Continuing on our Earth Day adventures with the theme of getting outside one of my fellow colleagues who is a former PE instructor sent me a great blog from peds OT Loren Shlaes.  Entitled Why Kids Need Recess and PE for Academic Success it is an open invitation to teachers (and parents and ANYONE who will listen!) on the value of recess ...

As the good sensory trained therapists that we are, we have long known anecdotally that children with autism often avert eye gaze especially when there is simultaneous input, such as when the child is being given auditory directions and/or is attempting to problem solve a situation.  When I work with teachers who have kids on the spectrum ...

I was saddened to learn recently  of the death of an icon in the world of OT. Jane Koomar, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA passed away peacefully at her home on February 24th after a long illness.  I did not have the privilege of knowing her personally, but she certainly had an influence on my life as a peds OT with a love for all things SI.  An ...

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 ...

Last week I presented at another conference for early childhood educators.  Entitled 10 Terrific Tips for DAP Fine Motor Skills the workshop  covered  important sensory and motor components needed for developing  good hand skills.  (See my blog from last spring on the AHA! Moment).  The room was packed and ...

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 ...

Most of you are already gone and/or headed out today for the winter break holidays so just keep this on file to use when your school or clinic services resume in January.  Your Therapy Source has just released a helpful infographic on Movement and Learning . This handy graphic cites CDC research that indicates that 5-20 minute movement breaks ...

I received an email earlier this week from Dr. Lucy Miller and her work at the SPD Foundation. Sadly, the final revisions for the DSM-5 have been made and the SPD diagnosis will not be included in this edition.  I can hear the collective sighs from therapists and parents from around the country as I did when I read the note.   I ...

This past week I presented a workshop to a child care provider network. This insightful group of mentors and educators were passionate about finding ways to adapt the current programs in many of their centers to include more sensory motor concepts.  As we talked about the importance of vestibular input and how gentle swinging can provide ...

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 ...