Every year at this time spring sports are in full bloom. Soccer, swimming, baseball, gymnastics, etc. We are itching to get our kids outside, to see other parents, to join together and have some fun. We know that sports are a great way to get exercise, learn to work as a team, learn a new...
I love toys! I’m not sure if when I was a kid I just didn’t have enough or if I just have an inner child that needs extra attention. But I love toys. My sadness occurs when I go to big box stores such as Target or Walmart. I literally don’t understand how the toy...
In kindergarten, you probably learned about the five basic senses. Taste, touch, hearing, vision, and smell. All of these senses are important to a human in helping them with learning about their environment and how to interact within it. When a baby is first born, her first experience with the mother is to feel her...
Every occupational therapist has specific tools that they love and use. But which of these should you select for your home? An occupational therapist is a professional who specializes in helping people habilitate or rehabilitate after an injury or illness. A pediatric occupational therapist works with children who have developmental differences. Their focus is on...
Children Need to Experience Natural Elements in Learning Recently, I have been visiting lots of preschools in the Mountain View Area. One of the things I love about the Bay Area is how naturalistic the schools are. Children are provided with a just-right environment and they are allowed their own freedom to visit different groups...
As a Pediatric Occupational Therapist in Mountain View, CA I work with kids on toileting. Toilet training is a thing. For many parents it’s a badge of honor, “My kid was toilet trained at 18 months”. UGH. Developmental differences are…different Children with developmental differences may have challenges with medically related reasons why they have...
Kids need to move to learn. We know this. Movement helps keep kids alert and ready to learn. We know this. How do kids move? They fidget. Yes, the dreaded fidget. I don’t mean a toy, I mean the moving of the body in some way. You do it too. We all do. Yet somehow...
Bay area and Mountain View parents! Is this scenario familiar to you? You make dinner for your family. You serve dinner. Your kid refuses everything on the plate. You make dinner for your kid. or You are prepare a “special meal” for your kid. They don’t eat it. Your kid eats the same food for...
In the Bay Area and Mountain View, there are a lot of choices of professionals to work with when your child has been diagnosed with autism. There are ABA behavior specialists, Speech therapists, Occupational Therapists- the list goes on and on. I have been an Occupational Therapist for over 25 years. This means that I...
I am an occupational therapist using DIR . I took a DIR/FCD training about 3 years ago. It was an intensive 1 year certification aimed at teaching professionals such as myself, how to work with children who have different abilities. The training focuses on consideration of Developmental levels, Individual sensory differences and building Relationships. It...