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.

Simple Hacks to Optimize Backpack Safety and Organization

School-Based Practice, ,

One of the essential back-to-school items on every parent’s shopping list is a new backpack.  Beginning in preschool and progressing all the way through high school, kids use their backpacks every day.   As therapists, we are aware that how that backpack is filled and carried will either create problems for kids or solve them.   A pack that is too heavy, so full that it creates perceptual, sensory or cognitive roadblocks to organization, or missing essential tools for kids with special needs, is not doing it’s job.  With targeted education and the introduction of simple alternative strategies, we can improve the chances that backpacks end up helping every child perform well during this school year.

Here are some ways to help students manage their backpacks for optimal performance throughout the school year:

  • Lighten up. Kids tend to make their packs heavier than they need to be.  Hypermobile kids, kids with orthopedic issues and kids with low tone may be carrying packs that put them at significant risk for injury.  Make sure parents are aware of this issue, and help them by suggesting a review of backpack contents and downsizing the “essentials” whenever possible.  Small water bottles, travel sizes of toiletries, and a minimum number of pencils, pens or markers lighten the load.  For kids that aren’t aware of the sensory or cognitive overload of an overfilled pack, a backpack checklist or a smaller pack help them manage without an adult assuming responsibility for content management.

Highlighter Strips, a helpful tool for organization

  • Teach kids how to pack and wear their pack. The heaviest items should be carried close to the body and content weight should be distributed equally across the back. Kids should use both straps when wearing their backpack.  The one-shoulder carry can be preferred by middle-schoolers wishing to look “cool”.  This overweighting of one side of the body puts them off balance and at-risk for injury.  It may be hard to change habitual behavior in children at this age.  Try identifying the child or children who seem to be admired and copied by their peers.  Influencing the kids who are acknowledged social leaders can change class culture quickly.   Don’t wait until children report neck and shoulder pain, but remind parents and teachers that the risk of strains, sprains and exacerbations of issues seen in tweens and teens like scoliosis are real.
  • Frequently used items should be quickly accessible in surface pockets, and items they need for their first class are reachable when they open their pack, not packed under other materials. Laminated photos of pocket contents can help children learn the habits of efficient storage.

Tactile Ruler

  • Help kids remember to use their sensory tools by having them handy. Tools like Highlighter Strips and the Desk Buddy Multi-Textured Ruler are slim and can be left between pages of a book or workbook, ready to be used.  Calming tools like the Wristful Fidget can be worn, not shoved into a pack.  Since it looks like a sport wrap, kids aren’t as eager to toss it away when they pack up and go!  Kids may need more than one set of tools so that they can leave a set at school and another one at home. Items that do more than one job, like the Desk Buddy Ruler, have an advantage over carrying a bunch of fidgets and then an equal number of classroom tools.

Wrist Weights

  • Accept that altering behavior is a long game. Don’t get discouraged if kids only use some of these strategies to improve how they manage their backpacks.  Habits change slowly, and as the demands of the school year mount, it may take periodic reviews and revisions to find the right combination of equipment, organization and carrying strategies to make a difference!

Gueste Blogger: 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.  Learn more about her work at tranquilbabies.com.

Tools to Build Self-Regulation: Ready, Set, Learn! Seminar Recap

Events & Conferences, Sensory Regulation, , , , ,

A captive audience representing a broad range of disciplines attended Therapro’s September Saturday Seminar featuring Lise Gerard Faulise, MS, OTR/L, BCP. Lise is the founder of Rehab New England, a private sensory integration-oriented practice in Rhode Island, and co-founder of the Wolf School in East Providence, Rhode Island, designed for K-8 children with learning differences. Her presentation, Ready, Set, Learn: Tools to Build Self Regulation, provided a clear view of how self regulation develops from in utero and beyond, how dysregulation might occur, and how treatment can affect function.

Lise’s discussion of foundational skills that impact somatosensory experiences of a child before, during, and after birth was comprehensive. She led us through the developmental process where sensory and motor development are intimately linked, and showed how they help develop cognitive skills efficiently from the “bottom up.” She referred to the “Pyramid of Learning,” developed by Occupational Therapists MarySue Williams and Sherry Shellenberger, authors of the Alert Program – How Does Your Engine Run?, which teaches children how to identify and change self regulation using the analogy of an engine.

When there is a problem with self regulation, where the child either seeks or avoids sensory input, we may see behavioral changes in the child, which should raise red flags and further questions. Lise recommended the book, Is It Sensory or Is It Behavior? to help us examine if the behavior is intentional or whether it is a by-product. She suggested observing the timing of the behavior and whether it is limited to specific environments. For a child who experiences sensory modulation issues, Lise suggested providing the child with a large dose of sensory input activities so that behaviors don’t escalate and/or the child doesn’t feel threatened. For a child who experiences sensory overload, she suggested a quiet area or space at home and in the classroom that has things available that comfort the child, like a Cozy Caterpillar Sock, and comfortable clothing like Compression Clothing. She noted that oral or hand fidgets can help with self regulation as well. In addition, Lise identified somatosensory activities that involve deep tactile pressure, heavy work, rhythmical movement, music, breathing, and mindfulness as research-supported activities that are calming. Treatment materials to use may include scooter boards, Deluxe Peanut Balls, Rainy Day Playground: 2 in 1 Rotary Platform Swing, Heavy Work Bands, to name a few. When a child is self-regulated he/she is ready to tackle higher-level function.

We were engaged fully in Lise’s seminar and wanted to hear more as the two hours of her presentation evaporated. Her skills as a clinician, researcher, and lecturer in the area of sensory processing disorders were evident from her solid and inspiring presentation.

Attendees offered these positive remarks:

“What a pleasure! Great presenter and excellent information.” – Beth B., Occupational Therapist

“So much information that I can really use in my classroom. Clarified a lot! Could have been 2-3 classes!” – R. B., Teacher

“All educators should be equipped with tools to help children with self-regulation.” – Anonymous, Teacher

“Very informative and relatable to all disciplines.” – Amanda S., Behavior Analyst (ABA)

“Great seminar – loved the specific examples, backed by evidence-based practice.” – Marianne T., Occupational Therapist

Thank you, Lise!

Filomena Connor, MS, OTR/L
September 9, 2017

Getting Creative with Sweatshirts and Seat Cushions!

Alternative & Active Seating, Sensory, Therapist Resources, , , , ,

 Sensory Processing disorders (SPD) impact how children and adults respond to sensory stimulation such as sound, touch, what they see and movement. One basic principle of occupational therapy for individuals with SPD is to provide controlled, graded and individualized sensory stimulation to promote functional skills such as playing catch or writing one’s name. This means that activities such as tossing bean bags into containers while the child is suspended on a swing can be:

  • Controlled – as the therapist responds to the child’s reactions. For example, the therapist might push the swing faster, slower or in a different direction,
  • Graded- as the therapist chooses the type of swing used, how long the activity lasts, how heavy the bean bags are and how far away the container is positioned, and
  • Individualized – according to the child’s sensory, emotional and motor needs. For example, the child may wear a squeeze vest during the activity, name an animal each time the bean bag is thrown or have a special friend hold the container.

What is a Sensory Diet?

Parents can implement individualized sensory strategies at home in what is called a “Sensory Diet”. This is like a recipe book of activities and adaptations that the therapist designs for parents to carryover at home, school or in the community. It is important to frequently discuss with the therapist how these strategies are working out since children grow and change rapidly along with their sensory needs in different settings.

In my book From Flapping to Function: A Parent’s Guide to Autism and Hand Skills, I describe the 6 different subtypes of SPD and some general strategies to use with children who have each type. These strategies usually impact the following 3 sensory systems:

  1. Tactile – uses sensory receptors in the skin to interpret sensations, such as light and heavy touch.
  2. Proprioception – uses receptors in joints and muscles to tell us where the body is and how it is moving in relation to objects and space.
  3. Vestibular – tells our body how to respond to the pull of gravity and movement of the head. It is also called the balance system.

Now for the fun part…

child sitting on a seat cushion

Many children with or without SPD LOVE deep, heavy pressure experiences and movement. This includes children on the autism spectrum or those with other types of developmental disabilities. One very simple strategy is to provide some type of “dynamic seating”. This simply means that the child can bounce, wiggle, rock or move around in some other way while seated. Many teachers incorporate seat cushions and ball chairs in the classroom to help students focus. The Disco Seat is one popular product. An inexpensive alternative is to sit on a deflated ball, as I am doing in the photo. Don’t have one available while eating out or sitting in the movie theater? Consider rolling up a sweatshirt for the child to sit on or curl up inside of to get a full body squeeze.

 
a child using a homemade seat cushion

Speaking of sweatshirts, I have had great success in helping a young lady named Judy to be more focused and less agitated by placing a Disco Seat cushion inside the body of a sweatshirt. The photo shows Judy sitting on the cushion, enjoying some gentle bounces with the sleeves slung over her lap.

 
example of using a sweatshirt to make an innovative seat cushion

The sleeves are heavy because I put bags filled with sand inside of them. Next I sewed the wrist and shoulder ends of the sleeves closed so that the bags wouldn’t fall out. This adaptation can be used in a various of ways. The sweater may be placed over the back of a chair so that the heavy sleeves are draped over the child’s shoulders and body. Placing the cushion inside the sweater is optional.

 

A young man named Eddy, craves extreme movement and is typically agitated unless in a rocking chair, bungee seat or swing. You can see in the photograph that his chair is adapted to not tip over given all of his body rocking. He LOVED when I attached the sweatshirt with enclosed seat cushion to the back of his chair so that he could slam his back into it while rocking. I know that he enjoyed the deep pressure bouncy sensation because he became calmer, quieter and smiled. The heavy sweatshirt sleeves are draped over his lap. I did my best to capture how I set this up in the following video while maintaining his privacy.

example of an innovative seat cushion

Seat cushions and lap bags that are a lot nicer than the ones I make with a deflated ball, sand and plastic bags are sold by Therapro, Inc. Whether you are reading this blog post as a caregiver, therapist or other type of professional, I hope that adding these simple sensory strategies to your tool box helps the people you love or work with improve their quality of life. This is why I love being an occupational therapist!

 
Disc O'Sit
Disc O’Sit
Weighted Snake Wrap
Weighted Snake Wrap
 
Barbara A. Smith

Guest Blogger:  Barbara A. Smith.

Barbara A. Smith has worked with children and adults with developmental disabilities for over 40 years! She is the author of the Recycling Occupational Therapist, From Rattles to Writing: A Parent’s Guide to Hand Skills and From Flapping to Function: A Parent’s Guide to Autism and Hand Skills. Learn more about her work at RecyclingOT.com.