By: Geena Schmidt, OTR/L, Mary Dahly, OTR/L & Lindsay Jolley, COTA The mealtime routine is important for families in order to encourage healthy habits, communication, and to deepen family connections. Children especially benefit from mealtime because of the abundant opportunities to learn life long skills. Some of these lifelong skills
By: Amber Fox, MS, CCC-SLP Oral habits such as thumb or finger sucking and prolonged pacifire use can be very tricky to extinguish! Here are some helpful tips in tackling these unwanted oral habits. Gather your team- make sure all caregivers are on board and following the same plan- consistency
By: Erin Haugen, M/OTRL What does “cross midline” mean? Crossing midline is the act of moving our arms or legs across the midline of our body. Why is it important? Vital to the development of using both sides of the body together Facilitates coordination and communication between the left and
By: Amber Fredrickson, DPT What is a concussion? A concussion is a brain injury caused by a direct or indirect force to the head or body that changes how the brain functions. General symptoms: Headache Dizziness Nausea/vomiting Sleep disturbances Drowsiness Poor balance and coordination Visual problems Sensitivity to light or
By: Laura Kendall, DPT Do your kids sit with their knees and feet out to the sides? Often in the shape of a W? W-sitting is commonly seen in children and is not recommended as a preferred sitting posture when playing on the floor. In fact, we suggest you have
By: Holly Thompson, DPT Do you notice your child walking on their toes throughout the day? Do they prefer to be up on their toes rather than keeping their feet flat when they are standing and walking? By two years old, children typically demonstrate a heel-toe walking pattern. While toe
By: Brianna Mittelsteadt, OTR/L Many people find going to the salon or barber shop a treat; scalp massages, a fresh new look, lovely smelling shampoo, maybe even a sucker when you are done. There are many individuals who have the opposite experience: children and individuals with sensory processing difficulties. Let’s
Article provided by: Mental Health America Does your family focus on fitness? Do You Focus on Fitness #4Mind4Body? Mental health is essential to everyone’s overall health and well-being, and mental illnesses are common and treatable. So much of what we do physically impacts us mentally –it’s important to pay attention
By: Heidi Avelsgard, MS, CCC-SLP Research has shown that children with language disorders and/or articulation disorders often times demonstrate difficulties with literacy skills of varying degrees. Literacy skills are skills needed to be successful at reading and writing. As one sits back to analyze the correspondence between literacy skills, language,