"Feed the Car" is a fun and easy DIY in-hand manipulation activity and game for children. Playing this game is a great way to work on counting, pincer grasp, in-hand manipulation skills, bilateral skills, and crossing midline  Materials Needed: Toilet paper rolls Pompoms, beads Tweezers/Clothes pin Construction paper Printed/laminated cars Wrap the toilet paper rolls in construction paper and glue or tape in place. Print some fun animated car images, cut them out, and laminate them. Cut out an area that will serve as the "mouth" on each car, and and glue the image to each toilet paper r ..read more

Click HERE to vote for the Tummy Time Trainer!!! Does your baby struggle with tummy time! Unfortunately, many infants dislike being positioned on the stomach for play, but it is critical that they are exposed to tummy time starting from the first days of life. Why? Because tummy time promotes head control, and strengthens the trunk, shoulder, arm, and hand muscles, and all of these are important for the development of important milestones such as rolling over, crawling, and pulling up. Because I see so many babies who resist tummy time, I created the Tummy Time Trainer, which has recently bee ..read more

 You can create a dinosaur board game just like this! Materials: Cardboard Construction paper Clothespins Large die Small plastic dinosaurs Images were downloaded from free online resources Glue Create the game cards by including different activities. Examples are: “Stretch tall like a brachiosaurus; Bad weather ahead! Go back 3 spaces; Add a piece to the puzzle; Stretch like a stegosaurus. Do 5 cat/cow poses.” The object of the game is to make it all the way around the board before the volcano puzzle is complete. This is a wonderful activity that works on taking turns, visual percep ..read more

Check out this DIY reusable slant board that does not require paper to write on! The slant board is made from cardboard, and the writing surface is wrapped with a sheet protector so that it can be written on with dry erase markers, and therefore erased and reused.  Using a slant board for coloring or writing tasks puts the wrist in a slightly extended position which helps a child move their wrist in a fluid motion when forming letters and promotes a more refined pencil grasp. Additionally, a slant board positions the writing surface in the line of vision which promotes an upright postu ..read more

Here is a recipe for homemade therapy putty that every pediatric occupational therapist needs!   Ingredients     
 4-ounce bottle of Elmer's glue
1/4 cup cornstarch 1/4 teaspoon borax
1/4 cup of hot water 3-4 drops of food coloring Directions Pour 4-ounce bottle of glue into bowl Measure 1/4 cup of cornstarch and pour into same bowl Add 3-4 drops of food coloring to bowl Stir until everything is mixed Measure & pour 1/4 teaspoon of borax into a separate bowl Measure & pour 1/4 cup of hot water into bowl with borax Mix the hot water & borax together unti ..read more

As parents, we must have a plan when it comes to disciplining our children. We need to know exactly what we are going to do when our child misbehaves. We may wonder how love and discipline go together. I’d like to share a few guidelines that I've found to be very helpful when comes to discipline. * Discipline out of your Love for your child...yes love and discipline do go together! * Set clear expectations and guidelines, and post these guidelines as your “house rules.” 
* Set reasonable limits and keep expectations age appropriate.
 * Be consistent. Follow through with consequences every ti ..read more

    Image Credit: Carl Jorgensen Parents frequently ask me what their child needs to do to get ready for kindergarten. I like to share this list of 25 “readiness” skills that kindergarten teachers have told me are important for a child to be successful in the kindergarten classroom. Kindergarten Readiness Checklist 1)    Speaks in complete sentences 2)    Listens without interrupting 3)    Follows two-step directions 4)    Begins to share with others 5)    Is able to recognize authority 6)    Un ..read more

Here is a fun activity to work on fine motor and visual motor skills! It can be graded to be a developmentally appropriate activity for children of different ages and skill levels. Supplies Needed: Red & green construction paper Red & green small paper plates Google eyes Glue gun Scissors Fold the red paper plate. Cut the green paper plate in half as pictured below.   Using a glue gun, glue the edges of the white sides of the green and red paper plates together. Do not put any glue on the center of the plates. This area needs to be open because that is where the fingers will ..read more

Photo by: Providence Doucet- Unsplash PURPOSE: The authors of this study wanted to learn if sensory play delivered through a telehealth intervention would help children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder better tolerate wet food items. Two children completed a 6-week treatment using a modified (23 step) Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) approach that was developed by Dr. Kay Toomey. DESIGN: Mixed-methods research design. METHOD: There were 3 fifteen-minute treatment sessions that including play with a wet food that the child did not tolerate (mixed fruit), then the use of the SOS approach to ..read more

   Image courtesy of nenetus at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Children learn about the world around them through exploration and play. The role of play in child development is important for the development gross motor, fine motor and social skills. Play can be as simple as imitating the sounds that your infant makes, or it can be more involved, such as putting puzzles together, stacking blocks and imitating complex block patterns. Play activities such as these are great for motor and perceptual development, and they are also wonderful for social skill development. Parents and caregivers ne ..read more