Being someone who loves the outdoors my favorite ways to get messy involve being outside - and don't cost a penny.

• Jumping in rain puddles! Oh come ...

Today's helpful tidbits are websites that have recipes for making homemade playdoh and other messy substances. What makes these websites extra useful is that often the kiddos you are working with don't want to touch the play-doh or get messy when asked to sit down and given something "messy" to play with. The catch is getting them involved in actually making the substance you want them to eventually play ...

I am not trying to trick you by that title that includes the phrase, work-life balance. Is it possible to have balance? Are you looking for that elusive "work life" balance that seems to be just a few steps ahead of you?

How long have you been chasing it?

Balance can mean different things to different people. I have a friend who says that there is no such thing as balance. She feels that we cannot ...

What a great way to end a fascinating conference, by having Temple Grandin, PhD, give the final keynote speech of the event. Dr. Grandin is very well known in the autism community, but for those of you "neurotypicals" who don't ...

Whew! I just returned from the Autism Society of America's 2008 Evening of Champions Gala. What an exciting and inspiring night. After a cocktail reception in the Gaylord Palms' replica old Spanish fort, we moved to the Convention Center ballroom for dinner, drinks, dancing and an evening to honor some exceptional people and organizations in the autism community.

Lois Blackwell received the ASA Founder's Award ...

This morning at the keynote speech at the Autism Society of America conference here in Orlando, I realized that people in the autism community -- practitioners at least -- are as concerned as OTs are about evidence based practice. I think that's fantastic, because there are a lot of alternative treatments out there (in autism lingo, they call them "biomedical approaches") that haven't been researched very much. Things ...

I attended several sessions today at the Autism Society of America's conference. First was a presentation by Zosia Zaks, MA, MEd. She has Aspergers, and now works with adolescents who are on the autism spectrum. She reviewed a number of social strategies she uses for adolescents and young adults to help them cope with social challenges they face. Many social skills interventions available aren't that great -- they ...

This is my first time attending the Autism Society of America conference - their 39^th - and its been quite an enlightening and educational experience after only half a day.

The conference, held at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, kicked off this morning with some opening remarks and the keynote speech.

First up was a darling little 6-year-old girl, Gina Incandela, ...

That's right! We've joined the most popular social networking site online to provide you with a place to connect with other OTs and OTAs, stay up to date on news and ADVANCE announcements, and share photos and videos with each other. And while you're doing all that, we'll do the same, updating our page regularly so that you're never out of the loop.

To ...

Being an occupational therapist means we need to be knowledgeable with many different medical diseases and conditions. We deal with everything from stroke to Parkinson's to dementia, and more. Through school, hopefully you received plenty of information about resources and agencies that deal with specific afflictions. Passing this knowledge on to our patients and family is what one of my teachers always said was one ...

ADVANCE now offers its full print issues in a digital format online!

This interactive version of our current issue contains ...

I always check out a few different OT forums to keep up with the on-line chatter and views of other OTs around the country. As much as many of these comments are good, there are quite a few negative ones.  Comments such as; "the work is so hard", "productivity stinks", or "they have no hope of getting better" just make me mad to see. It seems like a few bad apples are spoiling the whole notion of what OT can ...

• Ask a colleague if they have heard of any openings.  You could be surprised what they may know or who they may know.  The obvious concern here is to be ...

Medicare has some very specific rules that we all have to follow in regards to performing treatments and submitting the billing for time spent with patients. Ever since the advent of PPS there have been many different definitions, or ways people try to read between the lines, to make the rules bend to their liking.

One fact that has always been true, without question, is what constitutes ...

What would you do if you had a child who kept spiking a fever of 104-105 degrees for four to five days only to have it disappear and then reappear again in four to six weeks? What would you do if you went to several different doctors and still could not find a reason for the fevers? What would you do if no medication helped to bring down these fevers?

For many families this is a scenario ...

Today's tidbit is a listing of internet social support groups for Occupational Therapists.  MySpace and FaceBook are two popular social sites but they are not just for finding or meeting new friends - they can also be a source of social support for and by OT's.  Whether you want to join or to just browse through them I think you will find that they have a lot to offer - whether you are gaining knowledge ...

When you work in pediatrics you are usually working with children who have challenges that prevent them from being able to keep up with their peers. This is not always the case but when it is it can break your heart. Our job is to help the kiddos we are working with to reach their potential - to help them be the best they can be at whatever it is they want to do. Children can be cruel though. I don't think ...

Being a full time mom and full time employee I am always looking for ways to save time and work more efficiently.  Recently I have had to do several sensory profiles for children on my case load.  I find the profile itself is easy and quick to do but it is the actual scoring and report writing afterwards that takes time.  I am a computer person and thought I would do a web search to see if there was ...

Are you aware that keeping a journal can be good for your health? I discovered this years ago as I was researching different healing modalities for myself. I was feeling miserable and wanted some relief. All of the resources I was reading had references for journal writing. I love using interesting references to lead me on a path of discovery.

That is exactly what happened with journal writing.

What ...

This question came up for me in regards to my own work as I read through the Forum. http://Community.advanceweb.com/forums/28/ShowForum.aspx   ...

I have to admit, the COTA job market is no longer what it was 10-12 years ago. Back then, you could expect a phone call almost daily from a recruiter (head-hunter) trying to convince you why their company was better. If the phone calls ...

Back in February I had posted a blog listing some helpful oral motor sites & articles and Samana Khan had left me a comment asking if I knew ...