Tag

postural stability

Apr 27
154

Learning to Ride a Bike: A Rite of Passage

By | NESCA Notes 2021

By: Jessica Hanna MS, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist, NESCA

If there is one positive takeaway from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s the ever-growing love for being outdoors. It’s spring, the flowers are blooming, the sun is out, and the air is light. Everything in our body is telling us to go outside and play.

For many kids with and without disabilities, bike riding is meaningful, liberating, and a rite of passage. Close your eyes and try to remember the first time you rode a two-wheel bike. Can you remember the color of your bike? The smell in the air? The complete joy it brought you? That was the day we all felt a bit more confident and like we grew a bit taller.

So how do we help our children achieve this meaningful occupation? The days of running behind our children while holding onto their bike seat, telling them to pedal, not to stop, and hoping for the best and that they will forgive us when we let go (when we clearly promised we would not let go!) should be far behind us. But are they?

A lot goes into learning how to ride a bike, so do not let your child give up so soon when it takes more than a couple of days, weeks, or months to get it right. Consider the following skills that are addressed in learning to ride a bike:

  • Attention and concentration
  • Bilateral coordination
  • Balance
  • Body awareness
  • Core strength
  • Hand-eye coordination
  • Motor planning
  • Postural stability
  • Sensory processing
  • Upper and lower extremity strength
  • Visual scanning

Children as young as five years of age will begin to acquire and develop the skills needed to ride a two-wheel bike, and still others may not feel ready until they are pre-teens or even into adulthood.

Before getting started, here are a couple things to consider regarding the equipment involved in learning how to ride a bike:

  • Bike – The height of the bike is a crucial element to success when learning how to ride. When seated on the bike, your child’s feet should be firmly planted on the ground. The bike seat may appear too low and the bike too small; however, this technique enables movement security, engages proper core and postural stability, and increases confidence.
  • Braking System – Be sure to learn the difference between hand brakes vs. coaster brakes (using feet to backpedal). Both braking systems have pros and cons. Hand brakes are a personal favorite. They are more flexible to position, offer better control, but require adequate hand strength and coordination to manipulate. Coaster brakes (using your feet to pedal backward to brake) use an intuitive motor planning motion for children. When you pedal forward, you go; when pedaling backward, you stop. They are helpful for children who lack the hand strength skills to wrap and squeeze their hands around a hand brake; however, they provide awkward foot positioning and the constant tendency to backpedal.
  • Helmet – Safety, Safety, Safety! When handling a bike for any occasion (i.e., walking a bike, doing balance drills on a bike, or riding a bike), it should become an automatic habit to wear a helmet. Your child should be in charge of putting on and taking off their helmet independently. There is nothing more important than wearing a helmet that fits correctly with fasteners that can be easily manipulated. When choosing a helmet, be cognizant of the type of fastener/clasp it comes with and if your child has the fine motor skills to adjust it (this skill could take time to learn).If you are unsure if your child’s helmet is a good fit, any cycling store will be more than pleased to assist in finding your child the most appropriate size. 
  • Pedals – When learning to ride for the first time, the removal of pedals should be highly considered. It provides the opportunity to address balance, core, and postural stability for both younger and older children while also increasing movement security.
  • Training Bike – Which is best…balance bikes vs. training wheels? Balance bikes are light in weight and can be introduced to children at a much younger age than a pedal bike. They promote core strength and increase motor planning, sequencing, and balance training skills, making the transition from a balance bike to a two-wheel pedal bike more fluid and easier to manage. Training wheels promote ease in learning motor planning techniques to push on pedals while providing assisted balance. It’s important to note that removing the balance component can be disadvantageous when transitioning from training wheels to a two-wheel pedal bike.

Overall, the literature supports the observation that, for children with and without disabilities, learning to ride a bike is a popular activity that increases confidence, provides opportunities for shared recreation with families and peers, and promotes social inclusion (Dunford, Bannigan, Rathmell (2016).

Several of the many clinical diagnoses of children who can ride a bike follow here; however, this list is certainly not inclusive of the many other diagnoses that do not preclude children from bike riding:

  • ADHD
  • Anxiety
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Developmental Coordination Disorder
  • General learning disability
  • Hearing impairment
  • No diagnosis

The art of bike riding can be broken down into various steps, from learning how to use the kickstand to the act of pedaling. Each step deserves attention, because through repetition and practice, confidence is achieved.

If using these tips feels difficult or is not helping your child with the level of focus and skill they need to successfully achieve their goal to use a bike, we recommend reaching out to your occupational therapist or getting an occupational therapy evaluation. If in-person direct services continue to be a concern, biking riding skills can be offered via telehealth from the comfort of  your home. Jessica offers successful biking riding drills and adaptive home exercise plans through telehealth that address the skills required to learn to ride a bike. Contact NESCA’s Director of Clinical Services Julie Robinson, OT, to learn more at: jrobinson@nesca-newton.com.

 

References
Dunford, Bannigan, Rathmell (2016) Learning to ride a bike: Developing a therapeutic intervention. Children Young People & Families Occupational Therapy Journal 20(1) 10-18

 

About the Author

Jessica Hanna has over 10 years of pediatric OT experience in conducting assessments and providing treatment of children and adolescents with a broad range of challenges and disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders, sensory processing disorders, visual impairments, cerebral palsy, executive function deficits and developmental disorders of motor function. Prior to joining NESCA, Jessica trained and worked in a variety of settings, including inpatient and outpatient hospital settings, private practice, schools and homes. She has served on interdisciplinary treatment teams and worked closely with schools, medical staff and other service providers in coordinating care. In addition, Jessica provided occupational therapy services at Perkins School for the Blind and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital pediatric inpatient unit, where she conducted comprehensive evaluations and interventions for children with a broad range of presentations.

 

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Oct 13
150

The Ideal Remote Learning Workspace

By | NESCA Notes 2020

Co-authored by: Sophie Bellenis OTD, OTR/L and Jessica Hanna MSOT, OTR/L

Designated Space for Schoolwork – Make sure to set up a workspace with intention. While it may be easy to have children hop on the couch or sit at the kitchen table, having a space that is specifically used for academics will help them to compartmentalize and associate the space with focus and learning. There should be a concrete difference between a place to work and a place of rest. Ensure that this space is distraction-free and set away from the hustle and bustle of the home. Give your child some autonomy by allowing them to decorate their space and take ownership. A small desk, a card table in a quiet corner or a small bedside table set up in a private space are all options for workstations that children can make their own.

Remove Distractions – Take a moment to sit down at your child’s workstation and note any potential distractions. Some will jump right out, such as a TV or box of enticing toys within their line of sight, but some may be less obvious. Are they near a window facing a busy street or a dog park? Is there a substantial amount of visual clutter around their desk, such as busy posters or a family photo collage? Is their desk covered in mail, knickknacks, or arts and crafts supplies? If removing items is not an option, consider creating a physical barrier between your child and any environmental distractions by using a desktop study carrel/shield. Taking these distractions away will help a student to focus their energy on attending to school, as opposed to ignoring it and resisting distractions.

Organize Materials – Depending on your child’s age, they may need help organizing their workspace to be prepared for the day. For our young students, consider using toolboxes or tabletop organizers to hold their materials. A toolbox may have crayons, markers, scissors, pencils, erasers and glue sticks. If your child benefits from sensory supports, consider a toolbox with manipulatives, as appropriate per occupational therapy (OT) recommendations. Children are often very visual learners and may benefit from color-coded or designated folders for each subject or class they are taking. If a workspace is shared, keep your child’s personal materials all in one location, such as a personalized storage container that is easily portable, accessible and organized. Finally, remember to consider digital organization. Students are often told how to label and save documents by teachers at school. With the move to remote learning, children may need assistance organizing documents, folders and classwork on their computer so that they can easily find everything in the moment.

Adequate Lighting – Assess the lighting in your student’s workspace by checking to see whether there is any glare from the sun on the screen, whether they could benefit from a desk lamp to better illuminate their paper and determine whether there is a specific location with good natural light. If natural light is preferred, it’s best practice to position your electronic at a right angle to the light so the light is neither in front nor behind the screen. Avoid fluorescent light bulbs whenever possible. One more thing to consider is the fact since this past March, students and professionals alike have noticed an increase in headaches and visual fatigue due to spending substantial portions of the day in front of a screen. Technology is visually straining. Consider investing in a pair of blue light-reducing glasses, a newly popular solution to this problem that has shown promise for improving adolescent sleep, mood and activity levels (Algorta et al., 2018).

The Rule of 90 Degrees – When sitting at a table, children’s hips, knees and elbows should all be positioned at 90 degrees. Feet must be firmly planted on the floor. This helps to create a solid foundation. When children have a strong foundation and postural stability, they are set up to freely and accurately use their fine motor skills. Being grounded allows for easier writing, typing, cutting and manipulation of all the tools necessary for learning.

Appropriate Furniture – To meet the Rule of 90, it is important to consider the furniture that your student is using. Furniture needs to be the correct size or be modified to help children fit comfortably. If a desk/table is positioned too high, it will cause extra strain and fatigue. If your child’s feet do not reach the floor, consider using a step stool or fortified box for their feet. With regard to the chair itself, avoid options that spin and slide around as they are often distracting and make it difficult for children to pay attention.

 

 

 

References

Perez Algorta, G., Van Meter, A., Dubicka, B. et al. Blue blocking glasses worn at night in first year higher education students with sleep complaints: a feasibility study. Pilot Feasibility Stud 4, 166 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-018-0360-y

 

About the Co-authors:

Dr. Sophie Bellenis is a Licensed Occupational Therapist in Massachusetts, specializing in educational OT and functional life skills development. Dr. Bellenis joined NESCA in the fall of 2017 to offer community-based skills coaching services as a part of the Real-life Skills Program within NESCA’s Transition Services team. Dr. Bellenis graduated from the MGH Institute of Health Professions with a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy, with a focus on pediatrics and international program evaluation. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, as well as the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Having spent years delivering direct services at the elementary, middle school and high school levels, Dr. Bellenis has extensive background with school-based occupational therapy services.  She believes that individual sensory needs and visual skills must be taken into account to create comprehensive educational programming.

 

Jessica Hanna has over 10 years of pediatric OT experience in conducting assessments and providing treatment of children and adolescents with a broad range of challenges and disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders, sensory processing disorders, visual impairments, cerebral palsy, executive function deficits and developmental disorders of motor function. Prior to joining NESCA, Jessica trained and worked in a variety of settings, including inpatient and outpatient hospital settings, private practice, schools and homes. She has served on interdisciplinary treatment teams and worked closely with schools, medical staff and other service providers in coordinating care. In addition, Jessica provided occupational therapy services at Perkins School for the Blind and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital pediatric inpatient unit, where she conducted comprehensive evaluations and interventions for children with a broad range of presentations.

 

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Sep 01
149

Sitting Down to Work – Tips for Proper Set-up and Posture

By | NESCA Notes 2020

By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L

Occupational Therapist; Real-life Skills Program Manager and Coach

When working from home, it’s easy to ignore the important things that most people know about maintaining proper posture. The draw of a bed covered in pillows or a cozy nook on the couch can outweigh the rational knowledge that sitting with good posture will help us to stay focused, decrease back or joint pain, and help build a strong core. When it comes to children, they are often unaware of the ways that posture can affect their bodies and their work. They need cues, reminders and examples of the best way to sit to stay focused and be productive. In our last OT Tuesday blog, we discussed the importance of a child’s physical foundation, the core. When it comes to learning, a strong core helps with postural stability. As the start of a new school year draws near, let’s review some important things to consider about the environment and physical set-up for learning and the best positions for our students’ bodies.

Creating a space for learning helps to differentiate between school and home activities that, for many students, are currently happening in the same building. Here are some tips for setting up this space:

  • Find appropriately sized furniture. Children should have their feet on the ground when sitting at their desk! Tables should be at an appropriate height. Tables that are too tall tend to prompt children to hunch their shoulders or sit on their feet, while tables that are too small cause children to slouch and lean their heads on their hands.
  • Help them organize. Classrooms are built to help students grow their executive function skills, as teachers constantly help set up organizational systems and use tricks to keep students on track. Your child may benefit from color coded folders for each subject, a hard copy of their daily schedule (with pictures for younger kids!) or a visual timer.

There are also a few important things to remember to help with proper seated posture.

  • Use visual reminders. Your child may benefit from a picture of someone using proper seated position posted near their workspace. While they may still need a reminder every so often, having an image gives children a model to mimic.
  • The Rule of 90 Degrees. When sitting at a table, children’s hips, knees and ankles should all be positioned at 90 degrees. This helps to create a solid foundation. When children have a strong foundation and postural stability, they are set up to freely and accurately use their fine motor skills. Being grounded allows for easier writing, typing, cutting and manipulation of all the tools necessary for learning. Ideally, children’s elbows will also create a 90 degree angle.
  • Consider a slant board. Placing a computer or a paper on a slanted board can help students realize that they need to sit up straight, promote proper wrist placement and angle, and draw their eye gaze up from the desk. Writing on a vertical or slanted surface in general can help with the development of handwriting skills.
  • Stabilize that paper. Reminding students to use their non-dominant hand to hold their paper helps with precision and accuracy.
  • Allow them to switch it up! Some tasks really require a child to be sitting up straight, grounded and engaged. For example, a student who is hand-writing a final copy of their paragraph or using scissors for an art class will want to be cognizant of their bodies and how they are seated. In contrast, some activities provide opportunities to move around and change positions. If a student is reading a book for English Language Arts, they may want to lie on their belly or sit in a beanbag chair.
  • Take breaks. No matter how perfect a child’s seated posture is, they will benefit from movement and stretching breaks. Little bodies are built to move, bounce and wiggle!

Prioritizing posture as a child helps to build good habits, evenly distribute stress on the body’s muscle ligaments and joints, and create a strong, grounded foundation.

 

About the Author

Dr. Sophie Bellenis is a Licensed Occupational Therapist in Massachusetts, specializing in educational OT and functional life skills development. Dr. Bellenis joined NESCA in the fall of 2017 to offer community-based skills coaching services as a part of the Real-life Skills Program within NESCA’s Transition Services team. Dr. Bellenis graduated from the MGH Institute of Health Professions with a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy, with a focus on pediatrics and international program evaluation. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, as well as the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Having spent years delivering direct services at the elementary, middle school and high school levels, Dr. Bellenis has extensive background with school-based occupational therapy services.  She believes that individual sensory needs and visual skills must be taken into account to create comprehensive educational programming.

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Aug 18
149

Core Strength and Stability: The Physical Foundation

By | NESCA Notes 2020

By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L

Occupational Therapist; Real-life Skills Program Manager and Coach

As our country heads into a period of unique learning, whether through a remote learning experience, a hybrid model or an in-person option with heightened rules and regulations, I find myself focusing on foundation. Foundation, simply defined, means, “the basis upon which something stands or is supported.” Currently, we are looking at a huge shift in how programs will run, how teachers will teach and how schools will support our children, but these principles are rooted in strong foundations. Our educators have knowledge, proven methods and an evidence base that allows for creativity, flexibility and evolution.

With regard to our students, foundational skills are the basics that help them feel secure and grounded enough to tackle the more individualized and creative aspects of learning. It is, in part, due to these foundational skills that many of our surprisingly resilient children have handled the COVID-19 pandemic with more flexibility and grace than the adults in their lives.

Today, let’s highlight the physical foundation that supports a child throughout their day, the core. Anatomically, the core refers to the transverse abdominis, internal and external oblique muscles, rectus abdominis, and the multifidus and erector spinae. This group of muscles holds a child upright when they are sitting at their seat, standing in line and running around on the playground. It is one of the foundational elements that promotes healthy motor development. Having a strong and active core makes it easier for a child to use their fine motor muscles with intent, stay alert for the duration of a class or a Zoom session, and develop healthy postural habits. Occupational therapists are trained to determine whether these activities are being affected by a weak core and if there is a need for intervention. Teachers and parents who spend substantial time with our children may want to be aware of and look out for the clues and signals of core instability, which include:

  • Compensatory strategies for stability – These are the subconscious ways that children compensate for core weakness. Essentially, they are bad habits that initially help to keep kids from getting too fatigued to participate in activities, but can have negative long-term effects. Some common examples include “W-sitting” and holding a breath during activities that require strength.
  • Leaning on anything and everything – Some children sit and lean their head on their hands or the desk when they write, lean against adults when standing up or sitting on a couch, and lean on furniture or tables when they are standing at home. These same students often slouch down in their seats and hunch their shoulders forward when they stand. This could signify a weak core.
  • Difficulty with balance – The inability to stay balanced and upright may be due to core instability. Many children are still developing the ability to run, jump, walk across a balance beam and stand on one foot, but if they seem to be falling over or losing control of their body more frequently than their peers, a weak core may be the culprit. These balance issues may also be apparent when a child is doing daily activities, such as getting dressed, putting on shoes or getting in and out of a car.
  • Difficulty with fine motor tasks – Sometimes children have a strong core and still have weak fine motor skills; however, often a weak core is exacerbating fine motor deficits. There is a little phrase that goes, “proximal stability for distal mobility” that is used by therapists, yogis and personal trainers alike. This means that it is important to have strength and stability at the core to easily move and control the muscles in our arms and legs.

Notably, helping a child to build their core is not always as simple as doing a few targeted exercises. While pure muscle strength may be the root cause of instability, it is not the only possibility. Other causes include poor alignment of the ribcage and pelvis, the need for some neuromuscular reeducation to help children engage the right muscles, and breathing habits that interfere with proper muscle use. If you feel like core weakness may be interfering with your child’s success, it may be worth seeking an occupational therapy assessment or speaking to your school’s occupational therapist about how to help them feel secure, sturdy and grounded. We can all benefit from a strong foundation.

 

About the Author

Dr. Sophie Bellenis is a Licensed Occupational Therapist in Massachusetts, specializing in educational OT and functional life skills development. Dr. Bellenis joined NESCA in the fall of 2017 to offer community-based skills coaching services as a part of the Real-life Skills Program within NESCA’s Transition Services team. Dr. Bellenis graduated from the MGH Institute of Health Professions with a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy, with a focus on pediatrics and international program evaluation. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, as well as the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Having spent years delivering direct services at the elementary, middle school and high school levels, Dr. Bellenis has extensive background with school-based occupational therapy services.  She believes that individual sensory needs and visual skills must be taken into account to create comprehensive educational programming.

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Mar 23
149

Remote Real-life Skills Coaching: How Does it Work?

By | NESCA Notes 2020

By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist; Real-life Skills Program Manager and Coach

What is life skills coaching?

Coaching services in general aim to target functional life skills and help our children and adolescents to slowly build the ability to independent. While some of these skills, such as taking Uber, riding the T, or ordering in a restaurant, cannot be targeted using an online platform, the majority of these skills can absolutely be built with the help of a dedicated remote coach. Currently, many of our coaches are helping students through the great task of processing a huge life change in response to the COVID19 virus.

What skills can be worked on with a remote coach?

Hard skills are often thought of as specific, functional abilities that one can develop and perform. (In employment, these are often thought of as technical skills.) Options that can be worked on with a remote coach include cooking based on a specific recipe, ordering groceries on-line, calling to refill prescription, setting up a medication management system, typing, using Google classroom or Microsoft suite, electronic calendar management, etc.

Soft Skills include more abstract and broad abilities that are necessary for employment, academic success, and community independence. NESCA coaches work on executive function, social communication, and self-determination skills necessary for long-term independence at home, in school, and at work. Example skills taught include creating daily schedules, goal setting, preparing for interviews, organizing the home environment in order to be productive, reading and understanding IEPs and assessments, using technology to support memory, customer service skills, research skills, and more.

With the current pace and routine of life changing dramatically, NESCA coaches are working to help our clients establish healthy routines and habits. Coaches are available to help develop functional morning and evening routines, set up weekly to-do lists, develop a system to meet deadlines, use online resources for virtual learning, etc.

Who can benefit from this service?

Almost all adolescents and young adults could benefit from building life (and career or college readiness) skills, increasing independence, and practicing executive function; however, our neurodiverse population often has particular difficulty with changes in routine and greatly benefits from having a relational support to build structure and navigate change. All of our coaches have extensive experience working with adolescents and young adults with a wide range of learning, developmental, physical and social-emotional needs. NESCA is committed to helping young people who are struggling with this transition as well as families who are eager to use this unique situational opportunity to focus on skill building at home that is often difficult to fit in simultaneous to normal school demands.

What is a recommended coaching schedule?

Due to the individualized natural of coaching, the schedule and frequency can be incredibly personalized for each individual client. All of our coaching sessions begin with an intake process that includes input from both the adolescent and their family. Schedules are often developed in collaboration with the teen or young adult, the family, and the coach to best meet the client’s needs. Some example schedules that are used by current NESCA clients include:

  • Weekly Skill Building. Clients who are looking to target specific skills often choose to do a weekly session focus on learning and repetition.
  • Monday, Wednesday, Friday 30 Minute Check-ins. This model allows for a student to receive some guidance creating their own scheduling, while simultaneously holding them accountable.
  • Monday Motivation/Friday Follow-up! These sessions range from 1-2 hours and include weekly goal setting, check-ins regarding a weekly to-do list, and personal scheduling. For many clients a Friday follow-up session is an important opportunity to practice self-monitoring and review the previous week.

As somebody who coaches students in person and remotely, what differences do you notice?

I find that the main difference when coaching students remotely is when and how skills are targeted. In person, much of my coaching focuses on community integration, using our transit systems, and navigating the complex social interactions that are necessary when out in the community. Remote coaching can still target pieces of each of these skill areas but the process is in many ways more intrinsic. We may focus on learning to use the internet to find community opportunities, learning to create schedules for travel or complete applications for para-transit, using video learning to “try out” travel, employment, and community activities, and bolstering social media skills. We focused on building global skills in new ways that will help in the future, across environments. For instance, social communication by phone and video conferencing is a skill that will support social and employment success in the future.

In terms of the personal connection and opportunity to build rapport, I find that some teenagers are incredibly adept at communicating over a digital medium. Those who are not, tend to learn quickly. I am continually impressed by their ability to focus, discuss real-life topics, and build skills remotely.

 

About the Author

Dr. Sophie Bellenis is a Licensed Occupational Therapist in Massachusetts, specializing in educational OT and functional life skills development. Dr. Bellenis joined NESCA in the fall of 2017 to offer community-based skills coaching services as a part of the Real-life Skills Program within NESCA’s Transition Services team. Dr. Bellenis graduated from the MGH Institute of Health Professions with a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy, with a focus on pediatrics and international program evaluation. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, as well as the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Having spent years delivering direct services at the elementary, middle school and high school levels, Dr. Bellenis has extensive background with school-based occupational therapy services.  She believes that individual sensory needs and visual skills must be taken into account to create comprehensive educational programming.

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services, Transition Services, or Virtual Coaching Services, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Mar 18
149

School-based Occupational Therapy at Home

By | NESCA Notes 2020

By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist; Real-life Skills Program Manager and Coach

While school districts and government officials work to plan for the current “new normal,” no concrete decisions have been made about the delivery of special education and provider services. As parents take on the huge task of educating within the home, it is important to consider how we can bolster some of the skills that are continuously targeted in the school setting. As an occupational therapist, I have provided direct services and worked with teachers who are adeptly teaching a class of 20, while simultaneously making sure that their two students with OT needs are being provided appropriate accommodations and motor practice. Here are some activities that can be done in the home to keep the development and learning going!

If your child’s occupational therapy (OT) evaluation mentions difficulty with fine motor coordination, consider incorporating these activities into your day.

  • Sort marbles, pompom or coins. Using fingers to pinch and pick up small objects helps to build strength and solidify grasp and grip patterns. Increase the difficulty of this activity by having kids push pompom and marbles through small holes or manipulate coins through slits in a tub or box.
  • Play with playdough or putty. Make shapes using cookie cutters, push beads into putty and pull them all out, roll playdough into a snake and use different pinches to create patterns from head to tail. Pinches to consider include: thumb and index finger, thumb and index+middle finger and thumb against the side of the index finger (lateral pinch).
  • String beads, cheerios or pasta with holes. This activity promotes bilateral coordination, fine motor control and grasp patterns. Scaffold this activity by starting with threading on pipe cleaners, moving to dry spaghetti and finally working to thread onto string.
  • Practice using tweezers to pick up small objects.

If your child’s OT evaluation mentions difficulty with visual perception or visual motor integration, try these!

  • Puzzles! Doing a puzzle requires multiple visual perceptual skills, as well as the fine motor precision to fit pieces together.
  • Word searches. Word searches require horizontal and vertical tracking, letter discrimination and visual figure ground ability. Consider scaffolding this activity by finding word searches that only have horizontal words, have both horizontal and vertical, or have horizontal, vertical and diagonal words.
  • Sorting activities. Objects can be sorted by color, shape, size, texture and a plethora of other characteristics. Consider using objects found in the home, such as pens, buttons, silverware or simply items in a junk drawer for sorting activities.
  • Mazes, Hidden Pictures and Spot the Difference activities can all be found online.
  • Copying activities. Draw pictures using horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines, circles, squares, triangles and crosses and have your child try to copy them exactly. This activity works on visual motor integration specifically.

If your child’s OT evaluation mentions difficulty with endurance, postural stability or core strength, try these!

  • Draw or play while lying on the ground. Tummy time is often thought of as an activity to help our newborns, but lying on your tummy and using the muscles needed to keep the upper body and head stable can be beneficial for building strength in most of our kids.
  • Yoga! Incorporate an online video or movement break into your daily routine.
  • Pretend to be different animals! Walk like a bear, slither like a snake, hop like a frog or trot like a horse. Mimicking these animals is a great activity to do while listening to music and uses all different muscles.

While it can be difficult to target our children’s specific needs without direct access to therapists and our usual resources, building in small activities throughout the day can help to maintain strength, skill development and the foundational abilities needed for academic growth.

 

About the Author

Dr. Sophie Bellenis is a Licensed Occupational Therapist in Massachusetts, specializing in educational OT and functional life skills development. Dr. Bellenis joined NESCA in the fall of 2017 to offer community-based skills coaching services as a part of the Real-life Skills Program within NESCA’s Transition Services team. Dr. Bellenis graduated from the MGH Institute of Health Professions with a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy, with a focus on pediatrics and international program evaluation. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, as well as the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Having spent years delivering direct services at the elementary, middle school and high school levels, Dr. Bellenis has extensive background with school-based occupational therapy services.  She believes that individual sensory needs and visual skills must be taken into account to create comprehensive educational programming.

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.