Tone? What is it? Tone is the amount of resistance in the belly of your muscles. Some of us have “normal tone” and some of us have low tone. Then there are those with high tone. Children with neurological challenges often present themselves with either high tone (for example children with cerebral palsy) or low
Read More
I’ve always been sensory defensive. Tags felt like steel wool on my back, shoes always had bumps in them, clothes were either too tight or too loose, crowds scared me
Exercise is an important component to maintaining a healthy lifestyle for all children. In the United States, over 16% of children between the ages of 2 and 19 years of age are considered overweight or obese.1 For children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), this percentage is even higher with 19% of children with ASD classified as
Read More
We have a new Featured Professional to introduce you to! Kathy works with kids with special needs and graciously answered a few questions. Fun and Function: Who are you and what is your profession? Kathy Dragon: I’m Kathy Dragon, and I’m a Speech and Language Assistant for 3-5 year olds. FF: What company do you
Read More
Hand-made gifts are a great way to give personal Holiday gifts on a budget while providing a fun opportunity to create with your child. Select activities that appeal to your child’s functional age and that take sensory needs into consideration. If possible, let your child choose between two options for what you will make together.
Read More
Aviva recently wrote on the importance of multisensory spaces, and their effect on children’s behavior. When you take a look at some of the rooms that can be created, you can see the impact of high-tech equipment like you’ll find right here. We wanted to hear what parents are saying after they tried to integrate
Read More
Creating a well designed play and/or learning environment enables children to regulate their sensory systems, and successfully access their environments so they can learn and play at full capacity. Children with special needs are often especially attuned to the deluge of sensory information that they are exposed to on a moment by moment basis. Children
Read More
In the second part of our series on advocating for your child, we’ll be talking about the Individual Education Plan (IEP) process from start to finish. We’ll be defining a few terms and explaining a few processes, but we’ll be sticking to general information. Remember each state has its own special education laws, and two
Read More
In all my years of teaching, my favorite colleagues were always OTs. I’ve never met a more creative, enthusiastic and warm hearted group than the OTs I worked with. As special education teachers, we know how valuable EVERY member of the team can be, but today I want to focus on ways to best utilize
Read More
