W sitting

There are many different sitting positions that children use every day while playing but there is one sitting position in particular that some children use that should be avoided as much as possible. This sitting position is called “W sitting”. In other sitting positions children are able to develop the rotation and trunk control that everyone needs for midline crossing. Midline crossing is when you reach across your body with your arms. Midline crossing is important for fine motor skills such as writing and also are helpful in developing hand dominance. The reason that W sitting is not recommended is because it hinders the midline crossing, developing hand dominance and also can lead to future orthopedic problems. One reason that W sitting hinders midline crossing is because it keeps the child in one place, the child can play with toys in front of them but does not allow them to rotate their trunk or twist to reach for other toys that are not in front of them. This position could cause the child to not have hand dominance because they are less likely to reach across their body because they are able to pick up things on their right side with their right hand and same thing on the left side. If a child continuously sits in this “W sitting” position it might hinder them from developing mature movement patterns they will need for higher level skills. This sitting position can also cause orthopedic concerns, it can predispose children to hip dislocation, and so if concerns have been raised in the past this position should be avoided. These are reasons why you want to prevent your child from consistently sitting in the “W position”, so watch how your child sits and move them out of this W position if necessary.

Haloween Acitivties *Repost*

Holidays are a great time to encourage new ways of working on therapeutic activities in a fun manner! Here are some of our Halloween themed suggestions.....

Carving pumpkins offers a variety of fun ways to work on therapy goals. For those sensory kids, it's a great messy play experience to help dig out the insides with their hands or finger paint the outsides. For kids who are working on shape formation, they can help by drawing faces on the pumpkins with markers. If they don't turn out how they want them to, they can always wipe them off and start over again! For older kids who need to work on strength, have them help with some of the simple carving with safe tools and adult supervision.

To work on fine motor skills, have your children color fun Halloween themed pictures, finger paint, cut out new shapes, and fold paper to make spider legs. You can also work on fine motor by using pipe cleaners to wrap around suckers to make spiders or bugs.

For sensory kids who need calming activities, wrap them with Ace bandages and make them into mummies for a calming input. You can also have them work on heavy work by having them help by carrying or rolling pumpkins from one location to another.

For the sensory kids who need to work on interacting with more textures, you can present them with a variety of bowls of foods and have them guess what they might be - with their eyes open or closed. Peeled grapes could be eyeballs, spaghetti noodles could be worms, jello or wet sponges could be brains, plastic fork tines could be vampire teeth, and corn can be teeth.

To work on speech sounds focus on your target sounds. For example, if your child is working on the "k" sound, talk about things that are spooKy, pumpKins, icKy, blacK Cats, etc.

Have fun!!!

Riding the Bus *Repost*

Riding the bus can be unexpectedly overwhelming experience for your child, which could affect their day at school and/or their evening once they get home. Being on a bus offers a variety of sensory experiences that may compound into too much for one sensory-sensitive body to handle.

First, it's important to consider the new environment (even if your child has been on the bus in the past). There will be new children, possibly a new driver, people sitting in different seats than they are accustomed to, or a new bus in general. If possible, try to help your child find a buddy to sit with on the bus so that they have a familiar person to look to each time they ride. It can also be helpful to have the child have the option to consistently sit in the same seat. If you child is extremely sensitive to these routines, it may be helpful to work with the bus driver to make sure that seat will always be available. Otherwise, it would also be an opportunity to discuss with your child that the seat availability may change from day to day.

The sights, sounds, and/or a combination of these things can easily be overwhelming for a child. Visually, a lot children moving around throughout the bus in combination with the fast moving scenery passing by can be overwhelming, but may also make your child feel unwell. Bright sunshine in their eyes can also be overwhelming. Seating your child in the front of the bus to reduce the input of so much stimuli can be helpful, as well as considering wearing a hat or sunglasses. As many of you know, the volume level on a bus can be extremely loud! The bus drivers can help as much as possible to keep the volume level of your child's peers to a dull roar but other techniques may also be useful. You could try incorporating headphones (calming music would be the best), ear plugs, or even a thick stocking cap in the winter to block out some sound. Having the windows open on the bus also increases the volume level to include the noises from outside and also the sound of the wind. Remember, this doesn't bother all people, but it can be extremely bothersome to a sensitive child. Depending on the child, it could be better for them to sit in the back of the bus or in the front of the bus, depending on the above factors.

Some general ideas of activities or items to use on the bus to help keep your child in a calm state could include having a fidget available for your child. This could be a simple keychain attached to his or her backpack, a small piece of silly putty, a rubber band to fidget with around the wrist, or something similar. Headphones can be a great way of drowning out sounds and also gives the opportunity to incorporate music that can be calming for their bodies. Chewing gum (the thicker, the better) is a great calming tool. Having a great peer to interact with on the ride helps the time go faster and can also distract the child from some of the stimuli around him or her.

Once they get off the bus, they still may be feeling overwhelmed and could likely benefit from a "sensory break". This could include some quiet time by themselves, heavy work, complete the brushing program, swinging, listen to calming music, etc. These activities can also be helpful before getting onto the bus, as well!

Questions, other ideas, comments, concerns we can address??? Let us know!!!