 This article contains images with text and a you-tube video. To see the article in full; select "show remote content" in your email or go to this link online ---> https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog/three-ways-to-practice-reaching-behind-and-under-for-self-care. Watch "3 ways to practice reaching behind and under" on You-tube ---> https://youtu.be/OMaytMNSBpA Working on self care skills in a school setting can be difficult for occupational therapists. We are always looking to address the underlying skills in a fun engaging way. Here are three ways to practice the motor patterns to reach "behind and under" whilst seated at a desk! These skills of reaching behind and under are useful for dressing and toiletting. You can encourage shoulder range of motion, trunk rotation, crossing the midline, hand skills and kinesthetic learning. SPOT IT! PULL IT! WIPE IT! I think everyone has seen the viral video of the teacher who has used balloons stuck to the rear of a chair to practice wiping (google it if you haven't seen it). This video inspired me with these activities. I know therapists have also used novelty "bottoms" from party shops to simulate "bottom wiping" with Nutella, peanut butter or shaving cream. Have you tried it? Of course practising self care skills such as tucking in one's shirt or wiping one's bottom is best done in situ... at home in the context of actually dressing and toiletting. As therapists we are not always able to do this and sometimes we need to be subtle with our students as to the goals we are working on. Some children are embarrassed to work on self care skills and it is often not appropriate for therapists to be providing any sort of physical assistance. Let me know if you try any of these ideas! I would love to hear how you work on "self care goals" in a school setting (without going to the bathroom) !  
Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team. They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK. The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot YKOT shop: https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/
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Feel it! Say it! Calm it! Solve it! Such catchy phrases to share with your children to work on regulation. Better still, they are grounded in principles like interoception (a sense that provides information about the internal condition of our body—how our body is feeling on the inside), self awareness and co-regulation; using cognitive, sensory and emotional strategies to aid regulation. These phrases were created by Nan Arkwright, occupational therapist, in her book "Mission Control: A Big Feelings Adventure". This book is an engaging comic style/graphic novel style book suitable for children 4 - 10 years of age. The graphics are appealing to children and the story of a young boy (Joseph) who has a big reaction to turning off the TV at bed time, is relatable. Joseph's mother "shares her calm" and Joseph goes on an adventure into space to find a way to manage his big emotions and grow as well. I really love this book! As an occupational therapist, I've used it with a few of the children that I'm seeing with regulation issues and it has been perfect. The children are completely engaged with the graphics and the story. I'm so impressed with how the book has integrated interoception principles, co-regulation principles, calm-down strategies, problem solving, parent regulation, sensory strategies... and lots more in a child friendly way. You can find out more about this book -> MISSION CONTROL : A BIG FEELINGS ADVENTURE. To enable the children I see to have a "take home message", I've used the catchphrases from the book to inspire two regulation posters (created with permission). In addition to the four phrases mentioned above, the characters also encourage you to "borrow it, grow it, breathe it, control it, bounce it, imagine it and believe it". You can download these posters ---> FREE from the YKOT shop. ​ Whilst the posters work perfectly with the book, the messages can be generalised too. 
For younger children, the Sesame Street "Breathe Think Do" app has been a wonderful way to simplify the problem solving framework in a relatable way. Helping the monster to "breathe", you can watch the monster physically become calmer. Pop the bubble to "think" of solutions. Choose an option available (they are all suitable) and then "do". The monster shows you what happens if you go ahead with your chosen option. What a small video of this app ->Sesame Street "breathe think do".
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We know that deep breathing can be something children (and adults) struggle to do properly. Breathing helps us to regulate our bodies. Breathing can slow our heartbeat, lower stress and calm our bodies down. This fun "Dragon Breathing" craft has been a good way to encourage children to take a deep breath and to continue to breathe in and out.
Paint or colour a toilet paper roll. Attach strands of crepe paper to one end of the roll. Push the strands of crepe paper into the end of the roll. Place your mouth on the other end. Take a deep breath in and then push their air through the roll so that the crepe paper flies out. You could skip the "stuffing" part and simply have your child blow the crepe paper so that it moves. Can't see the video below? Watch it - > Dragon Breathing craft. Find more regulation resources ---> Social Emotional Learning and Regulation. We can all benefit from the reminder to "feel it, say it, calm it and solve it" ! Don't forget to download your free posters. Let me know if you use the posters, the book, the app or the craft! ​ 
​Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia. She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning. Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete). Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT. Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog
Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team. They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK. ​The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. ​​​ Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot YKOT shop: https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/  Children are naturally curious! They love to learn and love to play. They love to learn through play. When choosing toys and activities, I love activities that do "double duty"... address some skills like hand strength, bilateral coordination, visual tracking... as well as learning a cognitive skill such as "shapes". Here are 8 fun ideas to introduce to your children to learn about shapes! I've used a paper plate but feel free to use cardboard if you can't access a paper plate. 1. Make Shape Stencils. Cut out shapes in your paper plate that can be used as stencils.  2. Pom Pom Maze Cut small shapes in your paper plate. Place a pom pom on the plate and use both hands to move it around the plate to find a specific shape or series of shapes.  3. Threading Shapes Use a hole punch to make holes to represent the corners or in the case of a circle, multiple holes to create the circle. Use a ribbon or yarn to have your child thread.  4. Stain Glass Shapes Cut out shapes on the paper plates and cover with cellophane. Kids love to look through the stain glass.  5. Fold the flap shapes Draw shapes around the edge of the plate. Cut between the shapes. Ask your child to find the shapes and fold down the appropriate flap.  6. I Spy Shapes Draw or stick on some shapes onto a plate. Ask your child to find a specific shape on the plate or in a certain colour.  7. Shape Roads This has been a popular FREE subscriber email printable. If you don't have this printable, use this link HERE . Print and cut out the shape. Stick them onto the plate and then have your child use their cars to "drive" on the shapes.  8. Peg shape match. Use self adhesive foam shapes... place a shape on each peg (clothespin) of the same colour and a matching shape on the paper plate. Have your child find the matching shapes by placing the pegs. Do you have a favourite way to learn shapes? Watch these paper plate shape ideas on You tube ---> https://youtu.be/5kPU-PSjA9Q More paper plate ideas? Find some Paper Plate Road trip games here! Paper plates are so easy to transport and are a great size for little hands. Which idea will your child enjoy?   Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia. She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning. Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete). Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT. Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog
Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team. They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK. The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot YKOT shop: https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/  "Practice makes perfect!" Did you grow up in an era with this mantra repeated to you as a child? I'm not sure that this drove me to persist or excel in any way as child. "Practice makes progress..." is a much better attitude to have. It is one that we can foster in our children. It is one that we can tell ourselves. For our children, we want to encourage attempts. We want to encourage risks being taken and that it is really okay to make mistakes. We want to encourage persistence when things are difficult and positive self talk. We want to encourage hard work as rarely is something achieved on the first try. The Your Kids OT byline is "make learning fun". We want to create a "just right challenge" where learning comes from natural fun opportunities. For some children, this comes from rapport built with the therapists or engagement from their caregivers. However, I don't always get it right... as a therapist or as a parent (true confessions). Whilst success stories are shared (see this one on IG), I might not so readily share when things have gone wrong. For ourselves as parents, educators, therapists.... this is permission that you (we) don't have to get it right all of the time. Especially in the last 12 months when we have been thrown into new depths of online learning, telehealth services, managing lock downs, it is also really okay to make mistakes. If I've learnt anything in my 20 plus years as an occupational therapist, it's that we are all life-long learners. The longer I practice, the more new things I learn. Even terminology continues to change. "Postural control" has given way to "core muscle strength". "Planning and organizational skills" have given way to "executive functioning". "Social skills" have broadened to "social emotional learning". You will see that I'm slowly making changes on my website to reflect these categories ---> Article categories. So whether you are a therapy undergraduate about to embark on your career, a parent who is navigating life with a child with a disability, an experienced educator who has a new class of children or here to pass on this tip to the children in your life.... "practice makes progress".  Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia. She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning. Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete). Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT. Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team. They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK. The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot YKOT shop: https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/ You may also like:
 No prep. Quick. Easy. Any service delivery method. Groups or indviduals. There are many reasons to love "pencil warm ups"! Just grab a pencil or a crayon. These "pencil warms ups" have been collated for school-age children to encourage dynamic finger movements of the thumb, index and third fingers. We want to build these fingers with strength and dexterity to manipulate a pencil for writing. Before your child will successfully do these "warm ups" they will require a certain amount of stability in their shoulder, elbow and wrist. You will find that the children who don't have this stability are using their whole arms to move the pencil. They may have three fingers holding (grasping) the pencil, but they use their whole hand as one unit to move in a static way. This is developmentally appropriate for younger children (preschool age). Children who are moving their whole arm or their hand/wrist will try to "cheat" with these warm ups. They will hold the pencil firmly whilst moving at their wrist or elbow. That's ok! Give them time and work up towards dynamic finger movements. Find more fine motor skills activities here ---> FINE MOTOR SKILLS "Pencil warm ups" are great for the classroom as the whole class can be doing these activities together. As an OT you might want to introduce these warm ups to individual children or use them for a group. Use them via virtual therapy services or in person. Parents can implement these warm ups easily at home and the whole family could get involved. Use the FREE printable as a reference or watch the you-tube video. The printable has a QR code and link back to the you-tube video. I have time-stamped each warm up in the comments section of you-tube for easy reference to each pencil warm up. FREE PRINTABLE: Pencil Warm Ups Printable! YOU-TUBE: https://youtu.be/ua3x-KMlefI  Pencil Warm Ups Video QR CODE Pencil warm ups are not new, however I hope that you have found some new ones with the ones that I have shared. I have included more emphasis on thumb movements as I see many children who have difficulties with thumb flexion, extension and opposition. Sometimes children I see demonstrate dynamic finger movements, however hold their thumb locked into place for stability. Let me know if you are using these pencil warm ups! Are there some new ones that you haven't tried before? Have you got a great pencil warm up that you use?   Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia. She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning. Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete). Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT. Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team. They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK. The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot YKOT shop: https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/ You may also like
 As an occupational therapist, I spend a lot of time explaining what I do. It comes with the title. What is an OT? What do you do? The definition is broad and we assist a wide range of people, of all ages, in a wide range of tasks. Fundamentally, occupational therapists assist people to live in a way that helps them to do daily tasks participating in their communities. We look at the person, the task and the environment using our "applied science" backgrounds, creatively collaborating to achieve positive outcomes! Read more about the "just right challenge" HERE. BUT... There are plenty of things OTs are NOT.
OTs are a diverse bunch of professionals with special interest areas that cross all of these areas I have just mentioned. Some have extra training and experience with trauma, mental health, feeding, nutrition, social skills, equipment prescription, vision, toiletting, etc. OTs are TEAM PLAYERs. We work hard to have the same "game play" as everyone on the team so that the goals for the individual child can be achieved. OTs are LEARNERS. We are constantly upgrading our own skills and learning from you (child, parents, others). OTs are CARERS. We do care about your children. We often "care" beyond the time allotted for us to see your child and for years afterwards. Read more about Paediatric assessment using the Occupational Performance Model (Australia). Do you have something that you would add to these lists? What are occupational therapists to you? What are they not?   Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia. She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning. Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete). Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT. Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog
Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team. They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK. The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot YKOT shop: https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/  Where is thumbkin? Where is thumbkin? Here I am, here I am! "Thumbs on top" is my top tip for teaching scissor skills. Both the hand holding the scissors and the hand holding the page need to have their thumbs on top. This allows for forward cutting and for manipulation of the paper (or whatever that is being cut). Early "cutters" will move their wrists and hands in all positions ... encourage them to keep their thumbs on top and have their scissors pointing forward. Over time we want the non-dominant hand to manipulate the paper (turn it) so that the scissors are always pointing forward (away from the child's body). It's important for children to know which finger is their thumb and it can be important to highlight it for your child. Ways to "highlight" the thumb! * play games where the thumb is vital such as "thumb wars" ---> Take me to more on Thumb Wars * name the "thumb" when your child is gripping things like a cup, cutlery, toy steering wheel, finger food, playing an instrument * place a sticker or temporary tattoo on the thumb (you could also place the sticker on the scissors so they know which part is "up". * sing finger rhymes such as "Where is thumbkin?" or "Incy Wincy Spider" * use nail polish to distinguish thumbs * play with finger puppets * play "heads down, thumbs up" - This is a group game where one child is "in" and leaves the room. Someone (or a few children) in the group is nominated as the ones to find. Everyone then places their heads on the table with their hands fisted on the table and thumbs up. The child who was outside of the room comes back in and has a certain number of guesses to find the nominated child/ren. They choose children by folding over their thumbs. When all the selections are made, someone says "heads up, stand up" and the ones chosen who match with the nominated ones at the beginning stand up. Someone new is chosen to be "in" to be the next to guess.  Watch Top Tips: Scissor Skills "Thumbs on Top" on you-tube with a behind the scenes look at the new scissor skills printables ---> Take me to the video online! (if you can't see this attachment in your email or browser). Once your child's thumbs are in position, they can start to open and close the scissors. Choosing the correct scissors for your child is also important. Blunt craft scissors are great for cutting playdough but are not much use when it comes to paper. These are often introduced as safety scissors for toddlers, however they can become quite frustrating when they don't actually cut. If your child has developed a hand preference, it is also important for the scissors to be chosen which are specifically left or right-handed scissors. Usually scissors which are promoted for "both hands" have the blades on the scissors to be more effective for right-handed users. This can also be frustrating if you have a "lefty". Scissors that have a centre piece that allow for a "bounce" can help with the open/close action. This is often one of the first difficulties that arise for young scissor users as they can quite easily "shut" their hand to close the scissors but they can't "open" their hand again to make the next cut. If you can't find these type of scissors (check the video link for a look at what I'm talking about) then placing your own hand over your child's hand with your third finger "dangerously" placed between the scissor handles (not the blades) ... this will give you a way of physically helping with the "opening part"....  Find more articles on scissor skills: * 10 Practical Ways to Practice Scissor Skills * Developing hand strength for Scissor Skills * Pre-scissor skills (Opening and Closing Hands) * Scissor Skills Busy Boxes Find new printables for scissor skills: * Make a Zoo * Interactive Fun * Cut and Paste Words * Cut and Paste Sentences If you missed the link above, you can have a closer look at these printables in the You-tube video ---> Printables in action What are your top tips for scissor skills?   Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia. She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning. Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete). Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT. Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog
Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team. They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK. The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot YKOT shop: https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/  Whilst Valentine's Day will come and go here at YKOT without much thought; I was inspired by all the "heart shaped" activities that are being shared at the moment. Depending on you child's age, have them cut strips from a toilet paper roll (or paper towel roll or wrapping paper insert). Use this cardboard strip to shape a heart. Decorate the hearts with markers and then use them for colour matching, stacking, posting or threading. You could even make patterns, dip them in paint, trace around them or glue them down. Watch the You-tube video for some of these ideas in action below. Find the Heart Shaped Toilet Roll Activities on you-tube ---> Take me to the video online! (if you can't see this attachment in your email or browser). Scissor skills are a great way to work on bilateral coordination skills as one hand is used for "holding" and the other for manipulating the scissors to cut. I love toilet paper rolls for cutting as they need to be turned which means the "holding hand" isn't still but has to be put into action as well. You will see some children struggle with this turning action and move their cutting arm so that the scissors point into all sorts of directions. They may try to use the table or their body to stabilise as well. Encourage your child to cut with the scissors pointing forward (away from their body) and manipulate whatever that is being cut to maintain that forward cutting position. This takes time to achieve! Find more activities targetting fine motor skills HERE or watch the YKOT You Tube fine motor skills playlist HERE. Finger play is an easy way to "sneak in" some fine motor skill development. What shapes can your child make with their fingers? A circle? A diamond? A triangle? A heart?   Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia. She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning. Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete). Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT. Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog
Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team. They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK. The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot YKOT shop: https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/  Welcome to the "Let's talk" series where I discuss various phrases that are thrown around in the OT world. These phrases often reflect our philosophy and underpin our practice. Depending on an occupational therapist's experience, you may find individuals having different opinions on some of these topics. I'm hoping to share something from this series each month. So let's kick this off with discussing a "just-right challenge". Children are learning and growing at their own pace. They might be good at some things and have difficulties with other things. This is part of normal child development. The children who benefit from OT are those children where daily challenges affect their ability to carry out their regular activities, meet developmental milestones or the expectations of others. This can vary from physical skills, social skills, play skills, daily living skills (eg. eating, toiletting, dressing), organising skills, etc. So what is a "just-right challenge"? The term originated with Jean Ayres, occupational therapist. She is attributed with being the OT who first conceptualized sensory integration theory and practice. The "just-right challenge" or "adaptive-response" method describes a place where the child is met between boredom from something being too easy and frustration from it being too difficult. According to Rebeiro & Polgar (1998), the "just-right challenge" ... ---> is an optimal fit between the demands of the person, occupation and the environment ---> causes clients to be motivated to continue or repeat their experience ---> contributes to greater life satisfaction Occupational therapists are always looking to help meet the child where they are at.... working from what they can do, extending them just that bit to meet a stepping stone towards their goals OR modifying the activity, environment or goal itself. This enables a child to feel some success and encourages them to keep working towards their goal.  Just-Right Challenge Infographic ©2021 Your Kids OT Ways to achieve a "just-right challenge"! The relationship between therapist and child is a balancing act where rapport is built through engagement and trust. Therapists are constantly adjusting their prompts, changing the amount of assistance they provide, modifying the activity, presenting the activity in a different way, making things harder, making things easier, changing environmental demands ... to meet your child where they are at on the day and at that time. OTs call this process "grading". We want to encourage children to extend themselves to learn new skills (maybe outside of their comfort zones) but not feel overwhelmed with the demands causing them to be anxious, shut down or demonstrate challenging behaviours. We want children to work at their optimal level of arousal. Therapists also look for ways to help children to be motivated, find satisfaction and rewards (internal and external) from working towards or achieving their goals. There may some situations where achieving a goal or completing a task is not possible without some accommodations or adaptions. This may be when a therapist recommends specialized equipment, tools or techniques outside what is conventionally used. Achieving goals with modifications or accommodations is achieving and should not be considered "a cop out". Function is function. Over time, we have seen some specialized equipment or adaptions become a "norm" in society. Sometimes this is wonderful - like grab rails in toilets, accessible ramps, visual schedules, scooter boards sold in department stores... Sometimes we (OTs) are cautiously optimistic but concerned - for example, with the use of weighted blankets and vests, some pencil grips, "sensory programs", etc - where the advice of an OT can be informative. Things to consider...
Let's discuss...
For non-OTs reading this... therapy can look like "just playing" but OTs are considering all of the above when working with your child. Read more-- * Why is my child just playing when they see an OT? * OT assessment process * Sensory Triggers in the classroom I would love to hear your comments on a "just-right challenge"! Comment below or join the conversation in my social media posts - I'll be sharing the YKOT Instagram and Facebook pages. Let's keep talking and I hope you join in with this series. Let me know if there is something that you would like to "talk" about!  Reference: Rebeiro KL, Polgar JM. Enabling occupational performance: optimal experiences in therapy. Can J Occup Ther. 1999 Feb;66(1):14-22. doi: 10.1177/000841749906600102. PMID: 10462878.  Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia. She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning. Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete). Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT. Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog
Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team. They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK. The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot YKOT shop: https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/  "Bump the Line" A phrase that I say quite often with children learning to write (aka "align") to the writing line or base line. Some children have never been taught to write on the line. It is quite common, as the focus begins with drawing, shapes and letter formation when children are starting to put pencil to paper. But then, the expectations come quickly that writing should be aligned and letter sizes should automatically reduce and fit between those lines. Some children will just not notice the lines. They have become accustomed to having a whole page or a whole box to write their words so it is just not on their "radar". Others have difficulty for a number of reasons: * Visual motor skills- Understanding how lines and shapes are positioned in relationship to each other and with the lines on the page can be difficult for those with visual motor and visual spatial difficulties. These difficulties can been seen with letters written over the top of each other, huge gaps between letters, huge spaces or no spaces or both, inconsistent letter sizes and difficulties with aligning to writing lines. * Dynamic vs static pencil control - Children begin writing by controlling a pencil with their whole arm, then their control moves to their elbow, wrist and hand. This progressive control develops as stability is gained and "ideally" the pencil is controlled with dynamic movements of the hand as intrinsic muscles push and pull. When children control the pencil with their whole arm, elbow or wrist... it means that they will have difficulty reducing letter sizes and forming small movements with their pencil. Control is less precise so writing on the line can be affected. * Fine motor skills - Many of the children who have difficulty with dynamic finger movements will have poor fine motor skills. Read more on my site about FINE MOTOR SKILLS. * Page stabilization difficulties - When a child stabilises their head rather than the page that they are writing on, it is often a sign of poor postural control (ie. poor core muscle strength). Read more on my site about this issue PAGE STABILIZATION.  So "bump the line". We start by using a physical boundary to help a child to "feel" where the line is. This might be a ruler, an adult finger, wikki stix, playdough.... whatever you have at hand. Once a child is more aware of the line, take that physical prompt away. Your child might then need just a visual prompt such as highlighting the line. Then move to just a verbal prompt "bump the line". I often say this as they approach the line with their pencil. Every child is different. Some can move from physical to verbal prompt to nothing within one session. For others it will take months and require repetition of each of the prompts. For others who have a combination of difficulties mentioned previously, additional support will also be required. Earth paper lines are another great way to encourage the visual spatial awareness needed for handwriting legibility. Read more HERE and purchase EARTH PAPER lines HERE. Earth paper lines also includes transition paper to assist children to move towards using ordinary writing lines. You will also find flashcards with Earth Paper lines at the YKOT shop. Would you like more handwriting tips and tricks? The handwriting resources from The Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team are currently 50% off until January 31st in celebration of National Handwriting Day in the US. Use the coupon code: Handwriting Day ---> TAKE ME TO THE SALE!  Have you tried to "bump the line" with your kids? What are your top tips for writing on the line?  Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia. She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning. Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete). Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT. Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog
Cindy is a member of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team. They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK. The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot YKOT shop: https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/ |
AuthorHi, I'm Cindy and I am an Occupational Therapist. I enjoy working creatively with children to see them reach their potential. Read more about me here. 
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Disclaimer: The information on this site is general in nature and should be used for educational and entertainment purposes. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. This blog does not replace formal therapeutic professional advice given by a health professional or medical practitioner. Reviews and endorsements of products will only be made based on my expertise and personal opinion; and deemed worthy of such endorsement. The opinions shared in sponsored content will always be my own and not that of the advertising company or brand. Content, advertising space or posts will be clearly identified if paid, affiliated or sponsored. Affiliate links may be found throughout this website in advertising. This means that if you follow through with a purchase from these links, Your Kids OT will receive a percentage of the sale. Your Kids OT undertakes to meet the requirements of the "Social Media Policy" as published by Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Further information about this policy can be found here.
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AuthorHi, I'm Cindy and I am an Occupational Therapist. I enjoy working creatively with children to see them reach their potential. Read more about me here. 
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