Category Archives: Life Skills

The OT’s Role in Promoting Healthy Lifestyles

April 16, 2025Daily Living, Gross Motor, Life Skills, Occupational Therapy, Sensoryhealthy eating, mental health, movement, Occupational Therapy, OT, physical activity, self care, sensory, sensory regulationAllyson Locke, M.S., OTR/L

Occupational therapy (OT) plays a vital role in promoting a healthy lifestyle by supporting physical, mental, and emotional well-being. From physical activity and sensory regulation to healthy eating habits and stress management, OTs empower individuals to build routines that enhance their overall health.

This Occupational Therapy Month, let’s explore key strategies OTs use to promote healthy lifestyles and share resources to support therapists in their work.

1. Promoting Healthy Lifestyles with Physical Activity & Movement 🚶‍♂️💪

Regular movement is essential for strength, coordination, balance, and overall well-being. Occupational therapists encourage fun, engaging activities that promote motor skills and physical fitness in both children and adults.

Therapro’s Top Picks for Movement & Mobility:

🔹 Wobble Chairs & Stability Discs – Great for improving core strength and active sitting in classrooms and therapy sessions.
🔹 Balance Boards & Stepping Stones – Help with coordination, balance, and motor planning while keeping movement engaging.
🔹 Therapy Balls – Ideal for vestibular input and postural control exercises.
🔹Resistance Bands – Fun ways to develop upper body strength, endurance, and proprioceptive input.

🔹 Browse more movement tools here: Therapro’s Move-To-Learn Collection

💡 Therapist Tip: Incorporate movement breaks throughout the day to help children and adults maintain focus, regulate energy levels, and reduce stress.

Two Yellow Balance Pods used by OT’s in Promoting Healthy Lifestyles — Balance Pods

Kore Kids Wobble Chair used by OT’s in Promoting Healthy Lifestyles — Balance Pods

2. Promoting Healthy Lifestyles with Sensory Regulation & Mindfulness 🧘‍♀️

Managing sensory input and practicing mindfulness are essential for reducing stress and supporting mental well-being. OTs use sensory-friendly activities to help individuals stay calm, focused, and self-regulated throughout the day.

Therapro’s Top Picks for Sensory Support:

🔹 Fidget Tools – Support focus and self-regulation with tools like Therapro’s Fidget Kit and Koosh Ball Fidgets.
🔹 Weighted Products – Deep pressure input from Weighted Blankets, Compression Vests, and Shoulder Wraps can provide a calming effect.
🔹 Chews & Oral Motor Tools – Items like Chewable Jewelry and Bite-N-Chew Tips help with oral sensory needs and self-soothing.
🔹 Sensory Seating – Products like the Disc ‘O’ Sit Cushion promote active sitting while offering subtle movement input.
🔹 Therapeutic Brushes & Tactile Sensory Items – The Wilbarger Therapressure Brush supports sensory defensiveness, while Cuddle Balls provide rich tactile input.

🔹 Explore more sensory tools here: Therapro’s Sensory Collection

💡 Therapist Tip: Create a sensory toolkit for home, school, or therapy sessions, including fidgets, weighted tools, and calming visuals to support self-regulation throughout the day.

Chewelry Necklace/Bracelet a tool OT's use in Promoting Healthy Lifestyles — Chewelry

3. Promoting Healthy Lifestyles with Healthy Eating Habits & Self-Care 🍎🥗

Nutrition and self-care routines are essential parts of a balanced lifestyle. OTs help individuals with feeding challenges, adaptive utensils, and personal care skills to promote independence in daily routines.

Therapro’s Top Picks for Mealtime & Self-Care:

🔹 Adaptive Utensils & Cups – Products like the TheraBear Drinking Cup and Maroon Spoons support individuals with oral motor and self-feeding challenges.
🔹 Plate Guards & Non-Slip Placemats – Tools such as the Inner Lip Plate and Dycem Mats help prevent spills and encourage independent eating.
🔹 Visual Schedules & Timers – Supports like the Time Timer can help establish structured mealtime and self-care routines.
🔹 Dressing & Grooming Aids – Items like Button Hooks, Shoehorns, and Zipper Pulls assist with developing dressing independence.
🔹 Oral Motor Tools – Whistles, straws, and chew tools aid in strengthening oral muscles for feeding and speech development.

🔹 Explore more daily living tools here: Therapro’s Daily Living Collection

💡 Therapist Tip: Encourage families to set up predictable daily routines using visual schedules, timers, and adaptive tools to promote independence and reduce stress.

4. Promoting Healthy Lifestyles with Social Participation & Mental Health 🤝💬

A healthy lifestyle includes building meaningful relationships, developing social-emotional skills, and managing emotions effectively. OTs support clients in fostering social communication, emotional regulation, and self-awareness to promote overall well-being.

Therapro’s Top Picks for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL):

🔹 Social Awareness & Conversation Tools – Games like Let’s Talk Cubes and Webber® Photo Cards – What Are They Thinking? encourage turn-taking, perspective-taking, and conversation-building.
🔹 Coping & Self-Regulation Tools – The Big Feelings Pineapple and My Spark Cards Tool Box teach essential strategies for stress management and emotional resilience.

🔹 Explore more SEL resources here: Therapro’s Social-Emotional Learning Collection

💡 Therapist Tip: Use visual supports, role-playing, and structured social games to reinforce emotional regulation, problem-solving, and positive interactions in therapy sessions.

Join the Conversation! 🗣

💡 What are your favorite OT strategies for promoting healthy lifestyles? Tag @Therapro in your social media posts!

Let’s work together to empower individuals to move, learn, and live well every day!

A Fresh Approach to Teaching Essential Life Skills

April 4, 2024Daily Living, Life Skills, Occupational Therapyactivities of daily living, ADLs, assistive technology, autism, Occupational Therapy, OT, self careGuest Blogger

Unlocking Independence With The Webber® Activities of Daily Living Tips and Teaching Companion & Photo Sequencing Cards

The Webber Activities of Daily Living Tips and Teaching Companion and Webber Activities of Daily Living Photo Sequencing Cards offer a fresh approach to teaching essential life skills and help you unlock your student’s potential for independence with self-care activities and routines that are vital for everyday life (i.e., activities of daily living).

Webber Activities of Daily Living Photo Sequencing Cards for teaching life skills

Discover a vibrant and innovative way to teach essential life skills with Webber Activities of Daily Living Photo Sequencing Cards. Created by Occupational Therapist Dani Kinsley, the Photo Sequencing cards can be used with students from preschool through adulthood. Dive into 20 self-care tasks each meticulously broken down into 6 steps, offering a total of 120 daily activity cards. Real-life photos, accompanied by written and verbal prompts, make learning engaging and relatable. Customize lessons effortlessly to the needs of the learner with Basic Directions, Expanded Directions, and Extension Questions for each photo card.

Beyond the basics like Brushing Teeth and Getting Dressed, this tool addresses more specialized target skills such as Straight/Curly Hair Care, Sneezing and Using a tissue, and Basic First Aid.

Companion Excellence: Webber Activities of Daily Living Tips and Teaching Companion

Enhance the power of the Webber Activities of Daily Living Photo Sequencing Cards with the Webber Activities of Daily Living Tips and Teaching Companion . Packed with 188 pages, this invaluable resource aids in creating personalized lesson plans. Track progress with Data Sheets, implement effective strategies with Tip Sheets, and enjoy clear suggestions for enriching learning through How-to visuals.

At Therapro, our commitment to discovering impactful products is unwavering. We continuously seek tools that benefit therapists, teachers, families, and caregivers. Teaching essential life skills (ADLs) systematically and practically elevates the learning experience, catering to a diverse age range with varying skill levels. The Webber Activities of Daily Living Tips and Teaching Companion paired with the Photo Sequencing Cards will unlock your student’s potential for independence!

Guest Blogger: Filomena Connor, MSOT, Retired

Self Care with Flair

August 7, 2020Life Skills, WebinarTherapro

On Tuesday, July 28, Therapro was happy to host another successful webinar. Presenters Ginger McDonald, OTR/L and Bhanu Raghavan, MS, OTR/L spoke to viewers about Self Care With Flair and teaching independent living skills. These wonderful ladies have over fifty years of combined experience working with students across a variety of settings. Throughout the presentation they drew from these years of experience to provide illustrations of how a consistent, step by step approach works for teaching self care skills. Viewers left the webinar with helpful takeaways, including:

Mastery of self care skills is critical for a child’s self esteem. The presenters spoke passionately about the importance of mastering self care skills early on and how this can improve a child’s self esteem. To exemplify this they discussed toilet training: a skill needed for acceptance in a school setting, community involvement, and employability in later years.

Use a team approach. The presenters described what they called the partiship triad, where parents or caregivers, teachers, and therapists work together in the teaching of both the self care skill itself and the prerequisite hands skills needed for successful participation. As one viewer noted, “Lots of information for both OT, teachers and parents. Love the team approach and having more information in the book will be an asset for every classroom.” – KF

Use a uniform approach. The presenters discussed the importance of consistency between everyone involved in the teaching process; from grandma, to the therapist, to the classroom teacher. Using consistent language and teaching approaches promotes learning and retention. In the Self Care With Flair program, the same steps, the same pictures, and the same cues are used, leading to successful learning outcomes. Another useful aspect of Self Care With Flair is that the visuals can be shared with everyone working with the child, ensuring consistency across settings! As one viewer stated, “This is an excellent resource. The work has been done – rhymes, pictures, repetition. It speaks for itself!” – AH

Use rhythms. Rhymes are easy to memorize and make learning the steps of a task so much easier. Rhymes are also a great way to promote consistency across multiple environments and to help with self correction. The presenters pointed to research that supports the use of rhymes for teaching the steps of a task.

Teach Prerequisite Skills. Another important point that was covered in the webinar was the importance of addressing the foundational hand skills needed for success with self care tasks. In the book Self Care With Flair, each prerequisite skill needed for the given self care task is listed with the self care task itself. The final chapter in Self Care With Flair includes activity ideas to address the essential hand skills needed (finger strengthening, finger to thumb opposition, forearm strengthening, lateral pinch, power grasp, thumb strengthening and wrist extension).
The presenters also discussed modifications to meet the needs of all users, teaching tips to use when introducing these tasks, and ideas for personalization. Check out the recording of the webinar here! Also be sure to check out our free resources page for examples from the book!