Ask the OT

Questions for an OT?  Suggestions for a blog post?  This page is intended to provide professional advice, assistance, and possible solutions to common, or not so common, developmental difficulties in children.  Feel free to post a question here and we will provide an answer in a later post.  Please understand that we aim to protect the privacy of our users so please use initials or false names when referring to children.  Accurate ages though are appreciated so that we may best provide developmentally appropriate advice!

24 comments:

  1. Anne ZachryJune 4, 2012 at 1:06 PM

    Hi Barb and Chelsea, Thanks for the comment on my blog! Would you mind if I featured your blog on an upcoming post? I love it...great content! I'm always excited to share a great site with my readers. I could also add your site to my link list. Just email me and let me know!
    Thanks,
    Anne Zachry
    Pediatric Occupational Therapy Tips
    tummytimetips (at) gmail.com

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    1. Barb Bennett, OTR/L and Chelsea Smith, MOT, OTR/LJuly 18, 2013 at 10:52 PM

      That would be great... sorry for the delay in response... we'll begin our sites listing with yours! You have an incredible wealth of information available, thanks!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2013 at 2:30 AM

    I just seen your pinterest advice about sitting on the fitness ball and about help with writing. I loved both ideas and will try them at home. My son is now 10 yrs old and was in OT at school. They would pull him out of reg classes during the day which started to bother him emotionally. We really did not see that much improvement on areas he needed help with. So decided to just pull him out for a while to see if it would help him or not. His writing is much better, but there are somethings that take him so much time that he is embarrassed and won't due. One big thing is refuse to wear shoes w/ shoestrings cause he can't really tie them well! Any advice how to help him and motivate his spirit at 10 he can still do it????

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    1. Barb Bennett, OTR/L and Chelsea Smith, MOT, OTR/LFebruary 4, 2013 at 11:59 AM

      Is it that he understands to motor actions (what his hands have to do to tie) and the knot is just not tight, or is he having trouble remembering or actually doing the steps to tie, or both?

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  3. tukaramFebruary 13, 2013 at 12:40 AM

    Hi,

    when I ask my son to hold the pencil or anyobject in his hand or pincer, he will let go after a couple of seconds. Can you please suggest what I can do to help him.

    thanks

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    1. Barb Bennett, OTR/L and Chelsea Smith, MOT, OTR/LFebruary 15, 2013 at 11:46 AM

      Do you feel it is behavioral, or that he has a weak grasp? Does he drop things that he likes, or just non-preferred items? If you feel that it is more about his grasp, try working on strengthening the muscles of his hands. Have him squeeze play doh, or theraputty, or a soft ball. Have him roll playdoh using his fingers. Using his hands to open baggies or jar lids can help strengthen his hands. You could try putting a pencil grip on his pencils to make it easier to hold.

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  4. dscFebruary 24, 2013 at 12:25 PM

    My grandson is 3 1/2...in utero pontine stroke, left sided weakness, language delay, decreased muscle tone. All things considered, he has come a LONG way. Started Early Intervention at 18 mos (I know, late...ped must have been blind) He "aged out of EI at 3, and school district did not feel that he warranted handicapped preschool. My daughter has had script for OT, PT for 6 mos...has not started, because she'll "get to it" . I think that she is harboring the thought that "well, if he didn't qualify for preschool, he must not be that bad"..He attends a Goddard School, and is quite obviouse that he is lagging. Any suggestions to approach the situation with my daughter and her husband? I love my grandson to pieces...I think that they are wasting precious time. Thanks Brandma

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    1. Barb Bennett, OTR/L and Chelsea Smith, MOT, OTR/LFebruary 27, 2013 at 6:02 PM

      It's understandably difficult and painful for parents to face the fact that their child has delays and some will delay interventions in the hope that all will be well. Special preschools have certain criteria for admission, and, while some children do not qualify for admission into these preschools, they may still have delays and needs that should be addressed. So, while your grandson may not be delayed enough to be considered for admission to that preschool, he may still be delayed compaired to typical preschool children. I don't know where you live, but many areas have intermediate units (or some similar organization) that provide services to children with special needs. Services can be provided in a specialized classroom or in a typical preschool. Teachers and therapists evaluate and decide whether children need their specialized services and how much and then treat the child within their classroom environment. Your daughter could ask the "handicapped preschool", or her pediatrician, if they know of any such organization in her area. If not, your daughter could get your grandson outside therapy to address his needs. It is very important that children with needs start getting intervention at a young age to allow them to achieve their highest level of function. Some children simply need a "jump start" at this time and gain so much function that they no longer need services by the time they hit school age. Others need intervention to try to bridge the gap in function between them and their peers. Regardless, it is essential that your daughter call to get your grandson evaluated as soon as possible. She is wasting precious therapy time that your grandson needs and allowing him to get further and further behind.

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  5. Lindsay PalmerApril 23, 2013 at 1:42 PM

    Hi There- We love your website! We would like to include you on our Resources page for OTs. http://staffrehab.com/resources/ Please let me know if that is ok!

    Lindsay
    lindsay@staffrehab.com

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    1. Barb Bennett, OTR/L and Chelsea Smith, MOT, OTR/LMay 11, 2013 at 7:37 AM

      That would be great. We would like more interaction with fellow OTs! There is so much that we could all share.

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  6. HeatherMay 28, 2013 at 9:54 PM

    WOW! Your blog is an amazing treasure! As a parent to a 4 year old with an ASD and a 2nd grade teacher I can hardly read a post without finding something that will be very useful to me. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and resources. Since I have a child with severe sensory issues and motor delays, I am often the one who gets students who need a little more attention to sensory or motor skills (which I love). Since the district I work for doesn't allow our OTs to do any sort of consulting on students who do not qualify for services, even if it is informal, your resources are wonderful for my classroom.

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    1. Barb Bennett, OTR/L and Chelsea Smith, MOT, OTR/LMay 31, 2013 at 12:17 PM

      Thanks so much for your praise- it really helps to know that we can make a difference! We love interactions with fellow professionals and parents, so continue to read and comment. Please refer any other teachers or parents to our blog and thanks so much for reading.

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  7. AnonymousJune 29, 2013 at 8:24 AM

    Your place is for definite couturier bookmarking.
    Developmental Pediatrician Clifton NJ

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    1. Barb Bennett, OTR/L and Chelsea Smith, MOT, OTR/LJuly 8, 2013 at 5:03 PM

      Thanks. Please feel free to share our site with your patients and colleagues.

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  8. UnknownAugust 22, 2013 at 9:40 PM

    Thinking about buying a lite bright (one of my favorite toys as a child) for some of the kiddos I work with. I really think it would help not only fine motor skills as well as strengthening. Thoughts??

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  9. Barb Bennett, OTR/L and Chelsea Smith, MOT, OTR/LAugust 25, 2013 at 5:35 PM

    Absolutely buy a lite bright! Love these for kids. Great for fine motor skills, matching and patterning. Encourage your kiddos to be creative and make a cool screen. It is difficult the first time a peg is pushed through the paper- great for eye-hand coordination. I think some of the older toys are so much better for improving fine motor skills than the new high tech toys available now.

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  10. AnonymousAugust 29, 2013 at 2:08 PM

    Is it appropriate to force a handedness in a kindergartner. He crosses the midline. He has not settled on a dominant hand yet. Yes he is delayed in language a bit as well.

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    1. Barb Bennett, OTR/L and Chelsea Smith, MOT, OTR/LAugust 30, 2013 at 8:25 AM

      Rule of thumb is to allow a child to naturally pick a dominant hand. Most children have established a dominant hand by kindergarten, but we usually allow switching until around 1st grade. That being said, if a child uses one hand approximately 75% of the time, or more, or if one hand is clearly more functional than the other with writing, it is ok to start to encourage the child to choose that hand as his/her dominant hand. Keep in mind that some children will choose one hand as dominant for writing, while choosing the other hand as dominant for cutting.
      If any other OTs want to add anything, or have a different point of view, please feel free to share it here.

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  11. AnonymousAugust 29, 2013 at 9:07 PM

    I am an occupational therapist within a school system and I'm having a problem with a student that I cannot figure out. During handwriting tasks, the child retraces the letters until I tell him to stop and move on. I am thinking this is some kind of termination problem. Any suggestions on what the problem is and what to do? Thanks so much!

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  12. Barb Bennett, OTR/L and Chelsea Smith, MOT, OTR/LAugust 30, 2013 at 1:24 PM

    Could be he doesn't understand the direction, or he's trying to fix his mistakes, or he isn't comfortable visually moving left to right.
    Couple things come to mind...
    Before you do the writing activity, prep with a visual left to right and move down to the next row game. Like have him copy a color pattern with pegs in a peg board in that fashion.
    Try tracing each letter or form in a different color, that way he has to pause and switch markers, and you can say something like, 'look that one's already blue, you need to do the next one'.
    Cut a window in an index card to visually see only one form at a time, that way when he finds the next one in the window, the previous will be covered up.

    Hope some of this helps!

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  13. Dr. ZachrySeptember 6, 2013 at 7:14 PM

    Hi Barb and Chelsea,

    Would you be interested in reviewing my parenting book, "Retro Baby?" It's about the importance of tummy time and limiting and infant's time in baby gear. If so, please message me @ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Retro-Baby/194241713946299 or email me @ anne_ot@hotmail.com.

    Thanks so much!
    Anne Zachry, OTR/L

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  14. Deborah GrauzamOctober 24, 2014 at 3:42 PM

    Hi Barb and Chelsea! I would like to send you a private email but cannot find your address here. Mine is dgrauzam@specialneedsessentials.com. I look forward to hearing from you two soon!

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  15. Barb Bennett, OTR/L and Chelsea Smith, MOT, OTR/LNovember 14, 2014 at 8:43 AM

    Sorry for not responding sooner. Our email is: therapyfun4kids@gmail.com. Thanks for visiting our blog!

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  16. AnonymousDecember 7, 2015 at 11:04 PM

    Hi Barb and Chelsea. I am a Speech Pathologist currently working in a small private school. I work with a 1o year old ASD student who is mostly verbal when requesting and repeating/echolalia. She has a school musical coming up- we have been practising the lines in my sessions with her, which she does perfectly, however as soon as she joins other students for the rehearsal, she gets distracted (visually and auditorally too I'm assuming) and starts flapping her hands and twirling her hair. Is there anyway that we can help her be more focused on stage with other students around? (also audience for the real show). Thanks in advance!

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