Elementary
The Difference Between Play & Fun
This little piece of art by Lynda Barry stopped me in my tracks the first time I saw it: It’s so true! And it’s also true that it’s easy to forget as adults and classify […]
Year: 2023
Philosophy
Easy For Yourself
This Tumblr post feels so much like the exact heart of occupational therapy. And maybe that’s why I feel like it overlaps so hard with my parenting style…because I’m also on a mission to just […]
Activities
Simple Mazes
I offer a fine motor area as one of the stations in my therapy gym, in the form of a whiteboard with something casually drawn on it that the kids can interact with or not. […]
At School
Strengths-Based Evaluation
“Strengths-based” evaluation, goals, or treatment is something of a brand-new buzzword in the field of occupational therapy. And sometimes OT professionals feel threatened by this phrase, or feel like it leads to euphemistic evaluations where […]
Elementary
At School
Process and Occupation
Process art, as opposed to product art, usually doesn’t produce an end result — a “product” — that looks pretty or neat or send-home-able. It might be messier, more about exploring texture or materials than […]
At School
Stars and Rainbows
(From the archives of my own personal FB page, a story from when I was an early therapist. I would do some things differently now, but I still appreciated the story.) *** I have a […]
Activities
“Touched-Out” Roughhousing
Here’s an unconventional tip for parents who are sensory-sensitive or get “touched out”. First of all — there’s nothing wrong with you if your preferred level of touching, snuggling, hugging, wrestling etc in a day […]
Activities
Ultra-Washable Paint
Ultra-washable paint: 50% washable tempera paint 50% dish soap or bubble bath or old shampoo that you have left over after switching brands That’s it. Mix those two together. It will create an extremely washable […]
Activities
Painting with Brushes
When I introduced watercolors to my children for the first time (back when they were 3 and 2), I thought that the concept of dipping the paintbrush in the paint, wetting the paint, cleaning the […]