October’s Saturday Seminar speaker, Lisa Mitchell, M.S., CCC-SLP is an expert in Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). She is a pediatric speech language pathologist, Clinical Director and co-owner of Clearly Speaking, a private practice in Hampton Falls, Dover and Londonderry, NH. Lisa has been recognized for extensive training and expertise in CAS by Apraxia-Kids.

On October 26th, Lisa shared her passion with attendees who are speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, OT students, and teachers, with her presentation entitled Armed and Ready for Monday Morning! 26+ Valuable Clinical Tools for Treating CAS (Childhood Apraxia of Speech) from A-Z. She organized her talk in a unique way that highlighted “Tips and Strategies for Treating CAS” in an A through Z format. She discussed some of her favorite publications including those by Pam Marshalla, such as Successful R Therapy, and Apraxia Uncovered.

Lisa explained that CAS is typically part of a broader diagnosis and is a challenging diagnosis to treat. She discussed the importance of collaboration with others on the team, i.e. OTs, who are working with the student on motor issues. Difficulty with motor planning can lead to errors in speech production. With a motor speech disorder, the student has difficulty achieving smooth movement from one sound to another. So, as the complexity and length of words increase, the student has more difficulty. As we can imagine, the child’s level of frustration increases when they are trying to talk.
Wind-Up Toys for reinforcers. Lisa touched on a controversial area for speech/language pathologists’ treatment – oral motor exercises. She discussed how using exercises not attached to speech for children with CAS, such as blowing whistles, bubbles, etc. will not help a child talk. However, using a whistle to help position the lips for speech is useful if the whistle is removed and the student is then given a syllable to produce using lip rounding.

Lisa is a gifted presenter and her passion for her CAS work is evident! She offered a hefty toolbox of ideas and strategies for treating CAS. With such a varied audience today, her tip that was very powerful and resonated with us all was that team collaboration, including parents, strongly benefits a child with Childhood Apraxia of Speech.

Here are some of the appreciative comments from those who attended Lisa’s seminar:

“Very insightful and great ideas for therapy. Enjoyed the insights on co-treating.” – Beth M., COTA/L

“I would recommend this seminar to a colleague. I would like to learn more about collaboration of OT/PT/SLP – how to work together.” – Maria L., Speech/Language Pathologist

“Easily explained and well thought out.” – Tai M., Occupational Therapy Grad student

“Learned a lot and was easy to understand.” – Anonymous, Occupational Therapy Grad student

Thank you, Lisa!

Filomena Connor, OT, MS, OTR
October 26, 2019

On September 14th, Therapro’s Saturday Seminar Series featured Karen Moore, OTR/L, author of the Sensory Connection Program. Karen’s passion is mental health practice, where she has had extensive experience in acute psychiatric care and in various residential settings with adult and adolescent psychiatric patients. Her career-long commitment to the study and use of sensory modalities for treatment in psychiatric care culminated in the writing of her book, The Sensory Connection Program: Activities for Mental Health Treatment. Her subsequent publications include: The Sensory Connection Program: Self Regulation Workbook and The Sensory Connection Program: Curriculum for Self Regulation. Karen has presented workshops on sensory related treatment to programs and facilities throughout the country, including presentations for “at risk” youths, special needs students, and behavioral programs for adolescent treatment.

Karen’s seminar involved active participation by all the attendees in a simulated Sense-ability Group while sitting in a circle and being challenged motorically, socially, cognitively, and with sensory activities. Karen demonstrated how to adapt the group to target certain behaviors and skills of individuals in the group with the goal of each participant feeling competent and positive. Karen’s style was encouraging, supportive, and at the same time fluid in targeting the needs of each participant. Her anecdotes from her practice were enlightening. Karen described the Sense-ability Group Stages 1-6 along with activities the facilitator might use in each. These stages include the Awareness Stage, Moving and Breathing Stage, Conversing Stage, Active/Interacting Stage, and Learning Stage. Attendees tried out many novelty as well as familiar games in the group such a Hot Potato, to spark interest and energize a sluggish group; ball play with Spider Ball or Koosh Ball, parachute games for movement and interaction; Brain Gym based movement for calming; Theraband rowing for strengthening and reciprocal movement; Thumball to help express emotion, and many many more! Karen referred all to her website sensoryconnectionprogram.com for full instruction and details for every stage of the Sense-ability Group.

Karen is a Therapro author, and all of her publications are available through the Therapro website. She recommends both the manual and handbook of The Sensory Connection Program: Activities for Mental Health Treatment. These activities can be adapted and interchanged easily for a wide range of purposes, ages, and settings. All of Karen’s books use a person-centered treatment approach that begins with self-awareness and then moves on to self-regulation and eventually to self-care.

In summary, a Sense-ability Group is a highly adaptable, supportive group for those who experience a variety of symptoms that might include, depression, anxiety, psychosis, disorganization, poor self regulation, sensory problems, difficulty with social skills, physical challenges, and much more. The facilitator designs the group to ensure that the participants have a successful, enjoyable experience. Every group is different and is modified by the facilitator depending on the environment, the mood of the group, the participants, etc. Activities might include movement, sensory, physical, cognitive, and social experiences. The goal of the group is that each participant feels competent and improves function.

Thank you, Karen, for sharing your knowledge, expertise, and dedication to mental health treatment by modeling how a Sense-ability group can be a highly effective occupational therapy treatment modality… and lots of FUN!

Take a look at just a few of the glowing comments from those who attended Karen’s seminar:

“It accentuated how incorporating sensory games can enhance engagement, self-regulation & learning all at once.” – Christine C.B., Occupational Therapist

“Awesome ideas for sensory based social skills learning. Great intro & walk through of the materials.” – I.D., Occupational Therapist

“Very hands on and applies to so many different levels of abilities and ages!!” – Beth M., Occupational Therapist

“Hands on. Lots of group ideas. Real life examples. Very comprehensive. Holistic approaches. Many recommended activities & resources.” – Joann W., Occupational Therapist

Thank you, Karen!

Filomena Connor, OT, MS, OTR
September 14, 2019

On August 24th, Therapro’s Saturday Seminar Series returned from summer hiatus with a timely and very well received presentation from Karen Hefler, OT, OTR, entitled Back to School Bootcamp! Karen is the owner/director of Rehabilitation Therapy Associates LLC, a Massachusetts pediatric occupational therapy private practice that serves schools by providing contract services, assessment services, direct therapy services, and consultation. Additionally, her company provides in-service training for academic staff and parents, program development and program evaluation. Additionally, Karen is the current president of the Massachusetts Association for Occupational Therapy (MAOT).

Karen’s expertise was evident in her practical and comprehensive presentation that covered a myriad of hot topics. The audience, comprised of occupational therapy practitioners, peppered her with questions, comments, and shared ideas and concerns throughout the 2+ hour seminar. She achieved the learning objectives she established for the seminar that included: 1) identifying strategies for setting up classrooms and inclusionary activities; 2) using occupational therapy appropriately with Response to Intervention; and 3) reviewing Common Core Standards and their application to occupational therapy.

Karen offered helpful hints to facilitate a smooth start to the new academic year. She recommended checking IEPs and 504s right off the bat to ensure they’re signed and state the correct service delivery. She also recommended meeting with the team versus meeting with each professional individually to maximize time and coordination of services.

By visiting classrooms at the start of the school year, OTs can check out the classroom environment and design, seating, and tools available to students such as paper, writing implements, scissors, fidgets, etc.

To maintain lines of communication with teachers and parents, Karen offered a number of creative ideas that result in “embedding” the OTs into the school environment. Suggestions included signed and shared consultation sheets, creating an OT web page, newsletter, or blog, and offering an OT “Tip of the week.”

Karen concisely yet thoroughly reviewed RtI (Response to Intervention), also known as multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS). It is an approach to service delivery that encompasses both general and special education that matches the student’s needs. For additional information, Karen referred to AOTA’s 2014 publication, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Response to Intervention for School-Based Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants.

Reminding ourselves of the role of the occupational therapy practitioner in an educational setting is imperative! In summary, “School based occupational therapy services are not about remediation, but are about one’s ability to engage in education.” We truly appreciate the excitement and dialog generated by Karen’s seminar regarding the challenge of being a school-based occupational therapy practitioner!

Here are just a few of the many passionate responses from attendees at Karen’s seminar:

“The current practice information is very helpful. Thank you very much.” – Nancye K., Occupational Therapist

“So knowledgeable, flexible, well spoken and generous with info & resources! Thank you!” – Beth B., Occupational Therapist

“Karen did a wonderful job providing sound information to work “smarter not harder.” This workshop helped me understand my “why” and has brought a sense of clarity going into the school year! Thank you!” – Tara G., Occupational Therapist

“Extremely helpful!” – Elizabeth D., Occupational Therapist

Thank you, Karen!

Filomena Connor, OT, MS, OTR
August 24, 2019