My Top 10 OT Tools

For those of you who aren't occupational therapists, you may not realize that April is Occupational Therapy Month.  It began in 1980 and was scheduled to coincide with the AOTA Conference and Expo.  I feel beyond fortunate to work in a field where there are so many dedicated professionals with the common goal of making life better and happier for people.

I thought it would be fun to make this week's post focus on my top 10 tools for my sessions.  While my closet and storage boxes are overflowing, there are a handful of things that I consistently use with kids of all ages and skill levels almost every single day.  The thing that is common amongst all of the items listed below are that they can be used at home with kids.  They are tools that a parent can have that will help us therapist's carry over some of the work that I do during my sessions.  They are things that don't take up a ton of space and don't require the knowledge of an occupational therapist to use.  Most of them are things that can be picked up in local toy stores or on Amazon.com.  Lastly, they are all affordable and things that can be modified depending on a child's age and skill level.

1.  Discovery Putty-for years, I was hiding objects and coins in therapy putty.  It served the purpose to help build strength in those little hands, but it got old and boring and the kids would lose interest quickly.  When I heard about Discovery Putty by Fun and Function, I quickly became obsessed and it became a fan favorite of all my kids.  Kids who used to avoid this activity now ask to find the animals, treats, vehicles or school supplies hidden in varying resistance of putty.

2.  Zoo Sticks-where shall I begin with my love for Zoo Sticks by Hog Wild Toys???  I began using them to pick up these squishy plastic animals to work on improving fine motor skills and grasp strength.  I now use them for pretty much anything I can....whether it is to pick up the pieces of fruit from a game like Hi Ho Cherry O or to pick up M&Ms to work on sorting by color, Zoo Sticks are a great, versatile and affordable tool to have at home.  I often suggest parents pick a few sets of these up to have eat dinner with.  It's an easy way to work on improving eye-hand coordination, grasp strength, visual motor skills and independence for feeding.  Plus, they are super fun and cool looking!

3. Stylus for an iPad-there are a ton of different kinds of stylus' to choose from these days.  And like most things, when there are so many to choose from, it becomes too difficult and we just opt to avoid. If you are going to use an iPad to help facilitate skills, especially handwriting skills, I always suggest using a stylus as it is  I have 3 that I recommend to parents these days:
iCreate Crayon Stylus-looks and feels like one of those fat Crayola crayons.  Good for promoting an appropriate grasp on a writing instrument.  Kids like to use it because it looks like something they are used to using
Kikkerland Retro Stylus Pen-light weight and provides a 2 in 1 writing option.  Kids can practice using an appropriate grip on an iPad and a piece of paper using the same writing instrument.
Cosmonaut-I've been through a lot of different stylus pens but right now, this is my absolute favorite. There is a lot to love about this $25 stylus....the width of the stylus makes it good for encouraging an appropriate tripod grasp.  The weight of it is good for encouraging a child to use the appropriate amount of pressure when writing with it.  Lastly, it is a very well made and durable stylus so it is able to a beating from a lot of use from kids.

4.  Orb Factory Sticky Mosaics-I discovered these years ago and now always have a couple of sets in the office to work on with kids.  The idea is very simple:  kids have to match different colored stickers to the number that it goes with to make a colorful picture.  It's a great craft to work on improving fine motor, visual motor and visual perceptual skills.  They are super motivating and fun activity to do with children of all ages.  Over the years, the selection has grown making it easy to find a set that will make your kid excited to complete.

5.  Spot It Games-I'm a big fan of games that are not only fun for kids to play, but easily adapted for all different ages and skill sets.  Spot It, by Blue Orange Games, is one of those kind of games.  There are a variety of ways to play this game, but the basic gist of it is that you have to find matching objects between cards.  Each card has an equal number of objects and even when you don't think it is at all possible, there is always one matching object.  Great for working on a variety of visual skills, focus and attention and social skills.  One of the best things about this game is that it is small, lightweight and easy to take with you.

6.  Crayola Triangular Crayons-these days, there are so many different brands of crayons to choose from that you can easily get confused.  I am a traditionalist when it comes to crayons and stick to Crayola...you know they are good quality and offer the best colors!  For my little ones, those beginning to color and draw, it's important that the crayons are wider making it easier for them to hold. I also encourage parents to get the triangle shaped crayons for two reasons:  it encourages a tripod-like grasp and they won't constantly roll off a table!  Another little trick:  break the crayons into two or three small pieces to encourage kids to use a non-fisted grasp when holding them.

7.  ZoomBall-the zoomball has been one of my favorite gross motor/upper body strengthening tools from the very beginning of my career.  Kids feel so good about themselves when they finally figure out how to get the ball going back and forth with a partner.  This is a good toy to have at home since it doesn't take up a lot of space.  Parents often ask what they can buy or do at home to work on strengthening and this is one of my top suggestions.  It's great for a kid to play with with their parents or siblings.  If you want to add a challenge, you can play a word game while playing:  think of a category (sport, food, color, etc.) and every time you send the ball back to your partner, you have to call off something in that category.

8.  Usborne Drawing Books-learning how to draw can be a challenging thing for kids.  And when something is challenging, kids will avoid it.  For me as a therapist, helping a child gain confidence with drawing is an important thing.  Drawing is a critical skill in young children as it is their first way of telling stories.  Usborne has a wonderful drawing book that teaches children how to draw everything animals to hot air balloons in easy to follow steps.  Kids will begin to see how you can draw so many different things by joining simple shapes together.  At the same time, their confidence will grow!

9.  Kumon Workbooks-it can be incredibly overwhelming walking into a bookstore trying to find the best workbooks for kids these days.  There are so many choices making it difficult to know which ones to get.  For years, I have been using and suggesting the Kumon workbooks.  My favorites are the cutting, coloring and pasting books for the younger kids but I really do love all of the books.  The pictures are always motivating and the paper is often thicker than most of the workbooks I have tried out in the past.  This is especially important for cutting....the thicker the paper is, the easier it is for children to have success with cutting.  Personally, I have a 6 year old daughter who asks for her cutting books at least once a week!

10.  Fiskar's Scissors-when kids are learning how to cut, it's really important to provide them with a good pair of scissors.  Ones that are the correct size, easy to open and close and cut through paper with little difficulty.  I can't tell you how many times I have walked into classrooms and had a teacher tell me that so many kids can't cut and they can't figure out why.  When I look at their scissors, they are often too big and the blades are full of glue and stickiness making it impossible for the kids to cut with ease.  Whenever anyone asks me for a scissor recommendation, I suggest Fiskar's children's scissors.  They never disappoint!

It was a lot of fun to put this list together and hope it will help some of you parents out.  It can be hard knowing what kinds of things you need at home to help your children be successful and oftentimes you think that you have to rely on the therapeutic catalouges where everything is much more expensive.  It's important to me to educate parents that more often than not, you can just adapt toys or tools for your children who may need more support.  If you have any questions or want some advice on other tools you can use at home, please feel free to email me.  I am a click away and love hearing from you all!

Gearing Up For a New Year

Many kids have already begun the school year but by the middle of next week, after all those Labor Day picnics and parties, almost everyone will be starting school.  For some of the kids, it will be their first time going to school and for others, they will be returning to school.  While this time of the year can be very exciting, it can also bring about anxiety in children.  For many of the kids I work with, this time of the year can be difficult and parents are as anxious as they are about how the new year will go and what they can do to best prepare their children for the upcoming year.  Each of us has our own thoughts and ideas about this and it is most important to figure out which of these strategies work for your child and his/her areas of need.  As I prepare my own daughter (she begins kindergarten next week) for a new school year, I will be doing some of the following with her to get her ready and excited for all this new year has to bring.  

1.  Start your school year routine with your children the week before school begins.  This includes waking up to an alarm if necessary, eating meals the way you will during the school year and getting a bed time routine worked out before those first few days of school.  This is important for all kids, but especially those who have a difficult time with transitions and changes in routines.  If it helps, find some kind of daily schedule you can hang up for your children that they can look at before leaving the house for school so they have an idea of what to expect.  You may even want to put that schedule together right before bedtime the night before so your child can feel as prepared for the next day as possible.

2.  One of the things I remember most about growing up is the annual shopping trip for a new backpack and lunchbox.  This was super exciting and always made me feel slightly less anxious for a new school year.  Allow your children to be part of the process of picking out their new backpack and lunchbox.  If they are feeling anxious about going to school, make a big deal about showing their friends whatever they pick out.  I am one of those parents who avoids getting supplies with characters (but my daughter is more into pretty designs like clouds, stars and unicorns) but if you have a child who is into Disney Princesses, Cars or any other popular character, let them get it.  It doesn't seem like it would be a big deal but it really is!  

When picking these bags out, a few tips: 

*make sure that the backpack and lunchbox are not too big for your child to carry independently.  We send our kids to school to become more independent people, but if their bags are too heavy and cumbersome they are going to rely on grownups to take care of it for them.

*if you can find a backpack that has a lunchbox that will attach to it, even better.  I am a big fan of the new big kid backpacks by Skip*Hop.  In addition to being large enough to accomodate all the things a school age child needs to carry back and forth, there is a compartment built in for the lunch box to slip right into.  

*if you have a child who has decreased trunk strength, you might want to consider a bag that has wheels on it for them.  This way they have the option of carrying or dragging their bag.

3.  School supply shopping can be a daunting project but it is a necessary one.  My daughter starts kindergarten in a public school next week and the long list of supplies is crazy.  Since she has fine motor issues (nothing major or that warrants therapy...the poor kid has a mom who is an occupational therapist and is all over her!), I want to be sure that I get her supplies that she will be able to use and that might help support some of her difficulties.  Here are some of the things we will be getting for her and I will be recommending for the children I work with:  

Crayons-for the younger kids, especially those who may have a delayed grasp, I suggest the Crayola Triangular Crayons.  It comes in a box of 16 colors and are a bit thicker than the regular sized crayons. Additionally, the triangle shape helps encourage a tripod grasp when using them.

Colored Pencils-again, I am a fan of any of the Crayola colored pencils.  For the smaller hands, their Pip-Sqeaks Colored Pencils are perfect.  As they get older and still struggle with using a proper grip, you might want to consider getting the regular sized pencils and breaking them in half. The smaller the writing instrument, the more it encourages a proper grasp.
Scissors-I have always been a fan of the Fiskars blunt-tip scissors.  They are the perfect size for those little hands.  They also have left-handed scissors which not all companies carry.  You can find them in almost all chain drug stores but their website also has a large selection and you can find the exact color for your child!

Student Planner/Assignment Books-some schools now give each student a planner at the beginning of the school year which I think is amazing.  Many of the kids I work with struggle to keep their assignments organized, often forgetting what each of their teachers has asked them to do.  As children get older, they need strategies in order to keep themselves organized and more independent for classroom success.  Go to Staples or book stores and look at their selection and figure out which would be best for your child.  There are so many to choose from and there may be something about one that is better than another for your child and his/her needs.   It's important to go over what you expect from them when using this book.  Be sure to go over this before the school year begins and maybe even copy a few pages so you can do some practice runs before they have to use it for real.  

Folders-I don't care what brand you pick out but do have some suggestions, especially as kids get older.  First of all, if you have a kid who has difficulty keeping their backpack clean and organized, get those thick folders made out of plastic.  They can take a beating as they are shoved into their bags!  Also, I would suggest getting different colored ones for each subject so they don't have to open and close each one every time they need to complete an assignment.  If you have an older kid who you need to come up with organization strategies for, you can consider getting a binder to put all of the folders in so everything is in one place.
Pencil Case-be sure to find a pencil case that is big enough to carry what your child needs, but not so big that they have a hard time finding all they need.  If you have a child who presents with difficulty with organization and other executive functioning skills, you may want to find something that has compartments so it is easy to find everything when they need them.  You don't want your kids to lose out on time to complete assignments because they are too busy digging through their pencil case.  I am a big fan of this one here by Yoobi.  It's a little larger than the typical case, but it you can definitely find what you need when you need it without a problem.  Be sure to check out all the other products on Yoobi because for each product you purchase, they will donate one to a classroom in need.  

4.  A new school year can be most difficult partly because of all the new faces that a child may have to learn.  For kids who have learning, language or sensory delays, this is even more challenging.  Many of the kids I work with don't only have to worry about new teachers, but new therapists both in and out of school.  When possible, try and schedule a meet and greet with your child's new teacher and therapists prior to their first day with them.  While on these meet and greets, you can ask to take pictures for them to go back and look at leading up to their new schedule beginning.  You can also use these pictures to set up some kind of visual schedule for your child to look at the beginning of each day so they know where they will be going, who they will be seeing and what they can expect from their day.  This seems simple, but it can go a long way in setting your child up for a successful day.  

5.  It may seem crazy, but since I have a kid who is a picky eater I have to worry about her snacks and lunch for the school week.  Summer has led to bad eating habits (you know, eating ice cream for dinner or snacking on junk food during the day instead of having dedicated meal times) for us and one of my biggest concerns is will she have enough to eat during the day to ready her for brain learning all she has to do.  Packing protein filled meals is important to keep our kids from being hungry.  And since there are so many classrooms that are peanut and nut free, we have to become creative in what we pack for our kids.  When possible, take your child shopping for snacks and lunch foods.  I find that when they get to help choose them, they are more likely to eat them.  For kids with fine motor, sensory or feeding difficulties, be sure to pack foods that your child can eat independently.  Cut food into small, bite-sized pieces so they can easily take a piece with a fork or use their fingers.  If they have a hard time with using spoons, get squeezable fruit packs, applesauces or yogurts so they don't have to worry about using a spoon or asking for help.

Do you have any back to school tricks that you would like to share with my readers?  Any strategies that you have used with your sensory sensitive kid that made the transition back to school that much smoother and easier for not only your child, but your family leading up to the first day of school?  I am sure us parents and therapists have a lot of advice we can offer one another to make this anxiety producing time of the year less stressful and more enjoyable.  I love hearing from each and every one of you and hearing your helpful advice and know that when you share it with me, you are sharing it with tons of others!  I am only a click away and look forward to hearing from you!

As you all, parents, therapists and especially the kids that we love, begin this new school year, I wish you a wonderful and exciting year!  

What's in Your (OT) Closet??

I may be in a bit of denial about summer ending and school beginning in the next couple of weeks.  I love the quietness of the summer; the chance to regroup and prepare for a kids returning for another year of therapy and welcoming new ones to my caseload.  I think I get as anxious as the kids those first few days!  So much paperwork and getting to know new kids, get used to my new schedule and all the worrying about not having a full caseload yet.  Too much for my mind to think about but I guess since it is only two weeks away from happening, I have to start thinking differently and getting excited about it!

A few weeks ago, I was happily forced to clean out my overly stuffed closet since the gym I work at was prepping for renovations.  This is something that I should do more often but avoid like the plague.  I found so many things that I hadn't used in ages because they were buried and others that hadn't been used because they weren't worthy using anymore.  As the new school year begins, I thought I would share my top 5 items in my closet that are consistently used and recommended to others.  I am hoping that I can get some ideas from all of you on your favorites and if there is anything I should be getting for this upcoming school year. I love to use the new school year as an excuse to introduce new things to not only the kids I work with, but to me.  I get bored of doing the same things over and over again and imagine that the kids feel exactly the same way.

Here is my list of things I couldn't live without in my closet along with the goals that are worked on using them.

1.  Theraputty-I think it's safe to assume that all us occupational therapists have at least one or two containers of theraputty in their closets.  I use it daily to work on increasing grasp and hand strength, improving bilateral skills and improve in-hand manipulation skills.  Most of the time, I hide little objects (Mancala animal pieces, Perfection shapes, money, etc.).  For the younger children, I use little pegs and have them place them into the putty and pretend to put candles on a birthday cake.  After they put them on, we working on grasping skills by having them pull them out (I encourage them to use their pinchers to remove them).  I have used the green medium-soft the most from Southpaw Enterprises.  While researching different types this year, I heard about Discovery Putty from Fun and Function.  I am about to place my order for the new school year!  Not only do I love the packaging (so easy to throw in a bag for you therapists who travel from place to place), I love that they already have lots of fun things hidden in the putty.  I have a feeling this could be much more motivating for some of my kids who really struggle with the green theraputty.

2.  Mechanical Pencils-I have experimented with a ton of mechanical pencils over the years but none compare to the Cadoozles Daisies or the Zebra #2 pencils by Zebra.  They are the perfect size for smaller hands and are the right width if you have a child who uses a pencil grip to work on proper grasp.  Mechanical pencils are great to work on improving the amount of pressure kids use when writing.  A lot of the kids I work with have a hard time modulating the pressure they use when holding writing instruments, often pressing too hard causing their hands to tire quickly.  If their hands tire quickly, they will have a harder time writing for longer periods of time which is inevitable as they move through the grades.  When using mechanical pencils, if you press too hard, the lead will break.  It takes a little time, but eventually kids figure out the right amount of pressure to use.  You can order these pencils online or check out local stationary stores.  I know that the toy and stationary store on 72nd Street (between Broadway and Columbus) carries them.  I have also seen them in the bigger stores like Staples and Target but my preference is to support small businesses first.

3.  Kumon Workbooks-as I am sure everyone has noticed lately, there are a million different kind of educational workbooks out there.  I walk into Barnes and Noble and am consistently overwhelmed by the number of choices I have.  In the end, I always end up going with the Kumon books.  I love the variety of subjects that they cover and find that my kids (including my own 3 1/2 year old daughter) are motivated by them.  I discovered them years ago when looking for good cutting workbooks and immediately fell in love with the books.  The pictures are fun and most importantly (for cutting especially), the quality of the paper was far superior than other books I have used in the past.  This is especially important for cutting because if a child already struggles with cutting and the paper is flimsy, they are going to continue to struggle.  Kumon continues to impress me by adding to their lineup of books.   However, I will always suggest the cutting, coloring and pasting/gluing books to parents.  A few years ago, I discovered their Play & Grow Workbooks which are great for older preschool/younger school age kids because they can work on their cutting and coloring skills while making a story.  I found these two books to be really motivating for some of the kids who really struggle with these skills.  As you can see in the image above, there are so many books to choose from.  The other nice thing is that they have books that are totally appropriate for younger kids and once they complete those, they have more challenging books to move up to.  While you can find these books at larger book stores, check out local book or stationary stores as I have found that they tend to carry them as well.  Again, Toy and Stationary World on 72nd Street has a large variety of these workbooks.

4.  Fiskar Scissors-I have tried dozens of scissors in my career, but Fiskars are definitely the best.  They are comfortable for the kids and I rarely hear a child complain that they are uncomfortable.  They can be used for lefties or righties (although they do have dedicated left-handed scissors available) and they come in a blunt or pointed tip.  I find that the pair shown in the image to the left can be used with my pre-schoolers and school age children.  If you happen to have a child with larger hands or work with older school age children, Fiskars does have larger children scissors.  You can easily find Fiskars at drug stores, school supply stores and larger stores like Target and Staples.

5.  Perfection (the game)-out of all of my games, I think Perfection is the one I use the most.  There are so many occupational therapy goals that can be worked on with it and the kids never seem to tire of it.  The most obvious of goals is to improve visual perceptual skills such as matching and visual attention.  I like to put my kids on the net swing and have them lie on their bellies so they can work on increasing upper extremity and neck strength at the same time.  As I mentioned earlier, I also will take the pieces and hide them in theraputty so they can work on increasing grasp strength at the same time.  If you have a child who needs to work on grasping skills, Perfection is a great game to use as the pegs sticking out from the top is ideal for using a pincer grasp.  The funny thing about this game is that I rarely use it the way it is intended to (placing all 25 shapes in the right spot in 60 seconds or less).  Every once in a while I will have an older kid who wants to beat the clock, but for the most part I adapt it to work on other goals so the timer part of the game hardly gets used!  Check out your local toy stores if you are looking for this game.  It's still a popular game and is pretty easily found.


So, here are my top five items in my closet.  I am excited to hear from all of you with your ideas and suggestions.  I would love to start the new school year off with some new and exciting toys, games, supplies that will help to motivate my kids and make them excited about coming to therapy.  Please don't hesitate contacting me if you have questions or want to share your ideas with me.  I am just a click away and love hearing from you all.

And here's wishing you all a happy new school year!