Reach Your Child's Potential with Professional Insights
The old adage says that April showers can bring May flowers. Along with those flowers comes grass. Lots of grass growing in lawns everywhere. Grass that can look beautiful, but, unfortunately, does not feel that way to some children with tactile sensitivities – children who may need the enticement of fun in order to brave [...]
Our son is, shall we say, just a wee bit sensitive to the order we do things within an established routine. Modify things even a tiny bit and his anxiety often instantly accelerates to the point he becomes frantic. Routine and Adhering to the Rules This is common with autism, but it varies significantly from [...]
The American Occupational Therapy Assn (AOTA) conference has just concluded in Indianapolis, Indiana and as is always the case, I feel such enthusiasm and camaraderie after interacting with a focused group of my colleagues. Joining OT with ABA This year, my research partner and I were featured as poster presenters, and I had a sizeable [...]
I have been working with children with sensory processing challenges for over thirty years. One of the things that I find most frustrating is meeting families who have received poor therapy services. These parents have tried to obtain help for their child, and have invested time and money with therapy services that at best have [...]
If you are reading this article, you probably have a child with an “ism” or a challenge. Yet, when you think about it, everyone has “isms.” I have been a speech-language pathologist (SLP) for over 30 years. I am also a mom and have had two siblings with defined “isms.” So I have been around [...]
I’ve met some pretty amazing dogs in my life and we have one in our family. His name is Huck and he is a full-size Labradoodle. But the dogs who participate in the K-9 Club Autism program at Austin Dog Alliance in Austin, TX are as special as they come. They are teaching my son [...]
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of man.” –Winston Churchill When JJ was in his elementary school years, he participated in therapeutic horse-back riding for several years which had many benefits. The value of horse-back riding has been recognized as therapeutic as early as 600 B.C [...]
In one of our recent articles, Two Stress Reducing Ideas for Home and School by Jean Myles, you will find multiple suggestions to reduce anxiety in the discussion. Below are some explanations to add to your “Bag of Tricks”. Deep Breathing Encourage your child to breathe in through their nose and out through their mouth. [...]
JJ, my 22-year-old with ASD, was taught everyday social skills visually as a child through the form of story telling. In 1991, Carol Gray created “Social Stories” as a vehicle to teach social skills to children on the spectrum. Originally fueled by grassroots enthusiasm, she later confirmed this technique as an evidenced-base practice, and earned [...]
I put it off for as long as I could. I meant to take my six-year old son Norrin last year when his bottom teeth were loose. I even made an appointment, but cancelled the day before we were supposed to go. I didn’t have anyone to go with me and considering we fight every [...]
