Tag Archives: therapist resources

Explore curated resources for therapists, including intervention tools, educational materials, assessment supports, and treatment strategies. Designed for therapists and educators, these resources help professionals plan effective sessions, support diverse client needs, and stay current with best practices in therapeutic and educational settings.

Brain Gym: Using the Figure Eight in OT

March 19, 2018Motor & Movement, Sensoryclassroom strategies, occupational therapy (OT) tools, self-regulation, sensory strategies, therapist resourcesGuest Blogger

I came across Educational Kinesiology in the early 1990s when searching for tools or techniques to help heal from a chronic illness. Little did I know that it would become an integral part of much of my OT practice. I began with Brain Gym I and II and loved the fact that the two trainers in South Africa were experienced occupational therapists trained in both SI and NDT.

Brain Gym is wonderful for assisting with goal setting, whole brain learning, stress release, and re-patterning. Although there is a specific process to follow, many of the exercises are both beneficial and transferable into a regular OT session. One that I use a lot is the Lazy 8 – a figure eight that lies on its side like the infinity sign.

What is the Brain Gym figure eight used for?

In Brain Gym terms, the Lazy 8 turns on or activates the eyes while also crossing the mid-line.

It can be used to improve ocular motor function, which assists with reading, and crossing the mid-line improves integration between the two hemispheres of the brain.

The repeated action of the Lazy 8 is also very calming. It can be used in several different formats – using the eyes, drawing the figure of 8 in the appropriate orientation, and in motion, as we shall see shortly.

The Lazy 8 can also be carried out as a motor activity, having the client walk, skip, or run around a figure eight. I love to use two hoops placed side by side on the floor to provide a visual cue. Varying the space between the hoops elongates or enlarges the figure eight. Make it more fun by having the client clap while moving around the figure of eight in time to music.

For added motor integration, combine the cross crawl with the Lazy 8. This often has to be carried out in stages:

Having the client carry out their cross crawl while standing until they are sufficiently at ease with the exercise
Upgrade to carrying out the cross crawl while walking on a straight line
Upgrade further to doing cross crawls while walking a figure eight

When I first began using components of Brain Gym in my treatment sessions, I would often make up my own worksheets. I am delighted to discover that Therapro has a range of products that bring the figure eight into practice for all occupational therapists. Two examples include:

The development of these tools shows how Brain Gym is becoming accepted as a beneficial modality to use within OT. It also provides an added level of professionalism, which is important for anyone who is skeptical of either how Brain Gym combines with OT or the extent to which OT itself is a recognized profession.

Once clients are familiar with the Lazy 8 through either Trace the 8s or Race the 8s, introducing the Alphabet 8 helps improve their motor memory. The Alphabet 8 incorporates lower-case letters with the Lazy 8 and is wonderful as a pre-writing activity to enhance work to meet writing goals. It’s designed for English letters but, with some creativity and practice, cursive letters for Hebrew can also be used. Note, I am not sufficiently familiar with other alphabets to know how well they can be used in the Alphabet 8.

I mentioned earlier the benefit of improving a sense of calm. The rhythmic movement of drawing or moving in the Brain Gym figure eight pattern is a wonderful addition to your toolbox for assisting clients in need of stress management and improving relaxation.

Guest Blogger: Shoshanah Shear

Occupational Therapist, healing facilitator, certified infant massage instructor, freelance writer, author of “Healing Your Life Through Activity – An Occupational Therapist’s Story” and co-author of “Tuvia Finds His Freedom”.

Creative Uses for Slant Boards and Positioning Cushions

March 12, 2018Assistive Technology, Clinic & Hospital-Based Practiceassistive technology professionals (ATPs), occupational therapy (OT) tools, positioning aids, therapist resourcesGuest Blogger

Handwriting and writing position are often discussed in a school setting but what about our other clients? Let us consider a patient who is in the hospital. Enabling a patient to engage in drawing, art, a pre-writing task, or writing itself following an illness or injury is invaluable. However, it can be a challenge to provide the necessary angle for a writing surface when working at the bedside. Some hospital-based OT departments have a table surface that adjusts in height as well as the angle of the writing surface, but slant boards and positioning cushions are not always available.

The various slanted writing surfaces available through Therapro offer the solution. I particularly love the Collapsible Writing Surface. It opens the door to varying both the activity used in treatment as well as the location for the session.

Imagine for a moment a patient in an orthopedic ward following an MVA. The patient has multiple fractures with exoskeleton / P.O.P. and is depressed and uncooperative with all staff members. After persuading the doctor to refer to OT, a brief history reveals that the patient is an artist and the thought of not being able to draw is what depresses them enough to interfere with function on all levels.

As an OT, we can build up the grips of a pencil or paint brush. Another option to easing use of writing implement is through Triangular Crayons and Pencil Crayons. Triangular writing implements can also enable a patient of this nature to return to drawing by easing the demands of the small muscles in the hand. Although strengthening these muscles will be important, the first step might be to encourage return to meaningful activity, hence the need for an easier means of holding the writing or drawing implement.

Using the portable, collapsible slanted writing surface or easel, one can now take the patient out of the ward (whether on a trolley or in a wheelchair) and into either the OT department or, better still, the garden. A change of environment does wonders for the patient psychologically, not to mention the hope offered by enabling an artist to return to what they love best – drawing, painting or creating. Many artists gain inspiration from nature, hence being able to get into the garden can literally be a breath of fresh air that instills a desire to regain function.

Through this brief example, we can see that writing and being involved in creative pursuits is a necessary skill and activity for various age groups and types of clients, not only for children at school. The tools and equipment that are beneficial in the classroom can be equally important in a hospital or other setting.

The write slant boards or Better Board Slant Boards are also of benefit to:

a woman who is expecting and is placed on bedrest.
the elderly who has limited space due to downsizing and increasing need to take care of their backs. The fact that the slant boards are light and collapsable makes handling and storage easy for an older person.

The Movin’ Sit Air Cushion used for Positioning

Still related to positioning, two cushions that I have used quite often in my practice are the Disc‘O’Sit and the Movin’ Sit Air Cushion. I love the fact that they are portable and adjustable in terms of air pressure. This makes it possible to take these cushions to a treatment or evaluation in a home or workplace.

One group of clients I have found to benefit from these cushions is a pregnant woman who is experiencing lower back pain. Pregnancy related lower back pain is a common complaint which can be alleviated with appropriate exercise and positioning.

Guest Blogger: Shoshanah Shear

Do Gifted But Non-Disabled Children Need Occupational Therapy?

November 15, 2017School-Based Practice, Therapist Resourcesoccupational therapy (OT) tools, therapist resourcesGuest Blogger

School-based occupational therapists are familiar with receiving requests for assessments or interventions for children with delays of all kinds. What happens when the service request is for a child that has been identified as gifted or talented, but has no diagnosed disorders (non-disabled)? Will OT treatment help a child whose brain is globally and permanently wired for intense responses?

Some common behavioral characteristics of the gifted often suggest that sensory processing difficulties could be present:

Sensitivity to lighting, fabrics, and other sensory stimulation.
Seeking strong sensory-motor input throughout the day.
Difficulty tolerating school rules such as taking turns or sharing the spotlight in discussions.
Pursues interests in isolation or with adults rather than with peers.
Resistance to complete assigned projects; pursues personal interests.

Theorists such as Kazimierz Dabrowski have attributed these and other behaviors to multiple “overexcitabilites.” He identified five primary areas of over-excitability in gifted individuals: psychomotor, sensory, intellectual, imaginational and emotional. Not considered to be signs of neurological disorders, they are thought to be the result of a brain that is wired differently than children of average abilities. Brain imagining studies suggest that the gifted make faster and more complex associations between stimuli. They perceive experiences and interactions with more depth and intensity than other children, and have an inborn drive to follow their passions.

These brain characteristics are not necessarily problematic for every gifted child. When teachers and parents know how to support children who learn differently, the gifted child can become a positive force and even a leader in the classroom. Although scores on the Sensory Profile or on other sensory-based assessments may suggest an SI diagnosis, there are gifted children that manage successfully in school and at home without intervention. They may even come up with their own sensory diet, having identified activities that provide what they need. For example, a child that seeks sensory input could engage in complex art projects or specific sports activities that provide visual, tactile, vestibular or proprioceptive input. A sensory-sensitive child may happily use an unoccupied corner of the room with indirect light for free reading time.

Some gifted children will have difficulty in class, especially when their behavior is at odds with school routines and social norms. A child that takes over discussions or refuses to work on a group project may disrupt a classroom or be unable to complete assignments even though their academic abilities exceed their peers. A child that refuses to wear a tie or participate in music class may need help to handle the demands of school.

Anne Cronin, OTR, FAOTA has recommended that gifted children can benefit from sensory diets and modulation strategies found in programs such as “ It is worth noting that gifted children may be able to comprehend and implement programs at earlier ages and stages than typical children. Children who were reading at 3 or creating complex imaginary civilizations at 5 may learn and incorporate a sensory diet almost immediately on accepting its value. Such students may even improve on your suggested activities with one of their own creation! This is the time to collaborate with them and provide them with the positive feedback they may need in order to try new ways of responding at school and at home.

Patterned Fluorescent Light Filter, a resource for Gifted but Non-Disabled Children — Patterned Fluorescent Light Filter

Fluorescent Light Filter, a resource for Gifted but Non-Disabled Children — Fluorescent Light Filter

The same sensory-based equipment that we recommend for other children with sensory processing problems could help gifted children as well. Fluorescent Light Filters effectively dim harsh lighting, and fidgets for feet and hands can be effective tools that don’t disrupt productive work. Because gifted children need to learn to manage and modulate their intense and complex responses, there are many ways that OTs could be helpful to these children.

Gifted children may need a wider variety of tools to give them the desired novelty they crave, or they may reject many ideas rapidly. Always ask for an explanation and be ready with alternatives. A gifted child may be able to project many steps ahead of you and identify roadblocks that you don’t anticipate…yet!

Cathy Collyer, OTR, LMT, PLLC

Cathy Collyer, OTR, LMT has treated children with neurological, orthopedic and sensory processing disorders for over 20 years. She is the author of The Practical Guide To Toilet Training Your Child With Low Muscle Tone.