Sensory Defensivness – What is it?
So, what is Sensory Defensiveness and how might it impact my child? Essentially, sensory defensiveness is when a child has aversive, defensive, negative or avoidant reactions in one or more sensory system. This includes the systems; Touch Hearing Smell Visual Taste Vestibular (Movement) Proprioceptive (Deep pressure) When a child has sensory defensiveness the area in […]
Visual Stimulation in Kindy classes – Article Review
‘Visual Environment, Attention Allocation and Learning in Young Children: When Too Much of a Good Thing May Be Bad’ by A.Fisher, K.E.Godwin1, and H.Seltman (2014) We find this a great article to pass on to teachers and parents- especially those who are interested in research and evidence, as a way to help them understand the impacts […]
Comic Strip Conversations
What is a Comic Strip Conversation? A conversation between two or more people through simple drawings They explore what people say and do and emphasize what people may be thinking Are a useful tool for visual learns to work through a problem or situation to identify solutions Can be used to show that each person […]
The Power of Language
You may be reading this thinking ‘I’ve got this, I know how I use language and how to use it to support others too” But… when was the last time you really thought about how you use language? And is how you perceive your own use of language actually how others perceive it? Prior to […]
Does your child get writer’s block?
Many children and adults have trouble getting thoughts onto paper. It is common to be caught staring at the page with nothing coming out. So how can we help kids order their thoughts and ideas to take that next step of putting pen to paper? Here are some in the moment strategies that may help […]
The OT’s Key to Handwriting Success
When OT’s look at handwriting, they are assessing a wide range of skills. All of these skills are needed to do something as simple as write your own name. This infographic looks at the different levels of skills needed for handwriting success: (1) Foundational skills of being able to complete academic tasks; body regulation, sensory […]
Have they understood?
Children with auditory processing difficulties often have difficulty understanding instructions that they have been given. It may be that due to too much competing background noise, internal processing difficulties, they were not ready to receive the information or the way that the instruction was given. Here are some in the moment tips that may help […]
Using the mouth to support posture and calming
Patricia Oetter, Eileen Richter & Sheila Frick are amazing therapists that support kids who have difficulty with posture, regulation, attention and oral motor (feeding, talking, breathing). They talk all about using the mouth (breathing, biting, chewing, blowing etc) to help calm the nervous system down and develop posture. From birth, a babies movement is driven […]
The 10 risks of self awareness
There are many situations that cause us to learn about ourselves; going on a camp, making big life choices, supporting others, being in leadership positions, going on a trip. However choosing to go on a journey of self-awareness should not be decided on lightly. I have gathered from my own experiences and my friends, 10 […]
4 reasons to see a counsellor for the small/medium problems
So perhaps when going through a rough time you have thought ‘I should probably go talk to someone about it’ and don’t. Or perhaps when talking to a loved one said ‘I think you should go talk to someone about it’, and they don’t. This ‘someone’ refers to a health professional who is trained in talking […]