Visit us on Facebook for new Therapy Nuggets throughout the week!
Facebook Therapy Nuggets from May 16 – July 21:
July 20: One of the best diversions for a manual tactile sensory-seeking student is to place a 24-inch piece of yarn in the student’s hands and invite the student to manipulate it at will. – John Taylor, Ph.D.
July 18: A fun pool game: Use ping pong balls as “fishes” and give each child a small strainer to “catch” them in. Caught fish are put into a container and when the container is full, dump it over so the fish “get away” and have to be caught again! – Barbara Sher, MA, OTR, Early Intervention Games from CA
July 15: UptoTen.com has 1353 FREE games that are categorized and great for working on a variety of Occupational Therapy skills. Recommended to click on “up to ten free,” then “search”, then choose the game or educational category you are interested in. The list that is provided is organized by age level! – Kim Wiggins, OTR/L, CP-BC
http://www.uptoten.com/
July 13: One of the significant changes for the proposed CMS Home Care rules for 2012 is that face-to-face MD requirements would be extended to Medicaid patients. Read more about it here. – Eileen Bach, PT, M.Ed, DPT
http://summit-education.com/instructor-blog/2012-proposed-home-care-rules-are-out/
July 11: There are hundreds of sensory processing disorder symptoms, but all are of only four types: sensory seeking, sensory avoiding, sensory afferent (input) under-response, and sensory efferent (sensory-based motor) under-response. – John Taylor, Ph.D
July 8: Are you stuck trying to find more ways for kids to write in your OT sessions, classrooms, or home? I highly recommend this book: Games for Writing: Playful Ways to Help Your Child Learn to Write by Peggy Kaye. – Kim Wiggins, OTR/L, CP-BC
http://www.amazon.com/Games-Writing-Playful-Child-Learn/dp/0374524270/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1310137421&sr=8-1
July 6: Low-level laser therapy has been shown to hasten the inflammatory process through mitochondrial chromophore stimulation. This increases respiratory chain activity, which enhances ATP synthesis, cellular repair and reproduction. – Advance Magazine for Physical Therapy & Rehab Medicine
http://physical-therapy.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/How-Physical-Therapists-Use-Laser-Therapy.aspx
July 5: An easy way to remember what sensory overload is like is the acronym TAPE. The person, because of a sensory event, is in terror, annoyance, pain, or exhaustion. – John Taylor, Ph.D
June 29: Hippotherapy techniques are on the rise, as many therapists say a horse has the same rhythm and walk as a human, and a rider takes on the movement of the animal, and new research supports HPOT’s validity. – Today in PT
http://news.todayinpt.com/article/20110509/TODAYINPT0101/110506009
June 27: Getting enough sleep always helps and never hinders the process of reducing sensory processing disorder symptoms. The research actually using children with SPD as subjects points to 9 to 10 hours per night as ideal for school-age children. – John Taylor, Ph.D
June 24: The See’N’Write Electronic Handwriting tutor is a great way for a child to learn how to form letters without the assistance of an adult. Check it out. – Kim Wiggins, OTR/L, CP-BC
http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-See-n-Write/dp/B0009QYSXK/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306781411&sr=8-1-fkmr0
June 23: To distract a sensory avoiding child, place something in the child’s hands during the stressful sensory event, such as a doll or teddy bear when the child must ride an elevator or exit for a fire alarm. – John Taylor, Ph.D
June 20: Although, a completely different pathology than lateral epicondylosis, cortisone injection results are similar. Subjects with adhesive capsulitis have decreased pain and increased shoulder motion on the short term after cortisone injection, but subjects attending therapy have greater long term results. – Tambra Marik, OTR/L, OTD, CHT
http://summit-education.com/instructor-blog/dr-tambra-marik/therapy-cortisone-injection-both/
June 17: Having trouble explaining what “proprioception” is? Watch this video and share with teachers, parents, and KIDS! – Kim Wiggins, OTR/L, CP-BC
http://www.youtube.com/user/brainhighways#p/u/2/b2iOliN3fAE
June 15: To help desensitize an auditory over-responding and sensory avoiding child who is afraid of the fire alarm at school, tape record the alarm and allow the child to play it at gradually higher volume while consuming a bowl of tasty ice cream. – John Taylor, Ph.D
June 13: Therapy nugget: For those working in healthcare fields: June is National Safety Month, Home Safety Month, and Prevention and Wellness Month! – Eileen Bach, PT, M.Ed, DPT
June 10: Suggested board games for promoting visual perception skills: Pictureka, Qwirkle, Blokus, Sequence for Kids (alphabet, mouth, or animal pictures) – Kim Wiggins, OTR/L, CP-BC
June 8, 2011: Manual scapular assist can be used for patients who cannot tolerate stretching latissimus dorsi and pectoralis due to pain. Often this simple technique can be incorporated into clinical treatment. Try it. Your patients will be impressed! – Tambra Marik, OTR/L, OTD, CHT
http://summit-education.com/instructor-blog/dr-tambra-marik/scapular-assist-test/
June 6, 2011: To awaken someone who is a sensory under-responder to an alarm clock, obtain one with a real bell on it and put it in a metal pie pan with dimes also laid out on the pie pan. – John Taylor, Ph.D
June 2, 2011: The Busy Box is a way to help Autism Spectrum children use perceptual and visual-motor skills, incorporate socialization and interactive play skills, and block out visually distracting objects or people. – Advance Magazine for Occupational Therapy Practitioners
http://occupational-therapy.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/Out-of-the-Box-Into-the-Busy-Box.aspx
May 31, 2011: A great compensation technique for kids that have difficulty with handwriting is the use of a speech recognition program. Did you know that your computer may already have a speech recognition program on it for FREE? Search for ‘speech recognition’ on your computer or Google – Kim Wiggins, OTR/L, CP-BC
May 26, 2011: Here’s a helpful guide to help patients understand SPD. – Advance Magazine for Physical Therapy & Rehab Medicine
http://physical-therapy.advanceweb.com/SharedResources/Downloads/2010/072610/PT_MakingSenseOfSPD.pdf
May 25, 2011: A new telerehabilitation study showed that teens with cerebral palsy who regularly practiced with a custom video-game system improved their hand function and forearm bone health. – Today in OT
http://news.todayinot.com/article/20100920/TODAYINOT010303/100917023
May 24, 2011: Helpful interventions for the low-vision client include: Placing brightly colored throw pillows or blankets on furniture that blends into the background, Wrapping fluorescent tape around grab bars and door knobs to make them easier to see, and more! – Today in OT
http://news.todayinot.com/article/20100920/TODAYINOT010302/100917022
May 23, 2011: To build vestibular and kinesthetic awareness, use the balance beam and gross-motor maze games-with and without vision – and with fine-motor skills incorporated within the gross-motor games. – Advance Magazine for Occupational Therapy Practitioners
http://occupational-therapy.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/Sensory-Scene.aspx
May 20, 2011: When implementing food chaining, clinicians should study the child’s upper airway system. Are the adenoids enlarged? Is the child swallowing well? – Advance Magazine for Occupational Therapy Practitioners
http://occupational-therapy.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/Helping-Children-with-Feeding-Disorders-Expand-Their-Diet.aspx
May 19, 2011: Remember the FAST mnemonic to learn stroke warning signs: Face, Arms, Speech, Time – National Stroke Association
http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=SYMP
May 18, 2011: The publishers of the 2013 revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) have announced another opportunity for public comments on the proposed revisions to the DSM-5. – Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation
http://www.spdfoundation.net/dsmvcomments.html
May 17, 2011: Fatigue and sleep problems dramatically reduce the thinking and reasoning abilities of adults who survived childhood cancer, according to new research from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) (Cancer, online, April 11). – Advance Magazine for Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists
http://speech-language-pathology-audiology.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/Pediatric-Cancer-2.aspx
May 16, 2011: Older adults who survive severe sepsis are at a higher risk for long-term cognitive impairment and physical limitations than those hospitalized for other reasons, according to new research [JAMA, 304 (16): 1787-94]. – Advance Magazine for OT/OTA
http://occupational-therapy.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/Cognitive-Issues-in-Sepsis.aspx