Using Mindfulness for Challenging Behaviours

For the past 2 years, I’ve done respite with a phenomenal kid (let’s call her Ella). While continuously striking me with her ability to radiate joy and compassion, Ella had a tough time transitioning between activities, sharing, and keeping her hands off of other kids during group play. Early this summer, Ella and I were headed off to camp! Working with her family and camp staff (and using some good ole’ trial and error) we came up with great strategies for success, like making Ella the line leader to avoid pushing or being pushed, teaching other kids in her group the sign language she used, making a photo schedule of […]

Creating sensory spaces

Creating sensory spaces

  As Spring Occupational Therapy’s summer intern, I was tasked with transforming our basement to include three new therapeutic features for our kids: a messy wall, a scheduling wall, and a sensory retreat cave. Read on to learn why these are so beneficial and how you can create them in your own home.     Messy Wall So what is a messy wall and why on earth would anyone want to purposely make one? Good question! The answer is there are many benefits to messy play. It helps build fine-motor skills, develops hand-eye coordination, and improves body control and balance. The freedom to explore texture, colour and consistency aids in […]

Not your average summer camp

Not your average summer camp

  I consider myself to be sort of a summer camp expert. Having attended camp for eight years and working as a counsellor for four, I thought I knew all there was to know. But while teaching our extraordinary campers at Spring OT’s Explorers Camp, I learned just how valuable one week at the right camp can be.   Explorers Camp focuses on behaviour management and life skills for kids with disabilities. It is designed so each camper receives one-on-one attention with an occupational therapist (OT) and a speech-language pathologist (SLP) throughout the week. With the addition of a camp counsellor and supplementary volunteers, there is a one-to-one camper-to-counsellor ratio […]

Ready, Set … Impulse Control

Ready, Set … Impulse Control

‘Tis the season of the busy four year old child! Each year, we seem to have waves of children working on the same issue. This year, other than challenges with potty training, (so much poop!), we are seeing loads of children with a similar profile. Bright, sweet and goes a mile a minute. Does Aiden understand the word stop? Sure he does! Does Aiden have the ability to stop? Nope. This is where OT’s look at the baseline building block of impulse control. Without it, Aiden keeps running in gym class and can’t follow the simple hoola hoop game. But, how do we teach it?     For more ideas […]

Why won’t time outs work for my child?

Why won’t time outs work for my child?

Most of our parents complain “We’ve tried everything to keep our child calm and to stop the tantrums and it’s just not working!” Further discussion reveals that “everything” is most often traditional behavioural strategies, such as punishment and time outs. Families are amazed when OT explains the concepts of emotional regulation and why time outs don’t work for every kid. Time outs don’t promote emotional regulation The work of Dan Siegel, MD, continually informs our daily OT practice. His book, The Whole Brain Child, is the “must have” resource for parents and therapists in our clinic – it has a prominent place in our clinic waiting room. Dr. Siegel describes […]

No Apps: Why we promote relationship over apps in OT intervention with our kids

No Apps: Why we promote relationship over apps in OT intervention with our kids

A few years ago, I was approached by a preschool to provide OT services to Jane, a child with a diagnosis of Selective Mutism. I had yet to work with anyone with this diagnosis, so I turned to the research. The Selective Mutism Association provided me with great information, explaining that the core issue of this diagnosis and challenge in expressive language was rooted in anxiety. It was the start of a theme of research that lead me to consider how many of our clients have anxiety at the root of their functional needs. Whether it’s struggling to stay seated at carpet time, not knowing how to enter a social […]