Learn more about starting a YouTube channel as a pediatric therapist! As part of our series on Side Hustle Ideas for Pediatric Therapists, we are doing a deeper dive into some of our favorite hustlers in the business. These therapists have worked tirelessly to grow and develop their businesses from the ground up, adding creative new elements businesses along the way! In this post, we’ll hear from Dana Cary, owner and founder of The OT Guide YouTube channel. Dana started her YouTube channel from scratch when her schools shut down at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now she's ... Read More about Starting a YouTube Channel as a Pediatric Therapist
Tactile Defensiveness
Learn more about "Tactile Defensiveness" or "Tactile Hypersensitivity" and how to support kids who struggle with tactile sensory experiences. Our sense of touch is one of the first sensory systems to develop when a child is growing in utero. And research shows that normal touch experiences between parents/caregivers and babies is extremely important for social, behavioral, motor, and cognitive development. Appropriate tactile and proprioceptive responses are crucial for the achievement of developmental milestones like walking, grasping, and social/communication skills. Click here to ... Read More about Tactile Defensiveness
Teaching Children Patience: 10 Ways to Support Kids During Wait Times
Teaching children patience can be a challenge. Try these 10 ideas for supporting kids during wait times. *This post contains affiliate links. Read more. Whether it's at home or at school - waiting is every kid's worst nightmare. Why? Because for kids, it’s boring, it’s confusing, and it’s usually kind of abstract...which means that it almost inevitably comes along with behavior challenges. For younger kids and kids with attention and behavior challenges, the best option is to minimize the amount of waiting kids have to experience by planning ahead. For example, if we know that a child ... Read More about Teaching Children Patience: 10 Ways to Support Kids During Wait Times
What’s Missing Visual Motor Activity for Kids
This fun visual motor activity is a great way to work on drawing/prewriting skills while also addressing visual perception. If you're familiar with visual perception skills, you might know about a fascinating skill called visual closure. Visual closure is the ability to complete an unfinished figure or shape by “filling in the blanks’ visually. This skill is important as kids learn to read and learn to complete puzzles by figuring out what is missing. Visual closure is why we're able to read quickly and fluently - we don't have to stop and look at each individual letter in a word ... Read More about What’s Missing Visual Motor Activity for Kids
Easy Balloon Games for Kids
These easy balloon games for kids are the perfect way to get kids active and moving while practicing important developmental skills! We are always looking for fun ways to enhance developmental skills using minimal supplies that are easily available for anyone - Click here for our easy activities for kids (no fancy supplies needed)! Paper bags, bed sheets, bubbles and play dough are just a few of the simple items that you can find in pretty much any therapy space, school or home that can boost fine, gross and even sensory motor skills through play. Today, we thought of another one! ... Read More about Easy Balloon Games for Kids
Pompom Pusher Bags for Visual Motor Skills
These simple pompom pusher bags and free printables are a fun and unique way to target visual motor skills with kids! It’s a school night - one of those nights where are you brought home a whole stack of work to plow through because you just don’t have time to do it during the work day. You’re patting yourself on the back because you finally finished that all of those progress notes and evaluations. And that’s when it hits you. Your paperwork may be done, but it’s late, you have no idea what you are going to do during your treatment sessions tomorrow, and you've got a bunch of kids on ... Read More about Pompom Pusher Bags for Visual Motor Skills
FREE Task-Oriented Checklists for Therapists
These free task-oriented checklists for therapists are great to use as screening tools and to help track progress toward independence and success! With more and more therapists receiving referrals for children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), it's important that we feel prepared and informed about the treatment approaches that are the most effective for this diagnosis. If you have heard of DCD, but aren't very familiar with the signs and red flags related to this diagnosis, check out this post about Developmental Coordination Disorder Red Flags. The research shows ... Read More about FREE Task-Oriented Checklists for Therapists
Building Core Stability Through Play
Help kids work on building core stability and strength with these fun, easy, and playful activities! Core stability is important for many aspects of child development. However, unlike adults, kids don’t always want to do high reps of traditional core strengthening exercises to get their tummy muscles strong. Studies show that core strengthening improves motor proficiency and promotes physical activity with kids. Training the core also improves strength, balance, coordination, extremity function, proximal stability and endurance. Here’s how a child can strengthen their core through ... Read More about Building Core Stability Through Play