Book of the Week-Wally Wants To Hug

My book recommendation this week is one that I have not only used with my kids at TMH Juniors, but one that I've suggested to the parents of kids I work with as their occupational therapist.  A very common concern that comes up in my initial conversations with parents is that they notice their children are rough with their siblings or their friends in school.  Or sometimes they get into other people's personal space and have a hard time controlling that.  While they know it isn't always intentional, they are concerned because it is having an impact on socializing with people.

Wally Wants To Hug by Barbara Joose is an adorable story that can help teach kids about personal space.  Wally is a boa constrictor who loves hugs.  He starts his days out with a big hug from his mother and ends his day with a big hug from his dad. Not only does he like getting hugs, he loves giving them out as well.  This isn't a problem until his friends become scared of him and his too tight hugs.  Wally doesn't want to make his friends scared, he also wants them to know how much he cares about them.  

One of the things that I love about Wally Wants To Hug is how it normalizes the behaviors we some from those sensory seeking kids we all know and love.  Those kids who have nothing but love to give but lack the understanding that what feels good to them may not feel the same to others.  Those big hugs, that getting close to talk to your friends and that bumping into your friends to let them know they want to with be with them is usually not an attempt to annoy or hurt their friends but rather them trying to let them know they want to play with them. These kids with decreased body awareness often have big hearts and just like Wally, they want to hug because it makes them feel good.  How is it possible that not everyone feels the same way they do? 

Teaching kids about personal space, especially those who are sensory seekers, can be challenging.  It's incredibly important to help children be able to read body language of others.  With my group at TMH Juniors, we talk about being a Personal Space Invader....someone who gets into others space and may make people feel uncomfortable.  Here are some things you can help your children identify in others that might indicate they are feeling uncomfortable:
-is the other person squirming around trying to move away from you?
-does the other person's body get stiff?
-how does the person's face look?  Do they look like they are happy or feeling uncomfortable?

Below, you will find some questions you can ask your children and some activities you can do with your children when reading Wally Wants To Hug.  

~discuss the various ways you can say hello or show their affection towards a family member or a friend.  This can include hand shakes,  gentle high fives or gentle fist-bumps.  

~practice hugging with your child at home so they can learn when to stop or when it is just too much.  I think it's important for a child to be able to read body language so make different faces (scared, sad, happy, etc.) so they can become more aware of how their friends may be feeling when they are hugging them. 

~if your child is one of those kids who really benefits from deep proprioceptive input and truly has difficulty controlling how hard they hug, get a stuffed animal they can keep at school to hug when they are craving that input.  

~I find that sometimes that kids benefit from visual reminders of what the appropriate amount of personal space is.  While being too close to people can make others feel uncomfortable, it's equally important for them to understand that being too far away can also be a problem.  The visual to the right is simple and can be a good reminder for kids who have a hard time respecting personal space.  You can make a game out of it by taking some of your child's favorite characters and do some role playing with them.  

~there are a lot of fun gross motor games that you can play to help children work on improving their body awareness.  One of our favorites at TMH is a version of musical chairs combined with freeze dance using hula hoops.  We put out a bunch of different colored hula hoops out and play music; when the music stops, we call out a color and the kids have to run to that hula hoop.  The challenge is that there is never enough for each kid to have their own hula hoop so they have to share the hula hoop with a friend without touching them.  

If you have a child who tends to be too rough with their friends or family or has a hard time with respecting personal space, Wally Wants To Hug is a great book to have in your personal library.  Teaching children about personal space at a young age will help set them up for social success as they get older.  If you have any other books that deal with this topic, I would love to hear from you.  I am only a click away and love hearing from you all.  

Jump for Joy!

As many of you have noticed, the holiday gift guides and catalogues are starting to clog up our inbox and mailbox.  For the most part, I dump these things into recycling before even looking at them.  The exception are the ones that feature toys.  I am always on the lookout for new toys and gifts that will be good at work.  One of my favorites is Fat Brain Toys which I could get lost in for hours if I had the time.  I won't lie, I've made many unnecessary but amazing purchases from here for kids of all ages!

Yesterday, while looking through their new products, my eyes went right to a new trampoline that they were featuring.  As a New York City based pediatric occupational therapist, one of the things that I do is give parents and teachers ideas on how they can incorporate some of the activities I am doing our sessions at home and in school.  The biggest problem I face is the lack of space many New Yorkers have.  Asking parents to get a big therapy ball or a trampoline seems totally reasonable but if you live in a small apartment or have a classroom with not much free space, it becomes more trouble figuring out where to put it when it's not in use.  So when I saw the Foldaway Trampoline, I was thrilled and had to share it with everyone.  Even if you have space in your house/apartment/classroom, you may not want to have a trampoline out at all times so the Foldaway Trampoline is the perfect option for those of you who feel that way!  It is simple to open, close and store without taking up much space.  For older children, you can teach them how to open and close it so when they feel like they might have some extra energy that they need to get rid of, they can go and take care of it on their own.  I really like that the bar on the trampoline offers some of the younger kids, or those who have trouble with balance, extra support making them feel more secure and stable while jumping.


I believe having a trampoline available for younger children who may have sensory or gross motor difficulties is a great thing and that there are many benefits besides just releasing some extra energy.  Here are some of the other benefits of jumping on a trampoline:
-provides proprioceptive input which helps improve body awareness and organizational skills
-works on improving motor skills such as bilateral coordination.  When jumping, both sides of the body and brain must coordinate in order to maintain balance
-it's a fun way to work on building endurance and overall body strength.
-great for working on modulation and regulation skills
**you can play a game of freeze jump to work on increasing the length of time they jump.  Kids have to jump until the music stops!**

So if you are on the lookout for an easy to store sensory tool, be sure to check out the Foldaway Trampoline.  If you happen to know of any other great sensory products like this, please be sure to tell me about them.  I am always on the lookout for new products and love hearing from all of you! Remember, I am only a click away!

One Potato, Two Potato, Mini Potatoes....SCORE!

There are some toys that will never get old.  They will get thrown in the back of a closet or put in storage for a while, but you'll never throw it away and when you take it out again, you are reminded just how great said toy is.  One of those toys for me is Mr. Potato Head.  The original one has been in every gym and school I have worked in.  While you can still get the original Mr. Potato Head in almost every toy store you walk into, you will see that there are many newer versions of this toy.  There are the princesses, Star Wars characters and several others.  One of the best parts about Mr. Potato Head is that no matter what set you have, they can be used on any potato and you can mix and match the pieces to be as creative as your child wants it to be.

Recently, one of my co-workers at Heads Up brought in these mini Marvel Mr. Potato Heads and I can't get enough of them.  I mean, the kids can't get enough of them!  First of all, they are tiny and super light-weight and a set of four potatoes with their interchangeable outfits can be thrown in a bag for those of you who do any kind of traveling therapy.  Secondly, it doesn't matter what the kids age or gender is, all of them love playing with them.  After I purchased the mini potatoes, I spent some time on Amazon and discovered that there are a ton of these mini potatoes, including Transformers and a bunch of other super heroes.  It's amazing how motivated the kids are to use these mini Potato

Heads and how many ways they can be used in a therapeutic setting.  They are great for working on problem solving and improving organizational skills.  Each potato comes with three pieces:  a helmet/mask, arms and legs.  It's important that the kids put the pieces on in a certain order or they won't work (the arms are held in place by the legs so it is important that they put the arms on first).  Some of the kids get frustrated when first using them but it's a good chance to work on encouraging kids to learn how to ask for help and work on improving their frustration tolerance.  To work on improving organizational skills, I will dump out all the pieces and have the kids sort them into characters.

It's been really fun to see how all the different therapists in my gym have been using these in their treatment.  Since I work with two physical therapists, I've noticed that they are using them in obstacle courses....walking across balance beams, jumping on a hopscotch board, etc..  In my treatment, I have been using them while having kids on a slowly moving swing (to work on improving trunk control/strength).  I have also put them on a large therapy ball to work on improving trunk strength by making them reach backwards and then pulling themselves back up (with assistance from me) to a sitting position.  I've also put the pieces at the top of a ramp that they have to climb up and then crash into a big pillow before putting the pieces onto the potato.

In addition to what I have already mentioned, the mini Potato Head toys can work on the following occupational therapy goals:

Improve Body Awareness-one of the things I like to use Mr. Potato Head with is to work on improving body awareness.  Parents of typically developing children may not understand just how difficult it might be for children with sensory and body awareness issues to be able to learn body parts.  Use Mr. Potato Head to get kids to begin understanding what body parts look like and where they are on a body.  For kids who are struggling with this, I will have them put the pieces in, point them out on me and then show them in a mirror where they are on their own body.
Increase Grasp Strength/Manipulation Skills-the pieces are tiny enough that a child can work on improving manipulation skills.  And while the pieces aren't hard to put in, they do require that you use some strength to push them in and take them out.  

Improve Bilateral Coordination-it doesn't matter what size or version of Mr. Potato Head you have, it's a great toy to work on improving bilateral coordination skills.  It's nearly impossible to put the pieces in only using one hand.  If you are working on developing a hand preference, encourage the kids to hold the potato with their non-dominant hand and use their dominant hand to pick up the pieces, push them into place and then to remove them.  If you have a child who struggles with crossing midline, be sure to put the pieces in a place where they are forced to cross midline to reach for them.
Improve Social Skills-if you work with small groups of kids, these are a great toy to use with them.  They can build the potatoes and then do some role playing with them.  It's a good opportunity for working on turn taking, compromising and being a flexible friend.  For example, one child might want to put all of the characters back together as they are meant to be and another one might want to mix and match the pieces to make their own superheroes.  

One thing that I have seen but haven't tried (yet) is to use Playdoh to make your own potatoes and then take the pieces and put them onto it.  This is great for working on building up hand strength and bilateral coordination skills as well.  I definitely plan on trying this with some of my kids next week!  One thing I would like to try with some of my older kids who are working on handwriting is have them make their own superhero mixing all the pieces up.  They will have to come up with a name, a super power and then write a short story about them.

Those of you who read my blog know that when I find something great, be it an app, toy, activity book, etc., I must share it.  My favorite thing about these mini Potato Heads are they are not that expensive and can work on a ton of therapeutic goals in a way that the kids don't even know they are working.  They are so motivated by these toys that the work is truly hidden from them.  It's a real bonus for everyone involved.  With summer coming up and lots of people traveling, they are a great, light weight toy that can be thrown into a bag without taking up space.  They can be good for the car or plane or whatever mode of transportation you may be using.

If you are looking for your own mini Potato Heads, you can find them on Amazon.com.  I have also found a few of the Transformer ones in CVS.  I know that you can find them in many of the big box stores like Walmart and Target.

If you have any questions or comments, I'm always a click away and love hearing from you all!

Trick or Treat? These Halloween Apps Are A Def Treat!

I've spent the weekend working on Halloween costumes, decorating pumpkins and decorating the front of our house with a very excited 4 1/2 year old girl I know.  It's funny how my excitement and interest in almost all holidays has increased each year since my daughter was born.

In preparing for a long car ride this weekend, I decided to take a look at the App Store and see what kind of fun Halloween apps were out there to entertain her.  I also had the kids I would be working with in mind when looking at the apps and trying to figure out what kind of fun things I would have in my bag of tricks for Halloween week.  In addition to lots of fun craft ideas, I also have found some great apps that I can whip out this week.  For any of you who are regular readers of my blog, you will know that the iPad is a tool that I use quite often in conjunction with all kinds of other techniques.  I never use the iPad by itself and try and be sure to pair it up with a hands on activity to work on generalizing the skill.  When possible and appropriate for a child's goals, I will have a kid play the iPad while lying prone on the net swing to work on increasing upper body strength.  For older children who are struggling with developing a proper grasp, I try and use a stylus to encourage the development of a more mature grasp when holding writing instruments.

Sago Mini Monsters-children get to create their own colorful monsters...they can make a different monster each and every time they play the game.  Perfect for children ages 2-4 years old but I guarantee like all of the other Sago Mini apps, the older children in your life will enjoy it as much.  Some of the fun things you get to do with your very own monster is feed them a yummy treat, brush their giant teeth and color them in and decorate them.
One of the nice features of this app is that you can take a picture of the completed monster.  I like this so I can share with parents what we worked on during our session and then talk to them about it with them later on.  So many of my families would love to be able to come to sessions and see what's happening but can't so this is an easy way to involve them.
If you want to add a hands on/take home activity, have all kinds of monster bodies, eyes, ears, horns, teeth, etc. cut out and let the kids create a monster to take home.

Grandma Loves Bugs-this is actually an app that has been around for a while but has a fun update for Halloween.  For a limited time, it is free so don't miss out on getting it!
It is an educational app that helps children (mostly under the age of 5) learn to spell, count and learn about bugs and creatures that live in the forest that they are exploring.  Letter matching, identifying number groups and spot the difference are just a couple of the games you can play.  In addition to educational games, there are a lot of mini games that keep the kids entertained.  And right now, many of the mini games go along with a Halloween them.  For example, catch the bugs from the mama's beak to feed the baby bird.  Make sure you don't feed them any of the Halloween candy they throw down every once in a while.  Or build a spider web and see how many bugs fly into it once it is completed.  So many of these games are great for visual motor and visual perceptual skills.

Toca Boo-my iPad has been full of Toco Boca apps since they first started creating their awesome apps.  In their newest Halloween themed app, Bonnie, a little girl, dresses up as a ghost ride before bedtime.  She is sneaking around the house trying to scare her family as much as she can and she needs your help!  As the player, you are responsible for exploring Bonnie's house and finding people to sneak up on a scare.  You have to explore the whole house, including (but not limited to) under the Toca Boca apps, the visuals are fun and very kid friendly.
covers in bed, inside the toilet, behind furniture...nothing is out of the question as you explore the whole house.  I think this app is great for working on improving focus and attentional skills and increasing language skills for preschoolers and school age children.  Like all of the other apps, the graphics are kid friendly and motivating for kids.  If you work with small groups of kids, this could be a really fun app to play to encourage team work as they navigate the house and figure out the best rooms to explore.

Go Away Big Green Monster-I have been reading this book to the kids I work with, and now my own daughter, for years.  I was excited to see that it was an interactive book available for the iPad, especially this time of the year.  The iPad version of the book is narrated by Ed Emberley, the author and illustrator of this longtime popular book.  There are three different modes to the app:  read along with a friend, read along with Ed (Emberley) or Sing Along as the app turns into a musical and animated experience.  There is also an option to read the story yourself.  I like this option to work on building awareness of colors and different parts of the body for my younger kids.  The kids will love how they can interact with the story as they watch the monster react to them touching their body parts.
I love this book/app for so many reasons, but especially for the ability to take the book and turn it into a really fun and meaningful arts and craft activity after it is read.  You can have all the different parts of the monster's face cut out and have the kids build their own monster to take home to share with their families.  This is a great craft activity for children who need to work on improving body awareness.  
As a bonus, have the kids "read" this while lying in the net swing to work on increasing upper extremity/neck strength.  They will be so involved with the story that they will forget that they are actually working.

I hope you all have a wonderfully spooky and fun Halloween.  Like I said earlier, there is nothing more exciting than getting to live all the holidays through the little monsters in your life.  It's only Monday and the energy of the kids today was infectious.  They are all ready for the big day on Friday!  If you have any other great Halloween apps that you want to share with my readers, please feel free to email me and let me know and I will pass them along!  I am always a click away and love learning from each and every one of you!

One Potato Head, Two Potato Heads, Three Potato Heads More!

I was all set to write about another of our favorite iPad apps this morning when Quinn and I discovered a new one from the creators of Endless Alphabet, which I wrote about two weeks ago.  Callaway Digital Arts has done it again with their Mr. Potato Create & Play iPad app.  Even though we have just downloaded it, we have already played with it a ton.

Who doesn't love Mr. Potato Head?  I think we can all say that we have spent hours playing with one, either as children, with our children or with the children we work with.  This classic toy is always a part of my therapy supplies at my gym and can work on so many skills.  The toy version of Mr. Potato Head is great for working on bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination, sequencing and a bunch of other things.  It's great for learning body parts and body awareness.  Plus, the kids love it.

Mr. Potato Head Create & Play app definitely doesn't take the place of the actual toy but for kids who need some motivation to work on some of the more challenging skills mentioned above, this is a great place to start.  There are a lot of things to love about this app.  First of all, it is free.  TOTALLY FREE!  When that happens, I am used to a lame app that you can play with for a little while before feeling like you have to purchase all the costly in-app purchases.  Not this one.  When you download the app, there are only a couple of options that resemble the original Mr. Potato Head but there are dozens of other Mr/Mrs. Potato Heads to download immediately.  Some of the free downloadable options are an alien, ballerina, pirate and cowboy.  Not only that, there are a variety of different scenes that you can choose from to place your completed Mr. Potato Head in.  In those scenes, Mr. Potato Head will do a bunch of different things.  For example, the space alien will fly in the air and lose all of his body parts before landing back on the moon and having them fall right back into place.  There are so many opportunities to interact with the game and work on speech and language skills at the same time.  I have a feeling that my speech and language and special education friends will love this app as much as I do.  


Here are a some more specific occupational therapy goals that can be worked on with Mr. Potato Head Play & Create:

Body Awareness-putting the body parts onto Mr/Mrs. Potato Head will help a child become more familiar with their own bodies.  I will most likely use the iPad app along with a real Mr. Potato Head to add a multi-sensory approach.

Graphomotor Skills-in conjunction with the iPad app and the regular Mr. Potato Head, you can have your child work on drawing the face and body parts onto a blank Mr. Potato Head picture.  This way you can work on handwriting and drawing skills at the same time.

Visual Motor/Visual Tracking-you have to look around the whole screen and find the different body parts and visually track in order to get them into the correct spot on the body.

Number Recognition/Identification-there are a bunch of different scenes you can download for your completed Mr/Mrs. Potato Head to interact with.  On the bottom of that screen, there are 5 choices so you can work on number identification and recognition by asking them to touch a certain number or tell you the number they are going to touch before they do it.

Language Skills/Sequencing-this app is great to use to work on building a child's language skills.  The object of the game/app is simple enough that you can add more expectations by encouraging your child to use their words to tell you what they are doing.  An even bigger challenge, have your child place the pieces in in a certain order.  For example, tell them to start with the top of the head and move down to the feet to work on sequencing.

Social Skills-this app is great for working on encouraging appropriate social skills.  If used in more of a group like setting, you can work on taking turns, asking a friend for help, working together to choose the Potato Head you want to put together, etc..

Updates/Additions-one of the great things I noticed about the app is that you can already tell that there will be updates and additions to the app.  Looks like there will be new characters and scenes to download in the near future.  It will be quite difficult for your child to get bored by this game if they continue to update it.

I already know that this app will end up becoming part of my daily play routine with Quinn and look forward to trying it out at the gym with the kids I work with.  I can already see them lying on their bellies while on the net swing playing this game.  We get to work on building upper extremity strength and head and neck control while they are having fun so it won't seem like so much work!  I love when I can sneak the hard work in without them even realizing it!

I hope that you all enjoy this app and would love to hear your thoughts about it.  I can't say enough about how great the apps are by Callaway Digital Arts and can't wait to see what their next awesome app will be.  As always, I am just a click away if you want to email with any questions or comments.   Have a great weekend!

Let's Face It, This is Fun!

I was at Little Things Toy Store in Brooklyn the other day looking for something for Quinn.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something I had never seen and had to have it immediately.  The Magnetibook Crazy Face, created by a french company called Janod, is a brilliantly designed game where you have to complete a face out of magnets.  There are a bunch of cards with pictures of people and then you have to sort through a variety of face pieces to make a match with the card.  There are clowns, girls, boys, sports players and silly faces so it can be appropriate for any child.

A common occupational therapy goal with preschoolers is to improve body awareness.  Children who have body awareness issues often have a difficult time drawing pictures of people because they don't have a clear understanding of their own body and what it looks like.  As a child goes through occupational therapy and their body strength improves, so does their body awareness and their ability to draw pictures of people.  This game, Crazy Face, is a great way to help improve both of these skills.  In addition, it helps to improve visual perceptual and matching skills.  Using a bunch of magnetic face pieces, you are asked to copy a card with a picture of a face on it.  You can grade the challenge for each child; for example, you can show the child the card and have them sort through all the magnets and pick out the right pieces or have the right pieces laid out for them and have them put them in the right place.  I truly love a game/toy that allows you to easily grade the activity for each child's skill level so that makes this toy even more appealing.

When I am in the gym, I like to make this part of an obstacle course.  I have the children do some swings, climb up the ladder to collect a magnet and then crawl through a tunnel where the board is waiting.  Sometimes all that sensory input helps organize them and give them a clearer idea of where their body is in space and they are more successful with putting the piece in the right place.  I have already tried this with a handful of my children at work and they love it!  When it was time to put it away and move onto something else, they asked for another turn.  I say that is a true sign of a fun toy!

I found this toy at a local toy store in Park Slope.  As always, try supporting your local toy stores when you can.  If you can't find it, ask them to order it for you.  

If you have any questions, I am just a click away.  If you are looking for some other games similar to this, I would love to help you find them.  Don't hesitate contacting me with any toy, game or iPad/iPhone app questions you might have.  

Just scooting along

As I looked over my Annual Holiday Gift Guide, I realized I forgot to include one of my most favorite toys.  Living in Brooklyn and working in Manhattan, I see a lot of kids on scooters.  It is a great way to get around for children and parents don't have to push a stroller around with them all the time.  Even better, you can have a younger child in the stroller and the older one scooting to your destination.

There are a lot of great scooters out there now, but many of the children I work with who have difficulty with motor planning, bilateral coordination and self-regulation issues, often have trouble using them successfully.  When my daughter and I spent more time in the playgrounds, I noticed the Mini Kick Scooter and was so impressed how easily the smaller children were able to use it and safely scoot around not only the playground, but the sidewalks.  My daughter Quinn mastered the Mini Kick by the time she was two years old!  

I began to suggest it to any parent who asked me what scooter would be best for their child and I consistently heard from them how their children were able to master it easily.  While I'm no scooter expert, I believe what makes this scooter better than others has something to do with the two wheels up front and one in back helping with balance.  The wheels have quite a bit of "give" and take the uneven sidewalks and bumps with very little falling over.   If you have an older/bigger child who is in need of a scooter, Kick makes awesome scooters for you!

Scooters are great for so many reasons; they help build overall body strength, work on bilateral coordination and help to improve motor planning skills.  For children with sensory processing difficulties, I recommend that they scoot to school in the morning so they can get some deep input which helps them with organization and self-regulation.

When a child who typically struggles with these skills can master the scooter, it helps build increased confidence and self-esteem.  And when a parent can see their child master something that they typically have trouble with, they also get a boost in confidence.  There is no greater feeling than watching your child happy and successful.

Please be sure to check out your local toy stores as many of them carry this fantastic scooter.

I'm just a click away if you have any questions!  I encourage you to share this post on Facebook or Twitter. You (and your friends!) can also subscribe to this blog so you are the first to know when an update comes through!

If you have any experience with this, or another, scooter, please leave a comment and let me know how your child is enjoying it!