A Pediatric Perspective

Feeding Difficulties - Ability vs Motivation

2009-11-19T04:49:00Z

One of the most challenging things when it comes to working with a family who has a child who "won't eat" is figuring out how much of it may be due to the child's inability to eat (sensory problems, physical problems, processing disorders, etc) and how much may be due to the child's lack of motivation to eat. The former is much easier to "fix" than the latter. If a child has the desire to eat but is not doing so because they are blocked from doing so by sensory problems or processing problems or...(read more)

Tuesday Tidbit (tadbit tardy) - Finger Feeding help

2009-11-04T04:14:00Z

One of the challenges of working with toddlers and their independent self-feeding skills is that you are sometimes challenged to work with a toddler who doesn't have the skills to be independent but is at that age where they are striving to do it all themselves anyway. They want to do everything themselves and are not always welcoming when it comes to hand over hand assistance or, for that matter, any kind of assistance. I've found you need to be a little tricky so that they think they are doing...(read more)

Tuesday Tidbit - Olfactory defensive behaviors

2009-10-28T03:49:00Z

Hi All! Sorry I did not post on Friday – I was a bit under the weather with a stomach bug. Thankfully it didn’t last more than 48 hours but that is one of the “hazards” of working with children for a living – you are bound to catch something every now and again, no matter how hard you try. J I wanted this Tuesday’s Tidbit to be a shout out to you, the readers of this blog. Last week posted a blog on the “spit cup” and received a nice comment from Christina Chen , a student in Los Angeles. She was...(read more)

Tuesday Tidbit - The Spit Cup

2009-10-20T03:42:00Z

When it comes to picky eaters one of the biggest challenges we have as therapists is getting the child to even taste something. There is, of course, an entire protocol to getting a sensory defensive child to allow food to be 1) in the room, 2) on the table, 3) on their plate, 4) on their spoon/fork, 5) near their mouth, 6) in their mouth. In a later blog I will list some helpful seminars that will go into how to get a child from 1 to 6. Today though, I would like to talk about a method that I have...(read more)

Rain, Rain ... go out and play ..

2009-10-16T22:33:00Z

It's been raining here for the past couple of days. Yesterday was a cold rain but today it was warmer and more of a drizzle. I have been off on vacation in the Lancaster, PA area with my sister and mom. We've been exploring, shopping and just having a fun time enjoying each other's company. It's been a pleasant change but has also opened my eyes to how much the world has changed since my sister and I were kids. We were on our way back from shopping and heading back to our hotel room when right in...(read more)

Tuesday Tidbits - The Ever Versatile Bubbles

2009-10-13T12:09:00Z

I am always amazed at how the majority of kids just love bubbles. All you have to do is pull out a bottle of bubbles and kids seem to appear out of the wood work... waiting in anticipation for that first wave of round colorful bubbles to appear so they can chase after them and pop them. I have found, though, that bubbles have many uses when it comes to therapy: Encouaging vocalization/communciation - what better way to encourage a child to say/sign "more" than to offer them a taste of bubble popping...(read more)

One word: "support"

2009-10-07T16:03:00Z

No matter who you are or what you do I truly believe that the one word that can help each and everyone of us through the challenges we may face in our lives is the word "support". Think about it. When you are having a tough day, when everything seems to go wrong or everything you try and do just doesn't work the way you want it to.. what do you do? Most of us will call a friend or co-worker or relative and we will vent, or cry, or scream about how unfair the world is. We will share the day we are...(read more)

Tuesday tidbit - the Nuk Brush.

2009-09-14T03:57:00Z

How many of you have used a Nuk brush when working with your pediatric patients? Do you use it just to "wake up" their mouths or do you use it in other ways as well? As I have gained experience in the pediatric area and especially the oral motor/feeding challenges I have found that the Nuk Brush is a very versitile tool. Let me share some of the ways I have used it. 1) As a way to "wake up" the mouth, of course. :-) This is the most common way, I'm sure. We use the brush both inside the mouth (pressing...(read more)

Learning to Use a Straw - Honey Bear Cup vs Juice Box

2009-09-03T03:17:00Z

One of the things that interested me the most about becoming an Occupational Therapist was that we could look outside the box when it came to figuring out how to help the people we worked with. I loved how OT's are considered to be creative and innoventive when it comes to getting our goals accomplished. I've wanted to find a way to have this blog helpful for other pediatric OT's/Cota's and thought once a week I would start showcasing items that I've found to be useful. Today I wanted to share with...(read more)

Pediatric Jobs ...

2009-08-21T15:27:00Z

Thanks so much to everyone who responded via email and messages. I'm glad to see that what is being reported by the media is also what we are all seeing out in the "real world". Here in CT jobs in SNF are still the most available type of OT jobs out there but there are several companies that are looking for pediatric therapists as well, especially in the southeastern part of CT for the school and birth-to-three populations. A new area that I have seen more postings for is the homecare/hospice field....(read more)

A Couple Quick Questions ...

2009-08-03T03:10:00Z

I apologize for disappearing for a couple months but I am now back and will be working on getting the Pediatric Perspective back to twice a week blog entries. I thought I would start off with a couple questions I have been wondering about and I am hoping you all can answer some of them for me. 1) I keep reading how Occupational therapy has once again come up as one of the top growing job markets and is actually expected to grow faster than originally anticipated, especially with therapists working...(read more)

A Personal View of Autism

2009-05-08T13:02:00Z

Working in the Birth-to-three population we work with a wide range of developmental disabilities and handicaps. Autism is one of the most challenging because... well, Autism is a mystery in many ways. There is no rhyme or reason right now which children will "get" Autism, nor why or how it happens. There are theories and speculations but at this time no concrete, definite, absolute, positive answers. What we do know is that early intervention is a key to helping many Autistic children be able to...(read more)

Seminar Recommendation - Nutrition and kids on the spectrum

2009-05-04T13:32:00Z

As a pediatric COTA I find it hard to locate seminars that will be inexpensive and informative. I have had my fair share of ones that have promised to show me how to do this and that and help with a number of different strategies and objectives that have ultimately fallen short of those promises. I have also attended workshops that have lived up to what they promise but rarely have I attended a seminar that has not just lived up to it's promises but went above and beyond with information. This was...(read more)

Special Toys for Special Kids

2009-03-24T03:57:00Z

Last weekend I had to run into Toys*R*Us to pick up a birthday present for a party my son was attending. I am not a good shopper. I don't like to wander around the store looking at this or that - I much prefer to just know what I want to get, go into the store, right to that item, grab it, purchase it, and leave. 1.2.3. - done! So with a couple gift ideas in mind I walked into the toy store but before I had even gotten past the Easter toy displays my eyes were drawn to a rack holding pamphlets for toys that would be great for children with special needs.

What a great idea! So often I am asked by the parents I work with if I could recommend toys that would help their child(ren) with their unique sensory & development needs. I want to be able to offer them more than just the standard swings, water/sand table, finger paint suggestions. I have created a simple list and try to change it as new toys come out but now Toys*R*Us has made it even easier for me (and therapists & parents alike) to help out when it comes to birthday & holiday gift giving.

I wondered if there were other places that had a list of toys that would be helpful and found a few websites with some really good toy suggestions. I've listed a few here but if you go into Toys*R*Us you can pick up one (or two, or three) of their special toy brochures/pamphlets to share with your families and kids with special needs.

Ten Toys that Speak to Autism (Toys*R*Us)

eSpecial Needs (toys & adaptive equipment)

Fat Brain Toys (toys & resources for children with special needs)

Children Succeed - (games to help Autistic children with social skills)

Amazon Google (you can even do a search on the Amazon website under "autistic games")

Amazon Google - special needs (and even under "special needs games")

Bee Able Toys (Toys for children with special needs - Autism, Down Syndrome, and more)

Playworks (Special need toys)

Kidscope Toys (Autism, educational, special needs toys)

Toys for Special Needs Children (Nebraska even has an information page listing all the companies that offer toys with special needs in alphabetical order)

Happy Shopping! If anyone knows of any other good sites please share and I would be happy to post the names and/or links.

Until next time

~Wendy~

Latest News: Autism Not Caused By Vaccinations

2009-02-24T13:25:00Z

I was just reading how a Supreme Court has ruled that in the three latest court cases presented to them concerning vaccinations being the cause of Autism that there is no proof that the MMR vaccine was the direct cause of Autism in the children. I read the articles with a mixture of saddness and relief. I felt sad for the parents of children with Autism who are certain that it was the vaccinations that caused the Autism. This is a blow to all the parents who have been working hard to find safer ways for vaccinations to be given to our children. I fear their concerns will no longer be taken seriously. The relief came from the feeling that maybe now there will be more focus on what actually is causing the recent increase in Autism. Maybe without the debate both sides (parents & doctors) will come together and try and find why 1 in 150 children are being diagnosed with Autism. It may even come to be that although the vaccinations don't directly cause Autism they do cause a reaction in some children that brings about Autism. Similar to an allergic reaction except that it is a permanet reaction.

I'm enclosing a few links to the articles relating to this new ruling. If you have a few moments please read some of the comments that were left. There are some interesting and thought provaking comments. I know this is a hot topic with a lot of passion and emotion on both sides. I also know that until we can find what causes Autism and how to prevent it from happening in the future the best course of action to take right now is early intervention and ABA sessions as this has been a proven treatment for many Austic children.

Electronic Newsletter of Pharmaceutical Technology

GlobeLife (Autism Debate Should End Now)

US News and World Report

Associated Press (Editorial Round-up)