 Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote products I love and recommend. I receive a commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Technology has come a long way in recent years. Whilst face to face learning is great... there are many benefits to online learning and professional development. As a sole trader in the private sector and as a mum; I've appreciated the convenience of doing training in my own home at a time that suits me! Online learning has also opened doors to training from around the world which is amazing! Different countries and different states within those countries have varying standards and requirements for professional development so it is best to check with your local registration board. For my fellow Australian colleagues; you can find the OT board registration standard for continuing professional development HERE. The Australian minimum competency standards for new graduate OTs can be found HERE and can help guide professional development goals. Here is a list of online learning opportunities for paediatric OTs (and some would also be suitable for parents and teachers). Take note that some are only available at certain times of the year. Some organisations offer a rotation of webinars and courses. Some online opportunities are paid and some are free. Some opportunities require membership with an organisation prior to access. Associations and Educational Websites
General:Paediatric OT
Standardised Assessments Sensory Processing
Self Regulation
Executive Functioning
School Age
Autism
Dyslexia and Learning Difficulties Are you a supporter of online learning? What is your favourite course or webinar that you have participated in online? Save this page so you can find it when you are looking for continuing education. Pin it or share it with your colleagues! Definitely worth keeping as an OT reference. Yes, you are right... I always do things that I find useful myself. I love having all these opportunities listed together for my OWN reference! Let me know what you think! Do you have any further recommendations to add to this list?   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 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. Resources you might like:
 Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote products I love and recommend. I receive a commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... counting sheep doesn't always work, does it? Do you struggle to help your child to sleep? Do they stay asleep through the night? Today I would like to welcome Diana Fitts and occupational therapist and writer at The Sensory Toolbox. She shares with us 4 Smart Sensory Sleep Tips. Thanks for joining us Diana! Full night’s sleep? Sleeping in? Lazy weekend mornings in bed? If your child has sleep issues, these are phrases you probably haven’t heard for a long time. Sleep is something we take for granted when it’s going well but becomes an emergency pretty quickly once it takes a turn for the worse. What’s often taken for granted is the huge role that sensory factors play in the ability to fall and stay sleep. This applies for all of us, whether we’ve been diagnosed with a sensory issue or not. Remember the last time you tried to sleep in the middle of summer when your AC was broken? I bet it didn’t go so well. Our senses are consistently sending information to our brains during the day, taking in data about what we see, touch, taste, smell, and feel. By the time we go to sleep, we need our brains to settle down, which means we need to lessen the amount of information that our senses are sending our brains. This lets us relax and eventually fall asleep. So, how do we do that? Here are my top sensory tips for a better night’s sleep. 1. Prime Your Child’s Brain No, this isn’t as “mad scientist” as it sounds. Our brains are designed to recognize cues. Similar to Pavlov’s dog whose mouth waters when he hears a bell, our brains take in sensory information and prep our bodies for our next actions. We hear our favorite dance jam and we get energized; we smell our favorite tea and feel relaxed; we enter a classroom and we’re back to our high school days and feeling anxiousabout a test. While these connections often happen by accident, we can create them as well. Essentially, we can use environmental cues to tell our brains and bodies how to behave. Start by choosing a song, audiobook, bedtime story, essential oil, lotion, soap, etc that your child likes. Start playing or using this chosen object every single night as your child goes to bed and drifts off to sleep. While it will take some time, your child’s brain will start to associate their chosen object with sleep. The audiobook will play or the essential oil will spray and your child’s brain will know that bedtime is coming and it’s time to relax. 2. Be an Environmental Sensory Explorer With your child’s unique sensitivities in mind, go into your child’s room at night and take stock of all of the sensory experiences you encounter. Some good questions you can ask are: --how many sounds do I hear and how loud are they? --how many lights are there and how bright are they? --what do I smell and how strong is it? --what’s the temperature like? --how many covers is my child using? Once you’ve collected as much sensory information as possible from your child’s room, start eliminating as many sensory experiences as you can. Even if your child isn’t super sensitive to sensory input, any sensory information that enters your child’s brain during the night is information that could excite them and pull them out of their sleepy brain space. Start experimenting with different sensory experiences and see how your child responds. Maybe they like for the room to be cold; maybe their chosen object is classical music and that’s the only sound they can tolerate while sleeping; maybe they need a light sheet instead of a heavy comforter. Even small sensory tweaks can make a big difference in your child’s night, so don’t take anything for granted. Yes, even the sound of the bathroom fan down the hall can make a difference! Only remove or add one thing at a time though so that your child doesn’t get overwhelmed.  3. Have a Traveling Comfort Object At this point, you may be saying, “all of this is great, but there are times when my child needs to sleep away from home, and I can’t re-create the perfect sensory experience they have at home!!” Have your child choose a comfort object they can snuggle with whenever they’re sleeping, at home or away. In addition to priming the brain for sleep, this comfort object will give your child a sense of normalcy, even if they’re sleeping somewhere new for the first time. 4. The Same Thing that Helps Your Child Fall Asleep May not Help Them Stay Asleep Your child may lull into sleep under fluffy warm covers with their favorite music playing. A few hours later though, they may get too hot and annoyed by the music, leaving you with a cranky kid in the middle of the night. If your child is having success falling asleep, but can’t seem to stay asleep, consider all of the factors you can. Are their pajamas sweaty? They may have gotten too hot. Is the radio playing a loud song? They may have gotten annoyed by the sound. Does the room reek of aromatherapy? The oil diffuser may have been set for too long. The great thing about our technological age is that everything comes with timers. If your child loves music, smells, and fluffy covers as they fall asleep, set the music to turn off after 20 minutes, only add enough essential oils to the diffuser to last an hour, set the AC to turn on after a few hours. While this may take a lot of problem solving and planning up front, it may help your child sleep through the night. Sleep will never be an easy thing. There will always be ways to shift and adapt to make your child’s sleep routine better. Finding the right components may not happen quickly, and that’s ok!There are a lot of stops and starts when living in a sensory world, but there are also a lot of people here to help you through it. Do you have a child who struggles to go to sleep? Have you considered these sensory tips? Are there any others that have worked for you?
Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog 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. You may like these products:
You make like these articles:
|
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. 
SEARCH THIS SITE
Archives
September 2024
Categories
All
Popular Posts
 |
RSS Feed
Join the YKOT e-newsletter!
Subscribe to get our latest content by email and receive
the SHAPE ROADS PRINTABLE NOW!
Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription and receive your free printable!
Join our Mailing List!
Subscribe to get our latest content by email and receive
the SHAPE ROADS PRINTABLE NOW as a thankyou!
Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription and receive your free printable!
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.
Find meFollow me |
|
About me
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. 
|
Copyright © 2017 Your Kid OT