Serving Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee
Why is it important: Taking care of your teeth is essential and oral health is a very important activity of daily living. However, it can be challenging for some children due oral sensitivity. There two categories of sensitivity often used to describe oral sensation—hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity. Hypersensitivity or Hyposensitivity Hypersensitivity refers to an increased awareness […]
What is toe walking? Toe walking is an atypical gait pattern in which a child makes initial contact at the balls of their feet when walking instead of their heel. Toe walking is something that both occupational and physical therapists treat! So how do you know if OT or PT is the right route for […]
Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a neurological syndrome in which pathways from the brain to produce speech are affected. This may cause the child to be unable to move their lips, tongue, or other articulators in a way that makes the desired speech sound—this does not mean there is weakness in these muscles. This […]
A person with sensory processing concerns may have difficulty modulating sensory input from one or more sensory systems. Sensory processing systems include proprioception (force/position in space), vestibular (direction/speed of movement), tactile (touch), visual (eyes), auditory (sound), gustatory (taste), and olfactory (smell). Ineffective sensory processing skills can cause significant challenges for completing activities of daily living, […]
Connect the dots, dot stamp markers, dot stickers, and so many other activities can be used to help improve fine motor skills, visual motor skills, and many other developmental areas. Here are some of my favorite dot related tools to use during occupational therapy treatment sessions. Connect the Dots This activity can be used to […]
The holidays are here again, and for some of our friends, this magical time of the year can turn into a nightmare of overstimulation. We see all of our families and friends, we change our schedules, we decorate differently – even the scents of our homes change for the holidays. For a child that needs […]
Most parents do not realize how big of a decision it is for their child to use a pacifier. Pacifiers impact not only their child’s speech and language development, but additional areas of development as well. The pacifier is a great tool to use in a variety of situations; however, it is always possible to […]
Let’s talk about a self-care tasks that many kiddos struggle to tolerate…..nail trimming! Whether it be toes or fingernails, the process of getting nails trimmed can be a struggle for many different reasons and as occupational therapists, we are trained to help. Here are some tips and tricks you can try with your child to […]
One thing I learned as both an Occupational Therapist, and more so as a parent of autistic kids, is that they learn differently. They do things, from learning to write, talk, dress, interact with the world and more, on their own terms and on their own timetable. There’s no right or wrong way to do […]
What is AAC and who can benefit? AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication! This can span from low-tech (choice board, white board, PECS, etc.) to high-tech (eye gaze device, speech generating device, tablets, etc.) communication systems. AAC is another mode of communication your child may prefer in order to express themselves both creatively and […]