My Child is Out of Control!

Oct 11, 2019

You wouldn’t believe the number of messages I have been getting regarding children’s emotions lately.


Here are some examples: 

“If my daughter doesn’t get her way, she just throws a fit and there’s no way getting her back from that.”

“My son threw a shoe at his brother the other day.”

“My daughter gets home from school and just wants to be alone.”

“My son doesn’t know how to express his emotions.”

“My son is very angry, he cries and fights with me all the time.”

[Note: The wording has been changed to protect the concerned parent]


Parents are feeling completely helpless and are asking for strategies to help their child. It is important to note that poor emotional regulation can present as anger, lethargy, decreased attention/concentration, lack of sleep, isolation, tantrums, and difficulty transitioning from one task to another.


So what can you do? Start with this:


-work on expressing...

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That's My Sensory Baby!

Sep 09, 2019

“Do you have kids?” the parents of the children I worked with always asked me. I never really understood why that was relevant. I had years of experience working with children. The minute my first daughter was born, I finally understood. 

PARENTHOOD CHANGES YOUR LIFE.

Now all of a sudden you have know the 5 S’s of soothing a baby, among all the other things that no one prepares you for. Sure your child doesn’t come with a manual, but don’t make the mistake I made by preparing for the pregnancy and the delivery instead of reading “Baby’s First Year.” 

So what do the 5 S’s have to do with sensory? Wait, does one of the S’s stand for sensory? No, it doesn’t, but interestingly enough, they all have something to do with our senses.

Let’s break it down:

1 - Swaddle - This is the one where you wrap your baby up in a blanket nice and snug. - In the OT world, this is a form of proprioception. More on that big,...

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He won't do that at home!

Aug 22, 2019

While working in an outpatient rehab center, many of the parents expressed one concern. It was something along of the lines of, “My child does great with you here, but I can’t get him to do the same at home.” As an occupational therapist (OT), I understand very well the difference the environment makes in someone’s functional ability. 

 

Now, let’s compare the home environment and the clinic environment. 

  • Scenario 1: The child walks into the therapy room where there’s a table with 2 chairs, a trampoline, a swing, and a ball pit. He immediately goes for the swing and the OT follows the child’s lead and does gross motor activities (in combination with sensory integration) for the first half of the session. The second half of the session, the OT has the child sitting at the table working on handwriting and other fine motor activities. At the end of the session, the mom walks in and is very surprised to see the child sitting so...
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