occupational therapy

A Hand

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I don’t remember how I found out that I was right-handed.

Then again, I don’t think most of you out there, reading this, quite remember how you found out that you were right- or left-handed.  Most of us just seem to accept it as a natural course of how the universe works, and we go on about our lives, adapting as need be.  I happen to be right-handed, just as the skip on my curling team is a lefty (which makes for interesting options strategy-wise sometimes.  The amazing difference slight changes of angle makes…)

The Monster, though, can’t tell us which hand feels more natural to use. Continue reading →

Handy…

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I don’t remember when – or how – I found out that I was right handed.  I happen to have a parent who is left-handed, but I ended up a righty.  My wife, likewise, is a righty, but statistically, there’s roughly a 17% chance that either of our kids could still end up a southpaw.

Somehow, along the way, the Monster’s in-school OT has become convinced that he’s a righty, but I’m not so sure. Continue reading →

The Write Stuff

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Part of the Monster’s class’ curriculum is for the children to learn to write.  There’s a variety of levels in his class, ranging from children who have had some preparation before arriving, down through children who are still learning to recognize letters.  Obviously, even though we’re in a world where computers are increasingly important and kids aren’t being taught cursive handwriting anymore, he needs at some point to be able to learn to form the letters on his own. Continue reading →

Applying the Squeeze

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The Monster likes pressure.  I know this is not uncommon for children with Autism – there’s the Wilbarger Brushing Technique (see Yes, I Brush My Child) that we’ve employed, off and on, to sate his need for the tactile stimulation and to help control some of his more sensory-seeking behaviors.

Recently, though, he’s also been applying his own squeezes to other people.  When it comes to me, he’s actually applying his nails as well, which has ended up with my having interesting cuts along my forearms.  To date, this level of problem has been only my problem, though he’s also been taking recently to squeezing his mother and little brother as well to a lesser extent. Continue reading →

Any Which Way

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Part of the kindergarten curriculum here in Maryland includes learning to appropriately write letters, using a proper grip on a writing implement.

Now, the Monster’s known his letters for a long time – he’s semi-obsessed with Sesame Street and has no problems recognizing upper and lower case letters.  He also knows, quite well, how to spell his full name. Continue reading →

Service Details

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As a technologist, I look at the IEP as something of a requirements document – it specifies the goals for his services for the coming year, and the acceptance criteria to decide whether or not the goals have been met.  As everything out there reminds us, these goals should be SMART – Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely. Continue reading →

The Lost Art

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As we’re building up towards the Monster’s IEP meeting in a week and a half, we’re starting to discuss at home the things that we want to see included on next year’s plan.

Aside from the verbal issues – that’ll be a blog post on its own after I’ve had some time to collect my thoughts – this morning’s breakfast table discussion centered on handwriting. Continue reading →

The Write Way

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The program that the Monster is in – Together We Grow – is geared largely to provide the standard public pre-K experience in a classroom environment that’s also built to help children with Autism start to develop skills they’ll need in a real classroom.  As such, he gets the same assignments any pre-K child in Maryland gets, including all of the homework. Continue reading →