Occu
upatio
onal T
Theraapy N
Newssletterr
Fall 20114
Se
ensory
y Stra
ategie
es For Sch
hool
by Mirabelle Giampaoli, OTR/L
L
Kids are back in sch
hool and therre is no betterr time to creaate an environment that w
will help ote success in
n learning. The following a re sensory sttrategies that may help op
ptimize your promo
child’ss attention. (N
Note that the
e classroom sttrategies shou
uld be approvved by the teacher and should
d be discussed with the ch
hild beforehannd.)
Before
e school: • For breakfaast, try crunch
hy foods (suc h as hard, dryy cereals) to aalert, or resistive/ chewy foods (such
h as bagels) to
o calm • Allow extraa time in the m
morning for pplay on playgrround equipm
ment In classs: • Natural m
movement bre
eaks: o Opening/holdi
O
ing open a he
eavy door for others o Th
hrowing awayy trash o Sh
harpening a p
pencil o Gathering/putting away maaterials o Paassing out papers o Delivering messsages to the office or to aanother teachher • In‐seat movement breaks: o Pushing palmss of hands toggether erforming chair push‐ups (while sitting, hold each siide of the chaair and lift body up) o Pe
o While standing
W
g, pushing hands against th
he table • Out‐of‐seat movementt breaks: umping jackss o Ju
o Running in place • Heavy wo
ork: o Sttacking chairss o Carrying library books or baackpack • Take a bre
eak if overstim
mulated by go
oing to a quie
et area • Hold a noiseless hand ffidget tool su
uch as a squee
eze ball • Drink from
m the straw o
of a water botttle • Wear heaadphones to b
block out extrraneous noise
e • Sit facing away from viisually stimulaating walls, w
windows, etc.
Duringg homework: • Take a sho
ort, 1‐2 minute movementt break everyy 5‐10 minutees • Chew gum
m or suck on h
hard candy • Use altern
native positio
ons: laying on the floor, staanding at the table, sitting on an exercise ball or beaan bag chair
Tip
ps Forr A Sp
pookta
acula
ar Hallowee
en
by Martha Becck-Monroe, OTR
R/L
Halloweeen is my favo
orite holiday, but for childrren with senssory sensitivitties Halloweeen can be stresssful. Here are
e some tips to
o make Hallow
ween a fun evvent for the w
whole family:: Plan Aheead • Start explaining Hallowee
en to your child weeks in advance. ple e for special aactivities, especially on dayys with multip
• Give your child a schedule
ne with pictures will let youur child know
w what events. Usingg a written scchedule or on
is coming next, helping to
o decrease anxiety and allo
owing them too feel calm an
nd safe. Costumes hild help pick out his costume and practtice wearing iit BEFORE an event. • Have your ch
This will allow
w you to get rid of itchy taags or fabric aahead of timee and preventt meltdowns. Be sure to practice sitting and walking in the costu me as well. oween‐theme
ed outfit or otther favorite ooutfit for you
ur child • Bring a comffortable Hallo
to change intto if he or she
e can no longer tolerate th
he costume.
be uncomfortable. Rather than wearingg the mask, alllow your chilld to hold it o
or skip that paart of the • Masks may b
costume! Trick‐or‐Treating petition of thee routine will help your • Have a trial rrun of trick‐orr‐treating beffore going outt on Halloweeen night. Rep
child understtand the routtine and expe
ectations. more about thhe quality of tthe experiencce than how many housess • Stick to housses that your child is familiiar with–it’s m
you visit! estivities. Loo
ok for signs off sensory oveerload in yourr child including fatigue, hyyper‐
• Know when tto stop the fe
excitability, ccrying, and co
ombativenesss. ully these tips will help you
ur whole Halloweeen doesn’t have to be a sttressful time for a child with sensory isssues! Hopefu
family eenjoy this fun time of year..
C
Contacct Us
3665 Kearny V
3
Villa Rd., Ste. 300 San Diego, CA
S
A 92123 Phone: 858‐96
P
66‐5829 Fax: 858‐966‐
F
5859 3605 Vista Way, Stte. 201 Oceannside, CA 920056 Phonee: 760‐758‐16620 Fax: 7760‐945‐07588 6
667 San Rodo
olfo Dr., Ste. 1
126 SSolana Beach
h, CA 92075 P
Phone: 858‐7
793‐9591 FFax: 858‐793‐‐1153 Ma
aking Home
ework
k Fun
n
by Molly Kou
ustmer, OTR/L
Here arre some eas
sy ways to make
m
home
ework fun and interestiing If you haave a child en
ntering Kindergarten throu
ugh 2nd grade
e, a list of sighht words, speelling words aand math factts may be coming home in yourr child’s home
ework folder each week. Here are som
me fun ways to get them in
nterested and
d willing to practicee with you: Paper Towel Sight W
Word Spinner per towel roll. Have your child hold thee roll Write sight words all around a pap
with botth hands and ask them to search for a sspecific word. This is not oonly a fun wayy to practice ssight words, b
but is a great vvisual scannin
ng activity whhich is a necesssary foundation for readin
ng. The Grab
b Bag •
On small pieces of pap
per write letteers, numberss, words, senttence strips and math nd place them
m in a brown bag. Have yo
our child reach
h in the bag, facts. Fold them up an
pull out aa piece of pap
per and read aaloud what iss written. Flip Thee Pages Many ch
hildren can be
e resistive to reading. Inste
ead of askingg your child too read a book fro
om start to fin
nish, flip through the page
es and when yyour child sayys “stop,” have theem read the ffirst sentence
e on the page. Another opttion would bee to have your chiild close theirr eyes, place ttheir index fin
nger down on
n the page an d then read thee word or sen
ntence they laand on.