and that's the bottom of the line!" (If you use this pack, you'll understand!) This year, the clip chart was working for about 90% of the kidlets... and those remaining 10% sure were giving me the run around. Bring in the magic tricks! Trick number 1 is a life lesson, as well as a magic cure for some tricky classroom behaviours. All you need are some dollar store bubbles, and you have some 'Self Control Bubbles'! Take your class outside and sit them in a circle. Explain that you are going to blow some bubbles in their direction, and the first time you do they can pop away as much as they want. Go ahead and let them go wild (within reason... I always tell my kidlets their bottoms must stay on the ground). Make sure everyone gets a heap of bubbles to pop. The second time, explain that you are going to blow more bubbles, but this time they MUST NOT pop a single one... even if it lands right on their nose! Explain that the feeling of really, really wanting to do something, but holding back, is called self control. Ask for a volunteer to go first and choose someone you know will resist the bubbles. Praise them for using self control. Then go around the circle and blow more bubbles at each kidlet (I make sure to get right 'up in their face' so they really, really have to control themselves!) - making sure to encourage all of them to think about how it feels to have self control. As the weeks go on refer back to this activity any time one of your kidlets is struggling with those behaviours that require them to practice more self control. They will be able to recall the feeling, trust me! You might like to repeat the bubble activity a few times during the year - my kidlets LOVE knowing that they are pros at something... and self control ain't a bad thing to be pro at! :) Grab this free pack from my TpT store that will help you use this activity in your classroom. It contains an explanation of how to complete the Self Control Bubbles activity, a label for your bubble bottle, and 3 simple recording sheets. And for my second trick... Quiet Spray! All you need for this is an empty spray bottle. I bought mine from Kmart for less than $2. Fill it with water. My spray bottle wasn't clear, but if it was I would have added a drop of food colouring or some glitter to make it look more 'magic'. I also would have taken time to make sure my label was size-appropriate for my bottle... but you live and learn! :) I added a few drops of rosewater to my Quiet Spray... mostly because I wanted lavender, couldn't find it at the grocery store, but wanted my Quiet Spray to smell calming. Here's how it works: Any time you want your kidlets to work quietly (I used mine today before group work), explain that you will use the Quiet Spray to help them work the best that they can. I ask my class to take a deep breath in through their noses and out through their mouths as I mist Quiet Spray over their heads. MAGIC! You could even use Quiet Spray at the beginning of each day along with some relaxation techniques, or for individual students who need some extra magic in their day. :) There you have it folks, some new magic tricks for you to try with your tricky kidlets. :) Please let me know if they work for you! Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! :) Lauren
A pediatric therapist addresses the developmental concerns related to W-Sitting and why pediatric therapists caution against this position.
Your baby is growing up quickly and is having a whale of a time making discoveries and exploring new things. Of course, your excitement to knows no bounds. However, for your child to master important motor skills, it’s vital that she has good bilateral coordination.
Summer calls for lots of water activities, cool treats, and easy low prep activities like these summer dot activity printables. This post contains affiliate links. See my Disclosure Policy for details. GETTING STARTED With minimal prep
Pediatric PT Approved Exercises and Activities to Treat Torticollis!
Determing pull-out or push-in services in the school setting has many factors to consider such as current level of function, number of goals, etc.
Handwriting practice doesn’t need to be boring! This handwriting activity uses colored pencils with bright and vivid colors to make a colorful activity that seems more like a game than working on handwriting skills like letter formation and pencil pressure. If you’ve been following The OT Toolbox for long, then you know that creative handwriting ... Read more
Have you ever tried raised line paper? Here are super cheap ways that you can make raised line paper yourself from Your Therapy Source.
This packet makes GOAL TRACKING EASY for occupational therapists, special education teachers, paraprofessionals and other members of the team! This focuses on pre-writing lines / shapes, uppercase alphabet, lowercase alphabet, name, and numbers! This includes tracing, copying, and composing each of these areas. This can also be used for a quick assessment! Students trace 9 prewriting lines/shapes, (pages 4 – 5), imitate (pages 6 -7), and copy (pages 8 – 9). Students trace the uppercase alphabet, copy the uppercase alphabet and compose uppercase alphabet (10-18) Students trace the lowercase alphabet, copy the lowercase alphabet, and compose lowercase alphabet . There is also a page to record the current words per minute of the lowercase alphabet to measure orthographic motor integration (visual memory) (pages 19-31). Pages 32 -47 focus on sentence copying and writing. This is to track spaces, letter formation and words per minute. This includes 2 different sentences that have all letters of the alphabet. Pages 48 – 51 focus on name writing. Pages 53 – 57 focus on tracing, copying and composing numbers 0 -9. This is NOT intended to replace medical advice, or to treat or diagnose. This should only be used appropriately within your practice law and services. If you are unsure, stop activity immediately and do not recommend anything. Reminder, this is ONLY 1 license for the person who purchased this. Please buy additional licenses for more than one user This is perfect to help guide discussions with teachers, staff and other personnel who work with students. This is perfect for general education students but also students with Autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, ADD, sensory processing disorder, and other special needs. This can be used with general education, RTI, MTSS, special education, school psychologist, school counselor, occupational therapy OT, speech language pathology SLP, and social work SW. I am a school occupational therapist who has a doctorate in occupational therapy. I work closely with special education and general education staff adapting material. This is where I get my inspiration for this material. I have used my materials with a variety of children with different disabilities including learning disabilities, dyslexia, autism, sensory processing disorder, ADD, ADHD, visual impairments, deaf/hard of hearing, cerebral palsy, down syndrome and more. DISCLAIMER: By using this, you agree that this activity is not intended to replace the advice of a physician or occupational therapist. Information provided should not be used for diagnostic or training purposes. Please speak with your physician or OT if you have questions. Stop any activity if you are unsure about a child’s reaction or ability. You should discontinue anything if you do not know your child’s reaction or ability.
Proprioceptive input activities throughout the day improves sensory integration, self-regulation, and also prevents inappropriate sensory seeking behaviors.
Finding heavy work ideas for school and home is easy with these ideas that you can use no matter how small your space is!
These free fall dot marker printables are a fun, no-prep activity for toddlers & preschoolers! Free printable dab a dot/do a dot marker worksheets for fall.
In diesem Artikel erfährst du, warum Mundmotorik-Übungen für Kinder wichtig sind und welche Übungen sich gut in den Alltag der Kinder integrieren lassen.
This Blog and Infographic will review tonic reflexes, their significance if the reflex persists beyond the typical age range, and the possible impact on a child’s functioning and role performance. Last but not least, this blog will suggest therapeutic interventions that are known to help inhibit the activation of tonic reflexes and advance postural control as a foundation for optimal functioning.
Today’s blog post is all about helping kids with writing on the lines (and coloring in the lines!) You know those pesky places we are told to write and color to keep our papers neat and legible. As adults, it’s typically an automatic thing to write on the lines. But for kids who are just learning ... Read more
Cute free dinosaur printables for your upcoming dinosaur theme. These dinosaur preschool worksheets include lots of activities for kids.
Over 35 heavy work activities for kids, toddlers, and preschoolers that are designed to help calm and improve attention. Many of these activities can be done through natural activities your child is already doing!
Use these 10 games for handwriting practice, allowing kids to improve legibility, sizing, placement, and more as they play.
