As a peds OT for over 25 years, I’ve said for a long time now that it’s not what we teach our kids in therapy it’s what they teach us!  Here are a few great examples of our ambassadors for special needs: Grace McClelland: Born with a ULD (Upper Limb Difference) at age 5 Grace was bullied by a boy at at school for her “stupid little ...

I just received this update from the SPD Foundation regarding the Newtown, CT murders and the young man identified as the shooter Adam Lanza.  (See my December blog:  Autism Speaks Out About Newtown Tragedy).  PBS's Frontline has released a riveting documentary on Adam, his apparent diagnosis of SPD and his early years as his family ...

As my year as your peds blogger comes to a close, I thought I would give you a rundown of the top 5 most popular posts.   5.  Weighing in at the fifth spot was the final update on the DSM-5 due out next May: SPD Excluded from DSM-5. 4. The AJOT published study on Speed and Legibility with Pencil Grasp had some surprising ...

In addition to the exclusion of the SPD diagnosis which I blogged about last week,   there are more changes to the upcoming DSM-5 which recently received final revision and approval.   Most notable are the sweeping changes to the autism diagnosis.  To summarize from the Autism Society's position statement ... ''The DSM-5 ...

A colleague recently sent this YouTube link and I felt compelled to share it. Although titled What Autism Feels Like, it is actually a brief clip on what a day probably sounds like in the life of a child with ASD. As peds therapists, it often becomes our role in the school, clinic or our community to educate teachers, parents and/or other staff ...

Last evening at a party, I was reminded once again how thankful I am to be a pediatric OT.  At a party you ask?  Let me explain!  Several months ago one of my neighbors shared with me that her son had been recently diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.  He was struggling with some social/behavioral issues for awhile including ...

I know I have been blogging frequently on the topic of autism, but given the media attention it seems to be getting these days, along with the proposed definition changes in the upcoming DSM-5, it just seems fitting to keep current in this ever expanding field. This past week I took a quick trip to San Diego to check out the Autism Society of ...

I received an update last evening from the desk of Lucy Jane Miller. Seems the APA (American Psychiatric Association) has announced the third and final opportunity for public feedback on the upcoming DSM- 5 to be published in 2013.  In the newsletter, Dr. Miller gives an update on the status of her research on SPD and ...

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 ...