Education Therapy Charlotte

Child and Family Development provides pediatric therapy services at several Charlotte schools throughout the year including: 

• Charlotte Secondary School
• John Crosland School
• Metrolina Regional Scholar's Academy
• The Fletcher School
• Union Academy Charter School

Thanks for working with us during the 2012-2013 school year. Have a great summer and we'll see you in the fall!

An recent article on Medline Plus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health, examine the value of regular physical activity for children. This article highlights objective research that shows without a doubt that there are big benefits to this heavy work activity that we recommend for our kids. The benefits are not just for the kids with sensory or self-regulation challenges, but for all kids. 

Click the following link to read the full article: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_137130.html
 

Here is an excerpt: “Since the No Child Left Behind Act was passed in 2001, 44 percent of school officials have cut back on physical education to devote more time to reading and mathematics in the classroom," according to the report.

However, research suggests that regular physical activity may actually improve academic performance, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) noted. For instance, aerobic fitness is linked to working memory and problem solving. Recess offers children the opportunity to develop social skills and use their imaginations. Benefits of physical activity during the school day are greater than the benefits of exclusive use of classroom time for academics, the authors concluded.”

This is especially relevant to OT because we frequently treat children who have difficulty with self-regulation. These are kids who are getting all of the sensory inputs that the world has to offer but they can’t seem to handle it all and so their systems get disorganized. This results in all kinds of challenges for them to function successfully in their daily settings. We frequently recommend what we call “heavy work” activities to help with this outside of what we do in the clinic environment. 

Heavy work is essentially physical activity that grown-ups would call exercise. It’s generally anything that makes your heart beat faster, makes you sweat, and makes you breathe heavier. 

In my work as an Occupational Therapist at Child and Family Development, I hear often from children that they “didn’t have to do anything” in gym class or they didn’t have to participate. Even if your child has a regular hour of gym class every day, which is not so common anymore it seems, it is still important to help them move around outside of school. 

Tips for getting more exercise in

• Try to go for a walk after dinner or right when you get home. It doesn’t have to feel like work to count as exercise, any movement is good movement. That exercise will actually help them sit better for homework time. It may be beneficial to delay homework time for 30 minutes to go for a walk. I know it’s hard to work full time, take care of everything else in your child’s schedule and still even find time to feed yourself something decent let alone to add something to that schedule. 
• Start small, start by just going outside in the yard to play catch or basketball for 5 or 10 minutes at a quiet point in the day. Work your way up from there. 

The research shows exercise is not just good for your children’s physical health but perhaps even more importantly it’s beneficial for their emotional and mental health as well.

We are glad to be celebrating 3 years in our South Charlotte office.

We moved into the 7000 square foot space back in 2010 and have covered every inch of it with therapy materials and equipment for kids, adolescents and young adults.

All 5 of our core services- Education, Psychology, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy- are offered here from the team of about 16 therapists.

Give us a call if you like a tour.

On May 2nd, I attended a TalkTools training!  This course was taught by Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson, M.S., CCC-SLP and presented by the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Charlotte.  I left this course with renewed enthusiasm about the field of Speech Language Pathology. 

This course focuses on the fact that there is often a physical reason for articulation issues.  Sara teaches the importance of using touch to teach as well as on the importance of using resistance and repetitions to improve muscle skills (speech/feeding) through Oral Placement Therapy (OPT).

I came back to to my work at Child and Family Development with new ideas, resources, and a desire to learn MORE!  I look foward to attending more TalkTools courses, using my new strategies with my current clients, and educating other professionals and parents about this approach!

To learn more about this approach check out their website at http://www.talktools.com

The North Carolina General Assembly has been considering a bill to require students to learn cursive handwriting.  The "Back to Basics" bill ensures that the teaching of cursive handwriting will become a priority in elementary school classrooms.  Many other states in this country are also considering similar bills. 

The importance of cursive handwriting is for helping children develop more refined fine motor skills, learn self-discipline, and increase brain activity in the visual-motor areas of the brain. The small muscles in the hand develop as we use them for precision skills. Handwriting is one of those precision skills.

We use different sets of muscles to hold the pen correctly with a tripod grasp than with a less refined grasp. Cursive writing is usually taught later than printing because we need even more muscle control to guide the pen smoothly across the page as we connect the letters to form words. The stop and start movements in printing do not encourage those muscles to develop endurance or "flow" as cursive writing teaches. These same muscles are the ones that help children with manipulating clothing fasteners (Can they button and tie their shoes well?)

If we raise a generation of children that don't fully develop their dexterity then who will take over the jobs such as surgeons, scientists and computer technicians that require fully developed fine motor skills.

Thank you to those individuals who recognize that cursive handwriting is still an important skill in this age of technology. 

 

In a recent post for The National Center for Learning Disabilities, Bonnie Z. Goldsmith opens her article "Organization: A Crucial Executive Skill for Your Child with LD" with a question:

"What’s one thing that makes for a parent’s unhappy day? Getting a phone call or email from school, informing you that your child — who may spend lots of time doing homework — hasn’t turned anything in for six weeks. This wake-up call may be your first indication that your child is having trouble in school. The information is doubly disconcerting when you find, buried in your child’s heavy backpack, lots of completed homework that was never turned in."

This summer, Child and Family Development will offer ORGANIZING MIND, BODY & BACKPACK, an Executive Functioning Skills Group which will provide an opportunity for students to reflect on their personal school experiences and consider new strategies to help them continue to be sucessful in school.

For more information, contact Jessica DeLing, M.Ed, at (704) 332-4834 ext. 123 or jdeling@childandfamilydevelopment.com

Click here to read the full article by Bonnie Z. Goldsmith.

It can be hard to stay motivated in school with summer just around the corner.  If your child's enthuiasm for school is on the decline, consider these creative ways to keep them going strong.

Surprise! :  Make an effort to surprise your child with a weekly note to tell them how proud you are of their accomplishments and hard work.  This can be a notecard in their backpack, words of encouragement tucked in a folder on test day, or a special treat and card in their lunchbox. 

Question of the day:  Asking a child about his or her day at school likely results in a one word answer.  If you are met with "fine" or "good," when trying to get the details of the day, consider asking a different question.

"What is something that you did really well today?"

"Who made you laugh today and why?"

"Who did you sit next to at lunchtime?"

Get crafty!:  Have your child create a poster or scrapbook of their accomplishments up to this point in the year.  Remebering field trips, class pets and fun with friends can be a great way to keep them excited about school.

A different spin on homework:  When checking your child's homework, pretend to be the student and ask your child to "teach" you.  As your child explains their thinking, they will likely find their own mistakes. 

An A+ for effort:  Look for progress everywhere.  Consistently recognizing your childs effort can go a long way in motivating them.  Noticing the way they handled a particular problem, the extra time put into an art project or the initiative they took to read a more challenging book, can be great causes for celebration!

Fun Family Friday parties: End the week with a family celebration.  This can include dinner out at a favorite restaurant or a quiet night movies and snacks; while celebrating the sucsesses of the week.

The team at Child and Family Development encourages families and professionals to attend the next presentation in the John Crosland School Speaker Series "Taming Family Stress" on May 3, 2013 from 8:30- 9:30 A.M.

Cynthia Dickinson, a school counselor at JCS, will explore the causes and effects of stress and introduce some simple techniques to tame family stress.

RSVP to the school by April 29 via peley@johncroslandschool.org.

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a presentation given by Dr. Derek Brugman, D.O., also known as the “ADHD doctor”, at The John Crosland School. Dr. Brugman gave two very clever examples of the ADHD brain that have been helpful in explaining ADHD to parents.

• The ADHD brain functions like a pilot light on a gas oven that is continuously going out while someone is trying to bake a cake.  Meaning that the ADHD brain has to work really hard to keep its “pilot light” lit while trying to accomplish daily tasks.  Moreover, the ADHD brain’s pilot light likely keeps going out and has to be continuously relit numerous times while trying to complete a task, especially tasks that are hard or not interesting.
   
• The ADHD brain functions like a gas grill that can only stay lit if you continuously keep pushing the ignition button.  It would be like trying to cook hot dogs on a grill, while flipping them over at the appropriate times and continuing to push that “little red button” while doing so.  This explains why the ADHD brain may often choose to just “eat cold hot dogs”.  This leads to frustration, a sense of failure and possibly others viewing the ADHD brain as just plain lazy.

So, the next time you encounter an ADHD brain that has been “relighting its pilot light” all day at school and has tried to “continuously push its little red button” to perform academically, don’t be surprised that when it comes to homework time you may experience the ADHD person acting like an unhappy grizzly bear!!

Need help?

Click here to learn more about the services or set up an evauluation at Child and Family Development in Charlotte. Kimberly Springs is based in our South Charlotte office. 

Is your child 2 years, 3 years, or 4 years old, and having trouble jumping? Jumping can be very difficult for some kids to perform. Jumping and playing is an excellent way for kids to strengthen large muscles that will further contribute to their development and growth. By age 2, most children should be able to jump off the ground with both feet simultaneously.

Here is a general outline for typical toddler development related to jumping:

Timeline

• On average, by 2 years, children can jump up off the ground clearing both feet and jump down from a 7 inch height.
• On average, by 2.5 years, children can jump up to touch an object placed 2 inches above their fingertips.
• On average, by 3 years, children can broad jump a distance of 24 inches and jump over a 2 inch high hurdle.

If your child is behind on some of these developmental bench marks, there are several ways that you can help your child.

How to help

• If your child has no clue how to jump, try this. Sit down on a chair. Face your child away from you and place them in a squat position with their feet on the chair between your thighs. Say, “1, 2, 3, Jump!” Lift them up by their trunk to help them “jump” down to the ground. As your child starts to get the feel for this, help them less and less with each jump.
• Most children first learn to jump from a springy surface, such as a trampoline. To help your child jump on a trampoline, start by providing full trunk support as they jump, next help them by holding 2 hands, and finally hold only one of their hands. After they master jumping on the trampoline, they will begin jumping from the floor.
• Your child can practice their jumping on a trampoline while holding onto hand grips or a bar. Clinically, I have found that purchasing a small trampoline with a hand rail attached for the home, immensely helps children learn how to jump.
• It often helps when children have a start- and end-point to jump to. Place two door mats right beside each other. Have your child jump from mat to mat. You can challenge your child by progressively moving the mats further apart.

Need help?

If you want help with these suggestions or notice any of the above mentioned warning signs, a Physical Therapy evaluation can determine if your child is simply showing normal variability in gross motor development or if your child can benefit from intervention. Call me today at (704) 332-4834 ext. 114 to set up an evaluation at Child and Family Development. Click here for more information on our services.

References

 "Gross motor skills for toddlers." Early intervention support. N.p.. Web. 18 Feb 2013.

"Learning to Jump." What to expect. N.p.. Web. 18 Feb 2013.

McAfee, O. "Large muscle development and assessment."Education.com. Pearson, n.d. Web. 18 Feb 2013. 

Many years ago I chose to become an occupational therapist working in the field of pediatrics. Occupational Therapy is a medical profession that uses engaging and everyday activities to help children and adults either recover skills that were lost due to accident or injury or gain skills that are slow to develop.

I engage with children who have Autism, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, feeding disorders, genetic disorders, metabolic disorders, sensory processing disorders and even children with mild handwriting difficulties. 

Occupation refers to everyday activitie including self-care skills, school readiness skills (i.e., handwriting and cutting), play, and how we participate in family and community activities. As therapists we promote skill development in motor skills, visual skills, sensory processing skills, attention and other higher level cognitive and social skills.

With children, much of our treatment includes fun, play-based activities because this is highly motivating and the children are sometimes unaware that they are engaged in exercise or work activities that promote skill development. 

If you have questions or concerns about any area of your child's development, talk to your pediatrician about referring you for an Occupational Therapy evaluation or call us at Child and Family Development (click here for locations and phone numbers) to schedule a screening or evaluation.

Click here for more information on the occupational therapists at Child and Family Development!

If you know an Occupational Therapist already, please wish them  a "HAPPY OT MONTH!"

The Fletcher School in Charlotte will host a free workshop on Apraxia on Thursday, April 25, 6 p.m. in the Rankin Room. The featured speaker is Sharon Gretz, M.Ed, Founder and Executive Director of the Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA) and Apraxia-KIDS.

Apraxia 101 is a free workshop for parents only and will share information about childhood apraxia of speech in “parent-friendly” language. Some of the topics will include:

• How can we understand childhood apraxia of speech?
• What goes wrong in the speech process for our kids?
• What do we know about effective speech therapy and what it “looks like”?
• What progress can or should be expected?
• What is the long range prognosis for children with CAS?
• Key strategies for parents as advocates for children with CAS
• Open question and discussion period will follow to discuss a range of topics

The Fletcher school is at 8500 Sardis Road North, Charlotte NC 28270. Click here for map and directions.

Check in is from 6 to 6:30 p.m. Light refreshments and snacks will be available. The workshop will last until 9 p.m.

To Register

The cost for the workshop is free, but everyone must register in advance and space is limited. Click here to register now!

Have a question?

Please contact Sharon Gretz at sharong@apraxia-kids.org or at 412-343-7102.

Special Note

This seminar is brought to Charlotte thanks to the efforts of the volunteers, walkers, and supporters of the 2012 Charlotte Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech. Their efforts produced over $30,000 raised during last year’s walk and one local benefit of this amazing achievement is this free seminar. 

More about the Featured Speaker

Sharon Gretz, M.Ed., is the founder and Executive Director of CASANA and Apraxia-KIDS. She has her Master’s degree in Counseling and has completed all course work toward a Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders.  She has worked in the disability field for over 25 years, with expertise in organizational and program development.  In 2002, Ms. Gretz was honored by the National Council on Communicative Disorders/ASHA at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC when she was awarded the National Distinguished Service Award for her dedication to elevating national awareness and advocacy on behalf of children with CAS and their families.  In 2008 she was selected as a Community Champion by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette for her work related to children with apraxia.  Sharon is the parent of a 21-year-old son, who was diagnosed at the age of 3 years with severe apraxia of speech.

Child and Family Development is proud to support the 5^th Cure SMA Walk & Roll on Saturday, April 20, at the Alexander Graham Middle School Track near SouthPark. This will be the final Walk & Roll fundraiser.

The event is 2-4 p.m. and features a one-lap walk around the track, a DJ, Crafts, Cake Walk, Field Goal Contest and more.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a neuromuscular disorder that kills more babies than any other inherited disease. Gray was diagnosed with Type II SMA in August, 1999 and Gray's Gang was established soon afterwards. Gray’s Gang is a 100 percent volunteer organization committed to defeating the deadly disease of Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

Please visit GraysGang.com for further information

Looking for a social skills group for your child this summer? Check out Social Butterflies Club™ at the South Charlotte office of Child and Family Development!

Social Butterflies Club™, founded in 2004 by Rhonda Osisek M.S., CCC-SLP in Virginia, helps children learn how to interact with peers while having fun with sensory and speech activities combined.

Both an occupational therapist and speech therapist leads this club at CFD. The children in the group may have a variety of diagnoses, such as expressive and/or receptive language problems, sensory processing difficulties, and fine motor deficits. The goal of the Social Butterflies Club™ is to teach the kids how to communicate with peers in a positive way that allows them to thrive outside of therapy.

Each child is screened as part of placement. Clubs are formed based on each child’s communication skills, social ability and age. The Club meets for 1-hour sessions for four consecutive days. Several schedule options are offered this summer.

We will be offering some fun themes including Going on a Picnic, Fourth of July, Under the Sea and Back to School. The club will be led by speech therapist Michelle Pentz, MS, CCC-SLP, and  occupational therapist Courtney Stanley, MS, OTR/L. 

Contact  Michelle Pentz, 704-541-9080 x214, mpentz@childandfamilydevelopment.com to register your child.

Click here for more details about the Social Butterflies Club™.

Click here for more information about the C&FD.

Special Education regulations always seem to be changing.  It can be difficult to keep up.  As an Education Specialist at Child and Family Development, I am often asked to "demystify" the Special Education process.

Here are some of the most common questions I receive:

MYTH: Changes can’t be made to an IEP once it is signed until the next annual IEP meeting.

FACT:  Parents can ask for a new IEP meeting anytime, for any reason. 

HELPFUL HINT:  Put your request into writing including your reason for wanting to meet. This will keep the lines of communication open and create a paper trail to ensure that your request is met in a timely manner.

MYTH: Special Education only occurs in a special education classroom

FACT: The law requires special education students to be taught in the Least Restrictive Environment.  This means that children should be educated with non-disabled peers in the general education classroom to the maximum extent possible. 

HELPFUL HINT: If your child receives resource to support a specific skill, adding inclusion time will help transfer these skills into the general education classroom.

MYTH:  If I disagree with my child’s IEP, I shouldn’t sign it.

FACT:  Each state is different.  In North Carolina, you have the option to sign either agreeing or disagreeing with the IEP. 

HELPFUL HINT:  If you disagree, include your concerns and which parts of the IEP you disagree with.  The LEA (Local Education Authority, in most cases the school administrator) at the meeting will be able to guide you with next steps to take.

At least once a week, I hear bedtime woes from clients: “My daughter is never tired at bedtime” or “My son takes hours to fall asleep.” Given that a child’s development relies on restorative sleep patterns, these concerns about bedtime are more than matters of convenience. Unhealthy sleep patterns can cause behavioral issues, changes in appetite and difficulty acquiring new skills, to name a few things.

To improve bedtime, tap into your child’s sensory system. Children with atypical sensory processing or modulation can have an even harder time calming themselves for bed.  I recently attended a course titled Effective Neurological Management of Sensory Processing Disorder presented by Charlene Young, OTR/L, CEAS.  In this course, Young provided some fresh, useful sensory suggestions to prepare your child for bedtime whether they have sensory difficulties or not. Here are some of her suggestions as well as my tried-and-true methods to improve bedtime routines:

To get to sleep

• Move your body. Before the bedtime routine even begins, make sure that the child has used his energy. Try to do 10-20 minutes of: 1) movement (running, jumping, skipping, rolling) and 2) heavy work (muscle work – e.g. carrying laundry baskets, rearranging chairs after dinner, doing wall push ups).  The movement will get out the child’s energy and the heavy work will reorganize his system.
• Stick to a routine. All children -- and most adults -- find comfort in routines. When you prepare for bedtime with the same steps every night – school night, weekend night, or summertime – you will put your child at ease.  Consider using a picture schedule to help both you and your little one stay on track.  A picture schedule also helps remind mom and dad - even grandma and grandpa - of the routine.
• Put down the iPad. Turn off electronics at least 30 minutes before bedtime. The blue lights in electronics facilitate wakefulness.  Also, fluorescent lighting can negatively affect the nervous system. Turn these lights off before bedtime or, if needed, cover in green tissue paper to better calm. 
• Cool the body. Bathe your child in a hot bath for about 20 minutes. The drop in body temperature that follows when you take him out of the bath will calm his body. 

To stay asleep

• Lower the thermostat. Just as a drop in body temperature calms, cooler temperatures at night can help the body regulated and asleep.  Cooling pillows are also a good option.
• Left ear to the wall. Position your child’s left ear next to the wall to decrease noise.  The right ear needs to remain accessible to access the left side of the brain, which is the language-based area.
• Turn off the nightlight. Complete darkness facilitates melatonin production and aids with sleep

If you child still cannot regulate his sleep patterns, there may be a more significant medical issue.  Consult your pediatrician and/or occupational therapist.

Sweet dreams…zzzzzz

I am very excited to provide Speech-Language Therapy to students at The John Crosland School this year! As part of partnering with JCS, we are offering FREE speech and language screenings to their students.

A screening is a brief overview of strengths and weaknesses and is completed by a licensed therapist. A screening can help determine the need for an evaluation or make other recommendations. We use a standardized screening tool appropriate for your child’s age. Each screening is a 15-20 minute "one-on-one" session (child and therapist) and might also include a conversation with the teacher.

If you are interested in receiving a screening for your child who is currently attending The John Crosland School, please contact Stephanie Gerlich, M.S., CCC-SLP at 704-541-9080 ext.215 or email sgerlich@childandfamilydevelopment.com.

A recent study completed through the National Institute of Health (NIH) Children found that children who failed to acquire a specific set of basic math skills in First Grade scored far behind their peers by Seventh Grade on a test of the mathematical abilities needed to function in adult life.

The specific math skill that must be learned early in a child’s education is number system knowledge. Number knowledge is the ability to relate a quantity to the numerical symbol that represents it, to manipulate quantities and to make calculations.

This skill is the basis for all other mathematics abilities, including those necessary for the math skills needed to function as an adult member of society. Number system knowledge has several core principles:

• Numbers represent different magnitudes (five is bigger than four).
• Number relationships stay the same, even though numbers may vary. For example, the difference between 1 and 2 is the same as the difference between 30 and 31.
• Quantities can be represented by symbolic figures (***= the numeral 3 or ###### = the numeral 6).
• Numbers can be broken into component parts (5 is made up of 2 and 3 or 1 and 4).

If your child is struggling to learn any of the Number System’s core principles, then math intervention is strongly recommended.

Educators at Child and Family Development are especially trained to identify math weaknesses in children and remediate any math deficits. Contact an educational specialist at either the Midtown or the South Charlotte location to discuss your concerns. Click here for more information and to contact us. 

Click here for graphics that illustrate number system knowledge and depicting the study results.