self-regulation, The Occuplaytional Therapist, Page 7

A Successful Meltdown

March 10, 2023 The Occuplaytional Therapist Comments Off

(At the time of my writing this, my son was 3 years old.) Yesterday evening was the best meltdown we’ve had in a long time. How’s that for a starter sentence? This is an incredibly […]

“Stop Crying”

March 7, 2023 The Occuplaytional Therapist Comments Off

“Stop crying” was one of the most repeated things I heard in my childhood — definitely the most repeated “correction” I ever heard. I was constantly crying too much. And constantly in trouble for it. […]

Half Donut

March 6, 2023 The Occuplaytional Therapist Comments Off

When I was ten years old, my family was helping start a new church. This is something we did often when I was a kid. The church had a pastor and many of the other […]

Survive.

February 21, 2023 The Occuplaytional Therapist Comments Off

One of the most asked questions that I ever get—both in comment form, and in email form. I finally took the time to really write out a very long post answering it. Q: How can […]

Reframes

February 14, 2023 The Occuplaytional Therapist Comments Off

On my Facebook page, I asked adults to share something that their child had been doing that was frustrating or upsetting to them. I then invited people in the comments (myself included) to respond, from […]

Offering Grace

February 13, 2023 The Occuplaytional Therapist Comments Off

My friend Jessica, who runs the page Once Upon an Upset, once wrote: “So many of us are afraid of getting taken advantage of that we forget the option of offering grace.” It’s strange that […]

Maladaptive Coping

February 13, 2023 The Occuplaytional Therapist Comments Off

I had a kid recently who is not on my caseload. Their teacher asked me offhandedly about something they do, what I would call a stim. In their case, they pick at the skin on […]

Low Table Prompts

February 10, 2023 The Occuplaytional Therapist Comments Off

[Image description: A picture of a table that is low to the ground, only about 1 foot high. On top of it are Plus Plus blocks, separated into piles according to color. Taped to the […]

When You “Have” To

February 5, 2023 The Occuplaytional Therapist Comments Off

I shared a post about parents asking “How do I get my child to…” and trying to get away from that language, which isn’t helpful for understanding what is going on for the child that […]

Progress Doesn’t Have to Be Perfection

January 29, 2023 The Occuplaytional Therapist Comments Off

A few nights ago, one of my children had a complete and total meltdown. Screaming. Crying. Yelling for their dad, who was not available, working from home in the closed office. (Dad is the stay-at-home […]