I shared a post about parents asking “How do I get my child to…” and trying to get away from that language, which isn’t helpful for understanding what is going on for the child that they *can’t* do whatever the expectation is. Someone in the comments wanted to know, “What about a situation like allowing … Read more
I went to get dressed yesterday. We were going to be out walking outdoors for a few hours of the day. I put on some socks that I haven’t worn in a few months, since getting a bunch of new socks for Christmas. They didn’t feel comfortable to me, immediately. There was a seam on … Read more
Low attention is not a moral failure. The picture I got from talking to the teacher about the boy was very different from the picture I got when I worked with him. “He leaves things blank on worksheets,” his teacher, a stern “old-school” older gentleman, told me. “No matter how many times I tell him … Read more
Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Occuplaytional Therapist takes a funny image/meme/tweet and way overthinks it…” I’m always dependable for that 😉 First of all, this is absolutely true. Second of all, it’s for good reason: because kids feel connected when they are physically close to you, and because even in the best of … Read more
[Image descriptions: The first image has a title, “The Challenge with Teaching Self-Advocacy…It’s not them, it’s us.” over the top of an image of a child playing in a pink play tent filled with colorful balls while wearing bright green noise cancelling headphones. The second image reads, “Teaching self-advocacy to autistic students can look like: … Read more
A really common sensory question that I get is “How can I stop my kid from biting/picking their nails or skin around their nails?” or sometimes even, “How can I stop doing it?” Ever since I was small I have bitten and picked at my nails and the skin around them. My parents tried everything … Read more
At home… “I want Dad.” “I know.” But Dad needed to take a break for a little while, so I’m going to play with you for right now. “I need a Band-Aid.” “I hear you, it hurts!” But a Band-Aid doesn’t actually do anything for your eyeball being itchy. “I want to go downstairs.” “Yeah, … Read more
When I get a kid on my caseload who has been forced, from too early, to trace and write — for whom it is HARD to trace and write, who quickly learns to HATE tracing and writing and learns that they are BAD AT tracing and writing — It snowballs from there. Sometimes compounded by … Read more
A few nights ago, one of my children had a complete and total meltdown. Screaming. Crying. Yelling for their dad, who was not available, working from home in the closed office. (Dad is the stay-at-home parent during the days, and the highly preferred parent in my family!) Wringing their hands, clenching them into fists, yelling … Read more
I have found that, speaking in large generalities, adults rarely understand why kids are doing what they’re doing. This is due to a combination of things. Part of it is because kids operate according to kid logic, and sometimes kid logic can be absolutely bonkers. Part of it is because adults are really likely to … Read more