Teachers often recommend pencil grips as a way to support your child’s grasp and handwriting. That sounds like an easy fix, right? There may be more to the story though. We, as occupational therapists, evaluate the factors that are impacting a child’s ability to grip a pencil and write. Additional factors involved in hand writing…
Does your 2-year-old have frequent, intense tantrums that seem to last longer than other kids his/her age? Does he/she have a hard time playing with new toys? Does your 2-year-old struggle to participate in daily activities or self-care tasks, such as feeding him/her self and dressing? If you answered yes to any of the above,…
An important technique to help enhance your child’s language skills is known as “Parallel Talk.” Many parents and caregivers naturally use this type of technique during their daily routines and activities with their child without even knowing it! What is Parallel Talk and what does it do? Parallel talk is a technique used to narrate…
Do you have a child that could possibly fall into the category as an “open mouth breather?” If your child’s lips are constantly apart and their mouth appears open at rest, they are considered to be open mouth breathers or have habitual open mouth posture. Here are some reasons as to why your child may…
Does your child label objects and point to get what they want? Maybe your child produces a variety of single words, but is not yet combining words? Expansion is a simple language enhancement technique to help your child’s communication skills take off. Reinforcement and Exposure Expansion involves repeating what a child has said and adding…
Waiting! We ask our children to do this all day long, but are we just as much of the culprits of showing impatience, or speaking too soon? Waiting is an incredible tool to use with children whom you would like to encourage more verbalizations, signs and just overall communication. Their little brains are growing, exploring,…
The moment you become a parent; every day is filled with learning experiences. My name is Emmanuel and being the father of a son with Autism makes the everyday roadblocks and life lessons a little more challenging, but not impossible. When our son, Ezra was born there was no road map, operation manual, or Lego…
Stuck inside and looking for some creative ways to play with playdoh with your child? Are you looking for some fun things to do that will both keep your child’s attention as well as challenge their fine motor skills? Playdoh provides so many opportunities to develop fine motor skills, expand pretend play skills and support…
“They’re getting into everything!” As a physical therapist, one of my favorite phrases to hear from parents of toddlers is “they’re getting into everything!” Toddlers are little explorers learning to walk, climb, and navigate their environments. They are working on motor planning, or the connection between the brain and the body that allows a toddler…
