Occupational Therapy in Charlotte

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When discussing strategies for children with sensory processing disorders and ADD or ADHD, one helpful approach which is often new to parents is considering which foods are beneficial to increase attention and provide proprioceptive, or heavy work input to the mouth.

There are a number of foods which may have a calming affect, because of the sensory input provided to the mouth. Some of these foods include: 

- Sucking (ice, milk shakes, noodles, hard candy)
- Using a sports bottle with a straw for increased heavy work
- Thick foods like peanut butter, milk shakes, or smoothies
- Chewy foods like gum, fruit roll-ups, dried fruit, bagels, gummy candy, chicken strips, cheese, taffy, caramels, Starburst, or cooked vegetables

It can also be beneficial to include these foods & techniques in your child's lunch, at snack time during school, and provide a water bottle with a straw throughout the day.

If you and your child are looking for more guidance in the areas of sensory processing or ADHD in Charlotte, consult an Occupational Therapist at Child and Family Development!

With the return to school and Pre-K, there are bound to be new germs entering your child's world. Keeping toys cleaned regularly is one way to keep down the transfer of illness. A fun way to get your kids involved in the clean up and provide a tactile activity is to set up a "Shaving Cream Car Wash". Tactile activities are great for kids with sensory processing disorders, autism, and ADD.

All you need are small toy cars, popsicle sticks, plastic construction blocks, and small balls; shaving cream, a tray, and a way to clean up and dry off. (Other plastic toys can "take a bath" too.) Kids can use their cars to drive through a carwash that they build out of the blocks. Cars can be used to makes lines, patterns, or letters. You can also make a maze with the blocks for cars to drive through an obstacle course. After you are finished with the drive through, make sure to rinse the cars, dry them, and then put them away!

To increase the tactile experience, increase the amount of shaving cream to provide more contact with the skin, and include extra textures in the mix. To decrease the challenge, use less shaving cream, and provide paper towels within sight to ease anxiety about quick clean up when the shaving cream becomes too much.

This activity was shared from: The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun: Activities for Kids with Sensory Processing Disorder by Carol Kranowitz, M.A. For more great activities in all areas of sensory processing, get your hands on a copy of the book!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As school gets back into full swing, working on handwriting and pre-writing shapes often comes home in the form of worksheets, or kids are tired of the traditional method of pencil and paper. This is a fun activity that can be used for shapes, numbers, and letters. It is ideal for any child working on handwriting, fine motor skills, or tactile defensiveness such as children with autism or sensory processing disorders. It would also be appropriate for children with dyslexia, ADD, hyperactivity, learning disabilities, or developmental delays.

Feely Shapes: Fun with Spaghetti!  

What you will need: 
- package of spaghetti
- pot with water
- placemats

Activities: Cook the spaghetti and then rinse it with cold water until its cool enough for little hands to touch. Provide a placemat for easier clean up and encourage your child to make shapes, numbers or letters out of this fun new texture.

The following shapes are appropriate expectations: 
2-3 years old: imitate a vertical line, horizontal line, and circle; copy a horizontal line
3-4: copy a horizontal line and circle
4-5: cross, diagonals, square, X
5+: triangle, make a person, create a picture, uppercase letters, & lowercase letters

Adding different types of pasta will increase the tactile input & creative potential during this activity. If children are afraid to touch the pasta, they should be encouraged, but could use eating utencils to lessen the sensory challenge.

This fun activity is shared from the book, "The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun: Activities for Kids with Sensory Processing Disorder" by Carol Kranowitz, M.A. which is full of great sensory activities for kids!

As a student, I had the opportunity to do an occupational therapy internship in a relatively large school system outside of Charlotte. After graduating, I decided I was interested in working outside of the schools, in an outpatient clinic. Although an occupational therapist can work on many of the same areas in the school and outpatient clinic settings, there are some key differences that I have learned about and that are key for parents to know.

The first is occupational therapy in school and educational settings are focused on, and even restricted to, areas related to educational participation, these include academic, mobility, psychosocial, behavioral, and self-care. Intervention which is considered to be purely medically necessary and unrelated to accessing education cannot be addressed. The model is based in a team aspect, or a collaboration between the child, family, teachers, therapists, and exceptional children specialists. The classic picture of this interaction occurs in IEP meetings, but collaboration is an ongoing exchange of information and reccomendations between the involved parties throughout the school year. Intervention is often carried out in the classroom or in individual or group pull out sessions during the school day. Intervention for sensory processing disorders with the use of large equipment is often limited, if available, due to a lack of access to equipment during the school day.

Occupational therapy in an outpatient clinic, like Child and Family Development, is also based on a team approach, which is called a multidisciplinary approach. In this model, an occupational therapist, physical therapist, speech therapist, pscyhologist and educational specialist are able to coordinate treatment together. Parents are interviewed and goals are written in collaboration. Information is often provided to physicians and classroom teachers based on parent consent. In the outpatient setting, occupational therapy intervention and goals are unrestricted and are focused on areas of need, including both medical and educational aspects. Evaluation and intervention often includes self-care, play skills, visual motor, motor development, sensory processing, visual perception, visual motor integration, fine motor development, feeding skills, bilateral coordination, social skills, grasping skills, upper body strength, handwriting, and caregiver education.  

These differences highlight only a few of the differences between the two settings, but they bring to light why some children would benefit from either both clinic & school-based therapy; or ONLY clinic OR school-based therapy. For more information on services provided here, visit our website at www.childandfamilydevelopment.com.

One fun & tasty sensory activity that is a classic is doing pudding art! All you need is a box of pudding mix or you can use the prepackaged variety. Instant pudding can be made with cold milk so it can be safe for your children to help you make it, compared to the stove top variety. Use a flat plate or plastic serving tray & scoop the pudding on the surface. Then allow little hands to help spread it out. Using fingers and flattened hands can make great art that can easily be wiped away and done again. It can be a great medium for practicing prewriting skills, drawing, and practicing letters! And, you can eat it of course!

This activity may be overly stimulating for children with tactile defensiveness, which we often see in children with Autism or Sensory Processing Disorders. If your child exhibits defensiveness, encourage them but, don't force them to touch the pudding. Incorporating tools like a spoon or old paint brush could encourage them to continue with playing with the pudding without having to touch it. Add sprinkles, Cool-whip, or other fun toppings to vary the texture! It will take a little clean up, but it will be alot of fun!

Any child would benefit from this activity including those with anxiety, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder (ADD), hyperactivity, and developmental delays! Enjoy :)

One piece of occupational therapy is addressing aversion to sticky or gooey textures which can impact a childs willingness to engage in everyday activities. If you are home for the summer or on the weekend and are looking for a sensory cooking and play activity, here is one that can be paired with a book! It is a great activity for any child, but particularly children with autism, attention deficit disorder, ADHD, hyperactivity, or developmental delays.

This recipe is for "Oobleck" from Dr. Seuss' book, "Bartholomew and the Oobleck". You can read the story before making the gooey substance. Your kids can get involved with mixing the recipe together and it offers a great sensory experience afterwards. The oobleck looks like liquid and will run off and down your fingers, but when you pick it up in chunks or pinch it, it feels like a solid. 

Ingredients: 
1 box cornstarch
1 1/2 to 2 cups water
a drop or two of food coloring

Add water to the cornstarch in a bowl until it is semi-firm & mix well. It can be stored covered in the refrigerator. As it becomes dry in storage and/or from handling, add water to soften it.

To increase the sensory challenge ask your children to mix the ingredients by hand and play with the oobleck with both hands. Decrease the sensory challenge by offering them a spoon to mix and even to play with the oobleck. Some children will warm up to it slowly, progressing from spoon play, to poking in one finger, or liking the feeling of the ooblick dripped on the back of their hands or off their fingers! Remember, with any sensory activity, the goal is to have fun and only stretch a little bit beyond our comfort zone, rather than causing too much anxiety.  

Recipe shared from www.skillbuildersonline.com  "Recipes for Sensory Play"

Hi!

I am a new member of the Child and Family Development therapy team! I am an occupational therapist working in the South Charlotte office near Pineville.  I was born in Charlotte and have recently returned to practice after graduating from Lenoir-Rhyne University with a masters degree in occupational therapy. I have experience working with children with autism, developmental delays, handwriting, and visual motor challenges through my internships. I am excited about doing pediatric therapy with Child and Family Development!
 
Kati Berlin, M.S., OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Child and Family Development