Happy Travels with a Child with Sensory Processing Disorder

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Throughout the year, you and your family are bound to hit the open road a time or two forTraveling with Sensory Processing Disorder one of a number of reasons. Many families may want to check out the scene in a new city. Others, will seek thrills at an amusement park or visit a family member that lives out of town. These trips can provide children with priceless learning opportunities and families with memories that will last a lifetime. For children with Sensory Processing Disorders however, these trips can be also be extremely challenging. Below are 6 tips and tricks to use in order to best support children who have difficulty processing sensory information on your next family vacation.

  1. Discuss what to expect: Talking about the specific logistics of a trip can help to ease your child’s anxiety about the ambiguity of what’s coming next. Similarly, it’s important to talk about what will be expected of your child while traveling. Here are some questions that your child may have prior to traveling. Think through each one and discuss them as a family before your next adventure begins:
    1. What is the mode of transportation (ie. plane, train, or automobile)?
    2. What will you see? Will there be a lot of people?
    3. What will you smell?
    4. What will you hear? Will it be loud?
    5. How much time will it take? What will you do to pass the time?
    6. How much space will your child have? Will there be time or room to play?
    7. What are the rules while traveling?
  2. Decrease the amount of extraneous and unfamiliar noise: Use noise cancelling headphones or calming music. Both strategies can help your child to calm themselves and more effectively process auditory sensory information, especially with the added stressors of travel.
  3. Prepare a backpack of travel essentials: Many adults pack a small carry-on bag with a few items that will help them pass the time. Items often include shoulder pillows, eye masks, ear phones and iPods; as well as a favorite book or magazine. For children with various sensory processing disorders, include some of the items listed below:
    1. Snacks, water, gum, or hard candies.
    2. Pack a heavy object to help your child regulate. A book or weighted blanket are great options.
    3. Bring a comfort object such as a blanket or favorite stuffed animal.
    4. Include fun activities such as mini board games, coloring pages, books, or playing cards
  4. Call the airline or tourist destination ahead of time: Explain your child’s sensory needs. Certain airlines, parks, and museums have special accommodations for children with sensory processing disorders.
  5. Preparatory Heavy Work: Before taking off for your trip, or during breaks in travel, engage your kiddos in Heavy Work activities. Tasks include animal walks, pushing or pulling luggage, push ups, or big hugs from mom and dad. All of these activities provide your child’s big muscle and joint groups with proprioceptive input. This input is extremely regulating for children, like exercise could be for an adult, and will help to calm your child for the next leg of travel.
  6. Expect some ornery fellow passengers: While it is unfortunate, you may come across someone throughout your travels who will have a low tolerance for kids being kids. Depending on your comfort level in doing so (or your ability to turn the other cheek), write out small note cards explaining that your child has a Sensory Processing Disorder and that as a family, you are doing the best you can to travel with minimal interruptions to the routines of those around you. You could even offer nearby passengers earplugs to help block out any extraneous noises.

The bottom line is that while traveling can be challenging, it can also be an extremely rewarding experience for everyone involved. With a fair amount of foresight and appropriate preparation, you can help to shape your trip into an experience of a lifetime for your whole family. Happy travels!

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff and Des Plaines. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates today!

benefits of neuropsychology testing

Neuropsychological evaluations for kids

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benefits of neuropsychology testing

How can neuropsychological testing benefit my child?

  • Testing can identify your child’s learning style and cognitive strengths.
  • Additionally, an evaluation will help our neuropsychologists recommend adjustments to implement at school and/or at home.
  • Furthermore, neuropsychological testing can help determine any appropriate therapies such as speech or Applied Behavior Analysis.

My child has a recommendation for a neuropsychological evaluation, now what?

  • First, schedule an appointment. Testing appointments are available Monday to Friday, and all appointments begin at 9 a.m.
  • Next, your doctor provides you with parent and teacher rating scales that you will fill out and return on the day of the testing appointment.
  • Lastly, a Family Child Advocate will work with you to schedule the testing and feedback appointments.

Where is pediatric neuropsychological testing done?

All neuropsychology testing is currently carried out in our Des Plaines clinic.  The Early Childhood Developmental Assessments take place in multiple clinics. Additionally, the intake and neuropsych testing appointment take place in our Des Plaines clinic, and the speech and OT appointments typically scheduled in the clinic nearest the family.

In order to help accommodate families, our 3 psychologists visit other clinics for intakes and feedbacks. See our website for scheduling.

Who conducts neuropsychological testing?

Conducting the appointment is one of our expertly-trained, master’s level neuropsychology technicians or doctoral-level diagnostic students. These professionals go through the same rigorous training program as our in-house technicians.  Testing is monitored throughout the day by one of our psychologists and Training Coordinator.

Due to this testing model, we are able to see upwards of 20 kids per week! As a result, this means less time until you and your child can begin the process of getting the help he/she needs! Certainly, we do our best to get your child in for testing in a timely manner to avoid any long wait lists.

NSPT offers services in the following locations:  Bucktown, Evanston, Deerfield, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, and Mequon!

If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (866) 815-6592 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates!

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Be Prepared for Winter Break

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The holidays can be magical and peaceful, but it can also mean kids home from school on winter break, schedules thrown off, and too much candy! We’ve put together a few tips to help you enjoy this special time of year with the family:

The benefit of old-fashioned toys

According to NBC news, old-fashioned toys are some of the most educational and worthwhile gifts you can give kids this holiday season. Toys like wooden blocks require kids to interact, imagine, and problem solve in ways that even an educational game on the iPad cannot achieve.

In order to express creativity, kids should move their actual bodies and have a tangible way to express their creativity. So when grandparents or friends are asking what to buy your kids this holiday, try suggesting a good old fashioned game. It does not have to be expensive or fancy to be effective.

Tis the season to be flexible

The holidays are packed with parties and obligations, but be careful not to put difficult demands on yourself. If you need to come late or leave early, do what you need to do. A little flexibility will go a long way. Holiday photos are nice too, but not if it means a battle over clothes. Let your child dress in what is most comfortable for them and everyone will be more relaxed.

Try a local transit museum

The New York Transit Museum staff noticed that their most enthusiastic visitors were boys on the spectrum, a phenomenon seen at similar museums around the globe. For an activity the whole family may enjoy, try a local transit museum or even simply a ride on the subway or train, stop have a snack, and make your way back.

Set aside time for self-care

You know that whole put the oxygen mask on yourself before helping others thing? There’s a reason for that. If you and your partner are burned out, everything this month will just be that much harder. Drop the kids off with a trusted relative or experienced sitter and sneak away for a glass of wine, a movie, dinner date or simply enjoy a quiet morning in the house alone.

Sensory activities for snow days

Every child needs sensory input to stay focused, regulated, and organized throughout the day, especially children who have sensory processing challenges. If the weather is frightful, these make for some great tactile/messy play indoor activities for a child with tactile processing challenges:

  • Play-doh/theraputty
  • Finger painting
  • Shaving cream
  • Create sensory bins of rice, beans, sand, noodles, etc.
  • Cooking/baking (allow the child to mix with their hands to explore new textures)

Check out our other winter blogs for additional ideas and tips!

Bully Pointing And Laughing At Boy

Bullying: Helping the Child who is the Bully

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Written by:
Erilda Borici, LCPC
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
Clinical Advisor for Mental Health and Counseling

The last days of summer are quickly approaching and that means that school is just around the corner. While many kids are looking forward to seeing their friends and teachers again, there are some kids who are dreading the return to school. For children and teens who are bullied, returning to school means having to endure endless teasing, name-calling, exclusion, threats and for some, physical aggression. It can be scary for these kids that experience consistent bullying at school. But what about the child who IS the bully?Bully Pointing And Laughing At Boy

Bullying is defined as “unwanted aggressive behavior among children that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power”. (Stopbullying.gov) The bullying is persistent or has the potential to be repeated over time. It can be verbal, physical, social/emotional or sexual. It can take place on the playground, in the cafeteria, in the classroom, in the neighborhood or online.  Between 1 in 4 and 1 in 3 US students say that they have been bullied in school (CDC). As we all know, it’s a prevalent problem, and while there have been so many great initiatives on how to help bullying victims, there is not enough information on the children who bully, why they do it, and how to help them stop.

Approximately 30% of US students have admitted to bullying someone. (CDC) If we think about how “the bully” is portrayed in movies and TV, we often see images of the angry kid who has low self-esteem. This is not always true. A child who bullies could also be the quiet, honor student, the happy, popular cheerleader or the student council member. Appearance really doesn’t have much to do with it and children who bully can be of any income level, race, family situation, gender, or religion.

Research shows that some of the reasons why children bully are:

  • Lack of empathy, perspective taking, and compassion.
  • Have poor social skills.
  • Might be bullied themselves.
  • Witness/experience aggression at home from parents or siblings.
  • Want to be “cool” or be part of a group that encourages bullying.
  • Quick to blame others and struggle with accepting responsibility for their actions.
  • Might be struggling with depression, anger issues, anxiety.

How to help children with bullying behaviors.

It’s important to start changing the language of how to refer to these kids. Using phrases like “once a bully, always a bully” can be really damaging. Sticking someone the term “bully” does not help prevent bullying. Bullying is about behavior which means that it’s about making a choice. Here are some tips on how to help support and teach children about stopping behaviors that are hurtful to others.

  • Teach your child about bullying from an early age. It’s important to talk to your child about how to treat others with respect, kindness, empathy and most importantly acceptance. Accepting that others might be different than us but that everyone is deserving of respect.
  • Teaching responsibility and accountability. Bullying is not caused by something the victim said or did. Children with bullying behaviors can become good at making excuses or blaming others for their actions. It’s important to help these children recognize the impact of their behaviors and take responsibility for their choices.
  • Provide clear consequences. Kids who are bullying others at school should be held accountable for their actions. If your child is bullying, take immediate action on providing clear consequences and discussing that the behavior is not tolerated.
  • Role-playing is a great tool to use to help model for kids how to resolve conflict, problem solve and manage difficult social situations. You can take turns playing the child who is doing the bullying and the victim to help your child see a different perspective.
  • Talk to your child about cyberbullying. Today, a child or teen has many choices on how to connect with friends and a lot of it is happening online. Many kids use social media platforms such as Instagram, and Snapchat to communicate and connect with their friends. While these apps are a lot of fun, they also provide opportunities for cyberbullying. It’s important to have a conversation about online safety with your child and to discuss some guidelines. Create a code of conduct such as:
    • Do not use social media to humiliate or embarrass someone.
    • Treat others online with the same respect that you would in person.
    • Do not post photos or videos of someone without their permission.

Continue to check in with your child about their online activity and review safety guidelines.

  • Talk with School Personnel. If your child is exhibiting bullying behaviors or if you are concerned that might in the future, reach out to the school and discuss these concerns with a school social worker or principal. Find out if your child’s school has a bullying prevention program or perhaps offers social skills groups that target teaching perspective taking, empathy, managing conflicts, and cooperation.
  • Provide positive feedback. When you notice your child is resolving conflict positively, responding with compassion and empathy or can effectively problem solve a situation, praise these behaviors. Positive reinforcement works wonders and is usually more effective than punishment. Providing your child with positive attention is crucial and will make your child feel confident and secure. Children who receive positive attention at home will be less likely to seek negative attention at school.

 

References:

stopbullying.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Aug. 2018.
<https://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/index.html>.

National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics, School Crime Supplement – PDF,  2011.

Pacer Center, Kids against bullying. https://pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/

A Small Break from Therapy – What’s the Big Deal?

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Written by: Erilda Borici and Olivia Smith

Now that warm weather has finally arrived, many children and families are eagerly awaiting the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer break. Summer is the perfect time of the year to play outside with friends and to enjoy family time.  It’s also an excellent opportunity to add additional therapy sessions to maintain progress made during the school year or to meet goals. 

When your child is in need of counseling, speech therapy, occupational therapy, ABA or physical therapy, an individualized treatment plan is created by your therapist. Therapists build a strong rapport and a trusting relationship with children through consistent time spent together.  A break in therapy disrupts their treatment plan and can delay progress.

There are multiple ways to maximize your child’s time in therapy during the summer months by participating in our multidisciplinary approach. If necessary, your child can receive various therapeutic services all under one roof. 

For children who have diagnoses of Autism, ADHD, or other developmental, cognitive, or mental health concerns, multiple therapeutic services are recommended to allow your child to reach their full potential. Apart from the convenience of having all  of your child’s services under one roof, therapists collaborate with each other to ensure consistency for your child. Coordination of care will allow your child to grow and gain skills as rapidly as possible.   

The summer months bring lots of opportunities for children to play at parks, learn to use/ride various gross motor toys such as bikes or scooters, or play at the beach. Therapy is play based so it’s fun! 

Many of our clinics have a sand table where children can learn how to build sand castles, or jungle gym equipment that they can learn to navigate safely. We teach bike riding!  Mastery of these skills during your child’s sessions provides confidence that they can participate in these activities safely and effectively outside of the clinic setting.  One of the most important goals in therapy is to have fun while skill building.

Here are some tips on maintaining consistency and getting the most out of treatment for your child.  

  • Since children are out of school, they have a lot more availability during the day to participate in therapy, and while camp and extracurricular activities are important, and great options for staying active, they cannot replace individualized therapy plans.   
  • Summer can be filled with unstructured time. For kiddos who struggle with ADHD, Autism, or Anxiety, this can be exacerbate some of their symptoms. Maintaining scheduled therapy hours provides children with consistency and routine to continue to work on their treatment goals.  
  • Rescheduling missed sessions is easier during the Summer months. (you might even be able to see a different therapist, depending on your child’s needs)  
  • Plan ahead and schedule additional sessions if you have an upcoming vacation or break, your therapist may have extra flexibility as well. 
  • Remember, school may be out, but kiddos who maintain their therapy schedules thrive when Autumn arrives! 

**Please keep in mind cancellations should be done at least 24 to 48 hours in advance, so other families also have the chance to reschedule.

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Deerfield, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines and Mequon! If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates!

 

What Are Executive Function Skills?

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Many of us have heard executive functioning used in terms of our children at school and at home. But what does it mean? Executive Function Blog

Executive Function – a Definition

Executive functions are necessary for goal-directed behavior. When we use the phrase “executive functioning skills,” we are describing a set of cognitive skills that control and regulate other behaviors and abilities. Our thought processes influence attention, memory and motor skills. (minddisorders.com).

Executive functioning skills help us to learn and retrieve information, plan, organize, manage our time, and see potential outcomes and act accordingly. When these processes work without difficulty, our brains do these tasks automatically, often without our awareness.

High Executive Function

In children and adults, those with high executive function skills are able to:

  • Initiate and stop actions
  • Make changes in behavior
  • Plan for the future
  • Manage time wisely
  • Anticipate possible consequences
  • Use problem-solving strategies
  • Use senses to gather information

For instance, the ability to initiate and stop actions may include working on a project for school or studying for an allotted time. Monitoring ones changes in behavior includes being able to act appropriately in a given situation and alter that behavior as needed. Planning for the future and managing time may include not procrastinating due to understanding the consequences of doing so.

Low Executive Function

When one is deficient in executive function skills, it may be difficult to plan and carry out tasks. The person may seem unable to sustain attention and feel overwhelmed by situations others find easier to navigate.

People with deficits in this area may also have comorbid diagnoses (meaning they go together). These include, but are not limited to: Attention Deficit Hyper-Activity Disorder, Autism, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Executive functioning deficits may run in families (learningdisabilities.about.com).

So, a child with executive functioning deficits may be able to pay attention to a lesson, until something new is introduced that requires a shift in their attention or that divides their focus. Children lacking in executive functioning skills also may have issues with verbal fluency.

Additionally, a child (or adult) with low executive function may have social problems. Executive functioning skills allow us to anticipate how others might feel if we do or say something. Those with low executive function may have difficulty interacting with others. Because they sometimes do not think things through before saying them, people with executive functioning deficits may blurt out inappropriate or hurtful comments, leading others to avoid them.

Working with your child, a therapist, and creating structure at home and accommodation plans at school are all ways to provide help for your child.

Increasing executive functioning skills will enable her to become a more organized, less stressed and less frustrated individual as she grows into a world of ever-increasing pressures.

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Deerfield, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, and Hinsdale! If you have any questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140!

How to Get Your Kid to Sleep in Their Own Bed

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Bedtime can be a stressful time of the day for both children and their parents. Getting your child to sleep in their own bed at night can be quite the challenge. Figuring out what works best for you and your child can be exhausting and may require a trial-and-error process. Sleep Blog

If you are searching for ideas to help your child sleep in their own bed at night, you may be interested in exploring some of the options below:

Bedtime routine

  • A bedtime routine is extremely important if you are having a difficult time getting your child to stay in their own bed. It may be helpful to have them take a warm bath, put on their pajamas, brush their teeth and pick out a book, as well as a stuffed animal to sleep with before getting into bed. Establishing a before-bed routine will reduce your child’s stress levels and assist with falling asleep, staying asleep throughout the night and waking up feeling refreshed. Many children benefit from a visual schedule, so that they can follow a step-by-step picture sequence of their routine.
  • During the hour or so before bed, make sure your child engages in calming activities. Activities that are alerting or stressful for your child can make the transition into bedtime more difficult. Examples of calming activities may include guided meditation, listening to calming music, yoga, drawing or reading a book.
  • Keep in mind that consistency is key! It is important to establish a routine and stick with it, even if you may not be noticing immediate results.

Gradual transition

  • Be sure to give your child ample warning time before bedtime approaches. Moreover, do not suddenly tell your child that it is time for bed while they are in the middle of their favorite activity. It is beneficial to give them a reminder that bedtime is approaching, roughly an hour before they should be asleep, with consistent warnings until it is time to go to sleep. If your child has not yet mastered the concept of time, using a timer can assist with this.

Bedtime fading

  • Another option is a concept called “bedtime fading.” This is putting your child to sleep somewhat later than their usual bedtime, so that they are more tired and fall asleep faster. After doing this for a few days, you can gradually shorten the time down closer to their actual bedtime. For example, if bedtime is typically 8 p.m., put your child to bed at 8:30 for a few days. Then 8:15 and so forth, until you get back down to 8. This allows them to gradually learn to fall asleep alone, especially if they prefer to have a parent with them in the room in order to fall asleep.
  • Your child may also benefit from keeping their bedroom door open. A child may feel better falling asleep on their own if the door is open at least halfway. If they do not stay in their bed, the door gets closed. You can also try using a nightlight to increase their level of comfort while they are trying to fall asleep.
  • Gradually moving yourself out of the room may also be beneficial. Explain to your child that you will stay on the floor next to them until they fall asleep. The following night on a chair nearby, etc. After a few days, the goal will be to phase yourself out of their room.

Reward system

  • A reward system works well for many children, especially during bedtime. If your child lays in their own bed without coming out, they can earn a breakfast treat or pick a prize out of a bin of options such as stickers or toys of your choice. You can even place that reward on a shelf in their room, so they know it is there for them in the morning. If your child comes out of bed throughout the night, they do not receive a reward; however, can try again the next night. It is best not to bring too much attention to the fact that they were unable to achieve the reward and focus more on earning it for the following day.

Re-direction

  • The first time your child gets up from their bed, take them by their hand, walk them back to bed and calmly state that it is bedtime and they need to go to sleep. The second time, do the same thing but just say the word “bedtime.” If it happens again, say nothing and silently walk your child back to bed. The less talking, the better, as to bring less attention to the situation.

Praise your child

  • Saying your final “goodnight” should be brief. You may want to discuss how your child’s day went and what will take place tomorrow. Praising your child for something he or she did during the day that you were proud of them for will help them to fall asleep on a positive note.

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Deerfield, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Mequon! If you have any questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140!

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Why is Mindset Important for Child Development?

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Kids thrive on pleasing their parents, so when your child does something well you want to praise them! Have you ever said “you are so smart” or “you are so talented” at a sport? It’s not that simple, as the way you praise them can impact their confidence and drive. Blog-Mindset-Main-Landscape

As an example, our son picked up a baseball bat at 2 ½ years old and was able to hit a pitched ball (no tee!) that same day. I was an extremely proud dad, especially since all the other parents at the park were clearly impressed. We enthusiastically complimented his natural talent and he seemed so proud. When we signed him up for a t-ball team his enthusiasm faded and we noticed he was less interested in trying to learn the game. We wondered why he was not excited to play.

My wife and I noticed some patterns at home and school. He would only attempt tasks that he felt confident or had already possessed a level of skill. As it turns out, what we were doing when we were praising his natural ability was feeding into his ‘fixed mindset’. With a fixed mindset, Carol Dweck writes in her book Mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or athleticism, are fixed traits and don’t change over time. They believe their talent alone creates success—without effort.

So how do we make sure that we are praising our kids ‘the right way’ to be sure they give their full effort? One idea is to encourage them to have a ‘growth mindset’ – where people believe their skills and abilities can be developed over time through hard work.

When our son took up hockey and was learning to skate we saw this as an opportunity to try out a growth mindset. We were determined to focus on praising his effort since we knew learning to skate would be potentially frustrating for a kid who is naturally athletic. We talked with him beforehand about how hard it would be, that he would fall a lot, but getting back up and trying again was most important and after each session we were enthusiastic about his effort.

And guess what? It worked! Towards the end of the 8 week session he even started coming off the ice bragging to us about how hard he worked. Even though he was not the fastest or best skater on the ice he was proud of his own resilience and what HE accomplished. As parents, we too were bursting with pride for him!

I strongly encourage you to ask yourself how you can start incorporating this type of growth mindset approach with your own children. Learn to recognize how you praise your children and ask questions such as “What did you try that was difficult or challenging today?” I bet you’ll be surprised how quickly you will see a positive impact. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

FIXED MINDSET (Intelligence is static) → Leads to a desire to look smart and therefore a tendency to…→ (Challenges) avoid challenges → (Obstacles) …get defensive or give up easily → (Effort) …see effort as fruitless or worse → (Criticism)…ignore useful negative feedback → (Success of Others) …feel threatened by the success of others → AS A RESULT, they may plateau early and achieve less than their full potential.

GROWTH MINDSET (Intelligence can be developed) → Leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to…→ (Challenges) embrace challenges → (Obstacles) …persist in the face of setbacks → (Effort) …see effort as the path to mastery → (Criticism)…learn from criticism →(Success of Others) …find lessons and inspiration in the success of others → AS A RESULT, they reach ever-higher levels of achievement.

References:

Dweck, C. S. (2006) Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Deerfield, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Mequon! If you have any questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140!

4 Fun Ways to Practice Handwriting

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As we all know, practicing handwriting is not a kid’s top pick for a summer activity. Luckily, there are ways to make handwriting fun! Blog-Handwriting-Main-Landscape

Try some of these ideas and see if you can’t trick your kid into becoming a handwriting master:

Use Different Mediums

  • Try practicing writing numbers and letters in shaving cream on a tabletop or tray. Kids love the feel and it adds a whole other element to learning the formation!
  • Other ideas include drawing in sand or dry rice in a cookie tray.
  • You can also make a mess-free activity with colored gel in a plastic zipped bag; you can use your finger to write and draw on the outside of the bag!

Play a Game

  • There are plenty of games out there that you can use to practice handwriting. Try playing Boggle and have your child find a word and then write a sentence with that word in it.
  • Playing Guess Who can become a sneaky secret game, where questions can only be written and transferred across the table to the other player who then writes the answer (Yes/No) and returns it.
  • Hangman is a classic game that already incorporates writing! That is a fun one that can also be played in shaving cream. Other games you can incorporate writing into include Scrabble and HeadBandz.

Try Different Writing Utensils

  • Sometimes kids are just sick of using paper and pencil all day. Adding in the novelty of using a dry erase marker or chalk on a small board can totally change their attitude!
  • Practicing writing on an iPad can also be fun, ideally using a stylus.

Be Creative

  • Try writing a creative story together; take turns writing sentences, trying to create a story. It will likely turn out to be silly! They can even illustrate a picture to go with it.
  • Another idea is to write a letter to their favorite author/singer/actor. There are also lots of websites with creative writing topics that might motivate your child to write.

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Deerfield, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Mequon! If you have any questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140!

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What You Need to Know About Sensory Diets

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  1. While it is called a “diet,” it’s not a FOOD diet, but it should be considered nutritional intake that your child’s body/brain need daily. Blog-Sensory-Diets-Main-Landscape
  2. Consistency is key and it is important to find a schedule that works for you. Work with your occupational therapist and teacher to develop a timeframe that works best. Do not overdo it if it does not seem sustainable.
  3. As much as possible, sensory diet activities should be completed around the same time each day.
  4. Many sensory diet activities can be adapted to be used across many environments in order to promote consistency i.e. at home, in school, while traveling.
  5. When appropriate, get other siblings and family members involved!
  6. Watch your child’s responses before, during, and after sensory diet activities and be sure to address any abnormal changes you see with your occupational therapist.
  7. The best sensory diet combines tactile, proprioceptive, and vestibular based activities.
  8. Just as no two children with sensory processing difficulties will present the same, no two sensory diets will be identical.
  9. As your child’s brain continues to develop, the sensory diet will likely eventually need to be updated in either types of activities or frequency.

Examples of sensory diet activities for each sensory system:

  • Proprioceptive: jumping and crashing on pillows, heavy work activities such as pushing a heavy laundry basket or helping carry grocery bags to put away, wheelbarrow walk or animal walks (bear crawl, crab walk), joint compressions.
  • Vestibular: log rolls, cartwheels, swinging, head inversions over the edge of a couch, yoga poses, rocking chair.
  • Tactile: messy play (shaving cream, water, finger painting), sensory bins (uncooked rice or pasta noodles, kinetic sand), exposure to novel materials (i.e. corduroy, velvet, sandpaper, sand, silk).
  • Auditory: participation in Therapeutic Listening program under the guidance of your occupational therapist, listening to calming music, listening to white noise, play exploration with various instruments or toys/books that make sounds.
  • Oral: blowing bubbles, use of straws, use of chewy tubes or “jewelry”, food texture exploration (i.e. creamy, dry, wet, lumpy), having a chewy or crunchy snack to provide “heavy work” to the mouth”.
  • Visual: activities such as “i-spy”, spot the difference picture games, and word searches, de-clutter the home environment, oculomotor exercises, dim lights and avoid fluorescent bulbs.

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Deerfield, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Mequon! If you have any questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140!

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