Month: May 2024

Imagine

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Imagine how unsafe you would have to feel before you would punch somebody. Imagine how threatened you would have to feel before you would intentionally knock things over and run away. Imagine how distressed you would have to be to throw yourself to the floor rather than go somewhere. Really imagine it. Really imagine your … Read more

Tummy Time

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Lying in prone (aka on your tummy) and propping up on your elbows to play—even to play electronics!—is important work. It strengthens the muscles in your core. It strengthens and stabilizes the joints that are propping up—the elbows, the shoulders. Even when I get tired or unfocused at work, I’ve been known to put what … Read more

OPT Study Groups

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Starting on June 29, this page will have the “storefront” where you can purchase access to the first launch of OPT (OccuPlaytional Therapist) Facebook Study Groups.

Here is the link to the storefront where you can purchase access to one of the groups.

There are 3 groups. They are named Octopi, Otters, and Owls. The only reason for the names is so that if you and a friend wish to sign up for the same group, you can (instead of me randomly assigning you). Otherwise, choose at random or which animal you like best. 🙂 

If you want more information about OPT Study Groups, feel free to read below. If you already received the email and are just waiting for June 29 to come, then I will see you then!

 

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Biggest Marker in the World

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When I wrote about my “biggest marker in the world” (aka a Sharpie Magnum), someone in the comments suggested that we could like, tape a marker to a big stick or a big cardboard tube and actually make the biggest marker in the world. So, we taped a marker to a 3 foot cardboard tube … Read more

Spring Conference Rules

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My conference this week was absolutely amazing. I have a million thoughts rattling in my head and they need some time to condense into ways to explain myself, to share with you about what I learned, what I was able to share, what all this week meant to me. I’m going to share this, though … Read more

When Siblings are Sensitive to Crying

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Someone asked me what to do when one of their children was distressed by the other child crying. Their kids were 6 and 4, and so are mine. The 4 year old especially would cry quite often, and the parent wants to give the child space to cry and feel like all their feelings are … Read more

First, Then

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Imagine that you sit down to watch a movie. You pop yourself a bowl of popcorn to go with it…maybe your favorite toppings, whether salt and butter or marshmallow or Parmesan cheese or something else…you pick up the remote, hit play, and get ready to watch the movie while eating your popcorn. Then somebody takes … Read more

Sensory Processing in Teens

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Everybody in the world has one (or more) sensory processing styles; we all process input from the world around us. One theory of thinking of these processing styles uses 4 quadrants to describe them: sensory seekers, sensory avoiders, sensory sensitive, and sensory “missers”. This post assumes you already know those 4 terms, and applies them … Read more

self-reg is yelling at sheep on a fen road

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I’ve written before on here about my own strategy of enjoying yelling along to music, as a means of preemptively self-regulating. Because when I’m stressed out, I have a tendency to want to yell (at my kids), so I take that need, recognise it, and preemptively meet it in a non harmful way, when I’m … Read more

Doing Science

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Intellectually, I am aware that “science” does not mean “mixing a bunch of bubbling purple liquids together”. But like, doesn’t it feel like sometimes it SHOULD? We did “science” today in my OT room. (I accidentally referred to us as wizards and our work as potions a couple of times and was promptly corrected.) I … Read more