5 Dog Days of Summer Activities!

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http://brooklandpark.net/bp/2016/06/16/sprinkler-sunday-northside-childrens-house/

As summer nights grow longer I’m sure some families are looking forward to the start of the school year (or just tired of the same outdoor games). While handing over a tablet is a quick fix, Jessie highlighted research in her latest blog connecting increased screen time with expressive language delays.

 

Here are some ideas to incorporate Developmental Therapy into your summer games. (hint: you don’t need to buy all brand-new toys, use what you have!)

  1. Bubbles are great for everyone! Blow bubbles and talk with your child about size concepts (large and small). This is also a great opportunity to engage your child in joint attention and practice turn taking with the bubbles.
  2. Sights and sounds; take a trip to the zoo and make a family day out of learning. If you’ve already checked the zoo off your summer list, take a walk and discuss what you see and hear (dogs, birds, trucks, cars, and construction equipment).
  3. Lake Michigan; with our close proximity, this allows countless summer activities to enjoy with your family. Sand sculpting increase creativity, tactile sensory building, and hand-eye coordination. Building with friends and family also supports teamwork and promotes positive social interactions. Include pretend play during sand time, the more enthusiastic you are about playing the more your child will want to play! Have a kiddo who wants to keep their feet on the ground? No problem…. try boat, car, busses, and truck watching. Have discussions with your child about what you see to develop vocabulary and increase word retrieval. Incorporate colors, sounds, sizes, and anything you can think of. Don’t forget the SPF!
  4. Sprinkler/water table; a kid favorite to keep cool all summer! Grab the sprinkler out and let the kids play for gross motor and body awareness. Water table activities are great to improve fine motor skills, promote cause and effect awareness, and sensory regulation. Incorporate different objects into the table along with different friends to practice social emotional play and turn-taking. If you don’t have a water table…no problem! Use any size plastic storage container, fill it with water, and let the fun begin!
  5. Pretend play is something that can be utilized anywhere: driving in the car, playing at the playground, and at home. Use themes that your child already enjoys and has an understanding of (pirates, dragons, PowerRangers, princesses, anything!) Be enthusiastic…if you aren’t excited to use a hairbrush as a phone your child won’t be either. Don’t be afraid to talk out loud and explain what you are doing to your child (they won’t know what you are using the props for unless you tell them). Use concepts they know already, have them take their toy car and drive around to pick up grandma to make cookies in the kitchen. Using empty household items makes a child feel accomplished and proud to take part in family routines.

Kelly Scafidi, MSW, LCSW, DT

Typical Speech-Language Development (0-24 months) & Red Flags for Communication Difficulties

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Children experience so much growth with regard to speech and language in this relatively short amount of time. It can be difficult to know what is expected and when. Use the chart below as a guideline to review your child’s progress or to see what skills might appear next!  If your child presents with red flags for communication difficulties, it is recommended that you seek guidance from a speech-language pathologist or your child’s pediatrician.

For those of you with children over 2 years of age, stay tuned! And as always, feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns regarding your child’s development.

Ana Thrall, MS, CF-SLP

5 Therapeutic Yoga Poses and Their Benefits for Your Child

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Many adults think of yoga as a fun form of exercise or a way to promote relaxation and balance in their busy lives. However, yoga can also be an incredibly useful and fun activity that can aid in your child’s therapy, maximize functional skills, and help your child reach his or her full potential! Yoga poses can help children build strength, increase body awareness, promote development of fine motor skills, and provide a sensory experience to calm or stimulate the nervous system.

Here is a list of yoga poses and their benefits for you to try with your child. Be sure to try yoga poses on a mat or other soft surface, like carpeting, to avoid slips and falls!

Downward Dog

Downward Dog requires weight-bearing in the hands, wrists, elbows, knees, ankles and feet. The pressure put on each joint sends information to the brain about where the body is in space. The sense of knowing your body position in space is called proprioception. Proprioception increases body awareness, which can help children to navigate environments without bumping into people or things.  Body awareness also helps with the ability to plan a movement and correctly sequence and perform each step of the process. For example, more body awareness may help your child better plan and complete the action of getting on a bicycle. For many children, proprioceptive play has a calming effect on the nervous system.

Downward Dog also inverts the head, which challenges a child’s sense of balance. Our sense of balance is also called the vestibular system Children who enjoy spinning and swinging will love the feeling of being upside down in downward dog! Many parents find that children have an easier time focusing on tasks after vestibular play.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bridge Pose

This pose builds core and hamstring strength. Building core strength promotes fine motor development, as children need to be able to keep their trunks upright when moving their arms and hands away from the body to accomplish reaching tasks. Increasing core strength will lay the foundation for the development of complex fine motor skills that require the arms to be moved away from the body, like handwriting. Hamstring strength helps with your child’s overall stamina for skills like running, jumping, and climbing. This makes participation in the park or on the playground much easier!

 

 

 

 

CAUTION:  Children with Atlantoaxial Instability (AAI) or any condition associated with neck instability should not attempt this pose.

 

 

Cobra Pose

This pose requires children to weight bear through both arms, increasing their ability to coordinate using both arms at the same time. This is called bilateral coordination, and it is necessary for many school tasks. For example children need to coordinate both arms when using one hand to stabilize paper and another to form letters or cut with scissors.

Additionally cobra pose helps to build shoulder stability and strength. Shoulder stability needs to present before fine motor skills that require hand dexterity can emerge. Examples of skills that require dexterity include shoe tying, and buttoning/unbuttoning clothing. Pretending to be snakes and hissing in this pose is a fun way to practice deep breathing!

 

 

 

 

Note: Encourage your child to engage his or her abdominals by saying “try to make your belly button touch your back!” This will help keep pressure off your child’s lower back.

 

 

Plank Pose

In addition to engaging muscles to increase core strength and shoulder stability, this pose requires the child to bear weight through a flat palm. Bearing weight through the palms strengthens the intrinsic muscles of the hand. The intrinsic muscles are essential for grasping and pinching skills. Activities that require strong intrinsic muscles include grasping handwriting feeding utensils, buttoning and zipping clothing, and tying shoelaces.  Stronger intrinsic muscles can help your child to hold a pencil, spoon, or zipper in an age appropriate way, making these functional skills easier!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easy Pose

Easy pose can be excellent for providing relaxation, practicing deep breathing, and putting new trunk strength to use! You can tell children to pretend their heads are balloons reaching for the ceiling, and that their hips are rocks. Then explain that their spines are connecting the rocks to the balloons. This will promote good posture and increase sitting tolerance. Postural stability is the ability to sit up straight for an extended amount of time. When the trunk muscles are strong and able to maintain posture easily, children spend less energy on simply sitting upright at their desks. This helps children be less fatigued while sitting at a desk or table, so they have more energy to spend on learning!

While in this position, ask your child to take slow deep breaths. The child can pretend to smell a birthday cake while inhaling, and blow out birthday candles while exhaling. Try to encourage your child to focus on this type of breathing for at least 1 minute with the child’s eyes closed. Deep breathing can be a great “calm down” strategy for when your child is overwhelmed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Natalie Machado, MS, OTR/L

References:

Heffron, C., & Drobnjak, L. (2017). Therapeutic benefits of yoga for kids. Retrieved

from http://www.kidsyogastories.com/therapeutic-benefits-of-yoga-for-kids/

Spencer, J. (2016). The therapeutic benefits of yoga for kids. Retrieved

from http://mamaot.com/therapeutic-benefits-of-yoga-for-kids/

Attention: What is Appropriate?

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All parents are concerned with their child’s attention span. As therapists, we always hear “His attention is so short!” “She bounces from toy to toy all day long!” “He is just so busy!”So, what really is a typical attention span?

Below is a loose guide to think about when considering attention in small children when they’re playing independently. They should be expected to attend for a bit longer when engaging with an adult, as we help keep their attention!

0-12 months: The littlest of babies should be able to play with a single toy for at least a minute or two (if you’re lucky!). Remember, they’re soaking in their new environment, so they’ll have the shortest of attention spans!

12-24 months: These exploring toddlers should be able to attend to a toy or activity for at least two minutes. As these new walkers start to explore and get into EVERYTHING, this may be a bit shorter, but two minutes can be expected once they’re sturdy on their feet.

24-36 months: These older toddlers should be able to attend for three to four minutes. Again, this should be longer when playing with peers or an adult.

3-5 years: These kiddos should be able to attend and play for about five to ten minutes without adult supervision.

 

Tips on increasing attention:

  • Encourage structured activities* at least once a day…after some movement!

Get those wiggles out before a structured activity! The best time to complete a learning activity would be when the child is well regulated. Being expected to sit all day and focus is difficult for an adult – it’s even harder for a child wanting to explore this whole new world!

*A structured activity is something that has a clear beginning and end: reading a book, completing a puzzle, or simple board games.

  • Limit distractions

No wonder these kids bounce around the room – many children’s toys tend to take over the ENTIRE room! Help your child clean up and put things away to limit distractions of other toys. You may need to hide away highly preferred toys, as needed, while completing your structured activities.

  • Turn off the TV and limit use of tablets and phones!

Screens aren’t the enemy- however many tv shows and videos on YouTube are so fast moving, the children don’t want to slow down for toys. Not only do screens impact children’s language development (see Jessie’s blog from last week!) but it also impacts their attention span.

For more information on attention and TV exposure: https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/educate/college/healthscience/articles/20040411.htm

  • Is a task too hard?

Is the activity at hand too difficult? While it is up to us as caregivers and your child’s first teachers to introduce new activities and skills, we need to build upon the skills they already possess. A child can’t be expected to sort objects by color if they are unable to match colors! Take skills they already have mastered and just push a little more, providing modeling, as well as visual and verbal cues.

  • Children should want to get up and explore!

It’s perfectly normal for small children to not want to stay in one place for a long time – period. They are curious, want to explore, and move – this is how they start to learn about the world! Just like anything else in life, balance is key. Get out there and explore with them!

Kimberly Shlaes, MAT, DT
Director of Developmental Therapy Services

Let’s Talk Screen Time!

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Let’s Talk Screen Time!

How it may affect your toddler’s speech and language development:

https://digitalpublishing2015.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/technology-educating-todays-digital-native-children/

Screens are nearly impossible to avoid in our daily lives, from televisions, phones, tablets and even screens in cars and emerging in public transportation. New research by the Hospital for Sick Children in Ontario launched research findings indicating that children under the age of two spend an average of 28 minutes daily with a handheld device. Strikingly, every 30-minute increase in daily screen time was linked to a 49% increase in expressive language delays (using sounds and words to communicate). The study did not find a link between screen time and social or gesture communication skills.

This new research is just the beginning of more research to come, but supports the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation of limited screen time for toddlers:

  • For children younger than 18 months, avoid use of screen media other than video-chatting.
  • Parents of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they’re seeing.
  • For children ages 2 to 5 years, limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programs.
  • For children ages 6 and older, place consistent limits on the time spent using media, and the types of media, and make sure media does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to health.

While the research is out, it can be difficult to avoid screens in our daily life. Here are some tips to make screen time more beneficial for you and your toddler.

  • Pick age-appropriate apps or programs. Apps or programs built around daily routines of grooming, playing and eating are easy for toddlers to relate to!
  • Play and/or watch together! Make this a special time with your toddler and practice stopping the screen to talk about what is happening and how that might relate to your life.
  • Set a timer. It is easy to get caught up in an activity, set a timer for a clear expectation for you and your child to know screen time is over.
  • Take videos and pictures of activities you and your child play together, look back at the pictures and talk about the activity!
  • Designate non-screen time into your day. The vast majority of your child’s day should be spent interacting with toys, peers, and caregivers to build cognitive, problem solving, positive social-emotional, gross motor, fine motor, and speech and language skills

Jessie Delos Reyes, MA, CCC-SLP

Full research details:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/04/health/babies-screen-time-speech-delays-study/index.html

https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/american-academy-of-pediatrics-announces-new-recommendations-for-childrens-media-use.aspx

“What is auditory processing? Does that mean my child can’t hear?”

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“I think my child has a hearing problem. They don’t always follow directions and often need me to repeat things.”

There is a common misconception among the families in the speech and hearing world that a child who presents with an auditory processing disorder can’t hear or that a child who has difficulty answering questions or following directions has a hearing impairment.  While the term may sound confusing as both issues concern the auditory system, they are in fact very different from one another. Below are some fast facts on what auditory processing is and is not.

What it is/may present with:

  • Auditory processing disorders are conditions where children have difficulty processing the meaning of the sounds they hear.
  • A disconnect between what the ear hears and the brain processes
  • A breakdown in receiving, remembering, understanding, and then utilizing auditory information
  • The inability to interpret, organize, or analyze what they’ve heard.
  • May have difficulty following directions, especially more than one direction/step at a time
  • May often need information repeated/rephrased
  • May need extra pause time for processing before responding
  • May look confused, give a blank stare, or often ask “huh?” or “what?”
  • Appear easily distracted or bored, especially when conversations/activities don’t include visuals
  • May become upset, angry, or frightened by loud noises and noisy environments
  • Increased difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments
  • Display poor memory for words and numbers
  • May have difficulty with complex language such as word problems, riddles and jokes, or a long story
  • Struggle to hear the difference in similar sounding words
  • Have difficulty paying attention for appropriate amounts of time
  • Have difficulty expressing complex speech
  • Struggle with language skills, including reading/reading comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, and understanding information presented verbally

What it is not:

  • A hearing impairment; all the parts of the hearing pathway are working well.
  • ADHD, Dyslexia, or Sensory Processing (although many children with these disorders struggle with auditory issues as well)
  • Not the result of more global deficits such as autism, intellectual disabilities, attention deficits, or similar impairments.
  • Not defiance or laziness in a child
  • It is not rare-research suggests it is in 2-7 percent of U.S. children
  • Not a lack of intelligence

Diagnosing either hearing loss or APD requires a multidisciplinary team:

  • A pediatric ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor will assess any medical problems with the hearing pathway (e.g. ear infection, fluid in the ears, etc.)
  • An audiologist will test hearing sensitivity to determine if there is a hearing loss and administer the series of tests that will determine if APD is present.
  • The speech language pathologist (SLP) will test developmental milestones in speech and written language.
  • The teacher or an educational expert will look at/identify academic difficulties (as well as implement modifications to the classroom after diagnosis)
  • A psychologist will evaluate cognitive functioning.

Things to remember:

  • Even if your child has multiple symptoms of APD, only careful and accurate diagnosis can determine if APD is actually present.
  • Although a multidisciplinary team approach is important in fully understanding all difficulties/aspects associated with APD, the diagnosis of APD can only be made by an audiologist.
  • Treatment of APD is highly individualized. There is no one treatment approach that is appropriate for all children with APD.

For further information, call us at PlayWorks Therapy, Inc. for a language evaluation or ongoing therapy after your child has been diagnosed!

Therese Schmidt, MS, CCC-SLP

Making Transitions Easier for the Child and Caregiver!

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Are you having trouble getting your child to transition between activities, tolerate a diaper change, or simply cooperate in his/her daily routine? Children’s early learning experiences are created through their caregivers, requiring the children to navigate their worlds through imitation and by following their caregivers’ specific directions. Around the age of 15 months old, children attempt self-direction and prefer to exercise independence and control. With that said, children often become more defiant of adult direction and may start to experience more difficulties with transitions. As caregivers, we want to make sure we continue to offer children control in order to help them better adjust to the demands placed on them. Below are some suggestions to use for helping your child in a transition process:

  1. Give your child verbal warnings before moving to another activity (e.g. putting on their shoes)
  • For example, give children a two-minute warning before they need to stop playing and put on their shoes. Even though they won’t understand the concept of two minutes, it will get them used to a verbal warning, which will precede the transition. Caregivers can also then give a second warning of one minute, offering the child a total of two warnings in total before they are required to transition.
  1. Give your child options during the transition.
  • Once you begin the process of putting on their shoes, caregivers can ask the children which pair of shoes they want to wear, ultimately offering two pairs that are acceptable to wear. This not only has the children comply with adult direction but also gives them the control back in choosing the options.

Caregivers can apply these two strategies to every transition! It is normal that children will require some time to adjust to the guidelines but stay consistent and changes will come!

Brittany Hill, MS, MSW, LSW, DT

Using Mr. Potato Head to Practice Speech and Language Skills

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Mr. Potato head is a versatile toy that can be used to target many speech and language skills.

The following are concepts that can be targeted while playing with your child:

  1. Identifying body parts: Ask your child to find Mr. Potato Head’s eyes or his nose. If they have trouble doing this you can narrow down their options by giving them a choice of two. You can then ask them to find their own eyes, nose, etc.
  2. Requesting more: Before handing your child another piece, have them request “more” at their current level (i.e. eye contact, pointing, signing, or verbally.)
  3. Following directions: Practice following directions by asking your child to hand you Mr. Potato’s hat, hands, etc. Make sure that they know which part you are referring to so that they do not have increased difficulty following the direction. You can also have them perform an action before receiving a new piece. For example, ask your child to clap their hands and reward them by giving them a new piece.
  4. Teaching Action words: Teach action words through Mr. Potato Head such as running, jumping, sleeping, eating, waving, etc. You can model and label the action for your child and then have them practice.
  5. Pretend play: Perform routines with Mr. Potato Head such as eating breakfast, taking a bath, or getting ready for bed.
  6. Early location concepts: You can hide pieces around the room and ask your child to find the piece on the table, in the shoe, or under the chair. If they are not at this level yet you can model for them (i.e. “look! His nose is on the chair”.)

Katie Dabkowski M.S., CF-SLP

Fine Motor Skills: Is your Child Falling Behind?

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Fine motor coordination is the capacity of the small muscles of the upper body to allow for controlled movements of the fingers and hands. They include the ability to hold a writing utensil, eat with a fork, open containers, and fasten clothing.  These small movements correspond with larger muscles such as the shoulder girdle, back, and core to provide stability for gross motor functioning and with the eyes for hand-eye coordination. Weaknesses in fine motor skills are often the result of poor hand strength and poor motor coordination.

Fine Motor Red Flags in School-Aged Children

As a former Kindergarten teacher, at the start of each school year, I welcomed an array of children in my classroom with a variety of fine motor skillsets.  Since children have such varying preschool experiences, generally, their skills will vary based on the activities to which they have been exposed. If a child has had the opportunity to practice cutting with scissors, for example, he or she will likely be able to accomplish snipping a piece of paper by 2.5. Fine motor development occurs at an irregular pace, but follows a step-by-step progression and builds onto previously acquired skills. By the approximate ages listed below, your child should be able to demonstrate these skills:

2 to 2.5 Years

  • Puts on and takes off socks and shoes
  • Can use a spoon by himself, keeping it upright
  • Draws a vertical line when given a visual example or after an adult demonstrates
  • Holds crayon with fingers, not fist

2.5 to 3 Years

  • Builds a tower of blocks
  • Draws horizontal & vertical lines when given a visual example or after an adult demonstrates
  • Unscrews a lid from a jar
  • Snips paper with scissors
  • Able to string large beads
  • Drinks from an open cup with two hands, may spill occasionally

3 to 3.5 Years

  • Can get himself dressed & undressed independently, still needs help with buttons, may confuse front/back of clothes and right/left shoe
  • Draws a circle when given a visual example or after an adult demonstrates
  • Can feed himself solid foods with little to no spilling, using a spoon or fork
  • Drinks from an open cup with one hand
  • Cuts 8×11” paper in half with scissors

3.5 to 4 Years

  • Can pour water from a half-filled pitcher
  • Able to string small beads
  • Uses a “tripod” grasp (thumb and tips of first two fingers) to draw, but moves forearm and wrist as a unit
  • Uses fork or spoon to scoop food away from self and maneuver to mouth without using other hand to help food onto fork/spoon

4 to 4.5 Years

  • Maneuvers scissors to cut both straight and curved lines
  • Manages zippers and snaps independently, buttons and unbuttons with minimal assistance
  • Draws and copies a square and a cross
  • Uses a “tripod” grasp (thumb and tips of first two fingers) to draw, but begins to move hand independently from forearm
  • Writes first name with or without visual example

4.5 to 5 Years

  • Can feed himself soup with little to no spilling
  • Folds paper in half with edges meeting
  • Puts key in a lock and opens it

5 to 6 Years

  • Can get dressed completely independently, including buttons and snaps, able to tie shoelaces
  • Cuts square, triangle, circle, and simple pictures with scissors
  • Draws and copies a diagonal line and a triangle
  • Uses a knife to spread food items
  • Consistently uses “tripod” grasp to write, draw, and hold feeding utensils while moving hand independently from forearm
  • Colors inside the lines
  • Writes first name without a visual example, last name may be written with visual
  • Only uses one hand for writing tasks, rather than switching between them

By age 7, children are usually adept at most fine motor skills, but refinement continues into late childhood.  If you notice your young child demonstrating difficulties in above “red flag” areas, it may be time to consult with an occupational therapist.

Jen Brown, MS, OTR/L
Director of Occupational Therapy Services

Resources:

Beery, K.E., & Beery, N.A. (2006). The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration. Minneapolis: NSC Pearson

Folio, M.R., & Fewell, R.R. (2000). Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, 2nd Ed. Austin: Pro-Ed.

Retherford, K.S. (1996). Normal Development: A Database of Communication and Related Behaviors. Greenville, SC: Super Duper Publications

Eating Habits- Picky or Problematic?

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Is my child simply a picky eater? Or should I be more concerned?

Many children go through a phase of picky eating, some longer than others, that is not usually cause for concern. Some days it seems impossible to get them to eat anything other than goldfish or cake pops, and vegetables aren’t even up for discussion! However, some children demonstrate behaviors that may indicate a feeding problem or disorder. These difficulties may present as sensory challenges, such as only eating brown, crunchy foods, or as oral-motor challenges, such as excessive drooling or food falling out of their mouth while eating.

The following is a list of red flags that may tell you if your child would benefit from the support of a feeding specialist:

Children develop feeding challenges as a result of negative associations with eating. These associations may be caused by various medical or sensory complications, such as sensory processing disorder, food allergies, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or motor-planning disorders.

If you have concerns about your child’s feeding skills, consult with your pediatrician and an occupational therapist or a speech-language pathologist to help you determine if your child may need additional feeding support.

Autumn Smith, MS, CCC-SLP
Director of Speech-Language Services