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
One of my kids who does not like to write and feels particularly threatened by writing, really does like to have some kind of transition object to hold in the hallway while we walk from their class to my therapy gym. We have experimented with lots of different options. A couple of months ago I … Read more
At the top of the poster is a sentence describing “old school expectations”. It reads like this: “Kids at desks / sit silently / (without sensory supports) / while adult teaches / on adult’s directed topic / until adult is done. / Then, kids work seated at desks / silently / on written work … Read more
I’ve written a few posts about things kids do at certain ages. There is always an element of variance in things like that; if something typically happens at 4, some kids will do it when they’re 3, some when they’re 5, some may skip it entirely and for some it may be a big part … Read more
As more and more parents, caregivers, and adults start undertaking the work of helping the next generation of children feel safe to express their feelings rather than repeat unhealthy habits from the past, it can be hard knowing where to begin or which way is up. Co-regulation, self-regulation, interoception, what do these words mean? What … Read more
Somebody asked me the other day if I’ve ever written a post defining what modeling is. I haven’t, but it’s a good idea since I suggest modeling things for children basically constantly. 🙂 I think I probably picked up the language from time in the AAC (augmented/alternative communication) community, because there’s a growing push and … Read more
“I want you to build a tower,” I say. You agree, and you stand up to go get the bucket of blocks off the shelf. I shake my head sternly. “No. Did I tell you you could get up? Sit down. Build a tower.” You look confused. You point over at the bucket of blocks. … Read more
I want you to imagine for a moment that…everything is really good right now. Imagine that all the things on your to-do list that feel like “have to”s (instead of “get to”s) are taken care of. Someone is going to bring you dinner and it’s food you love and your body is hungry for it. … Read more
When I think to myself I do not think with an inner dialogue. My thoughts don’t sound like words until I translate them. When I think to myself, it’s in a big empty void (I call it a galaxy) and my thoughts are in clusters I call boxes and the cluster represents a whole entire … Read more
