Many people have heard of Occupational Therapy, but often are not sure of exactly what it is. It is important to understand what OT is, who benefits from it, and the history of how it came to be. The first thing to know is that occupational therapy does not have to do with jobs and occupations.

As children develop, parents and healthcare professionals monitor their progress in different ways. They will gauge how their development meets or differs from the average timeline of milestones a child’s growth tends to follow. The assessment and comparison of developmental milestones differs with every child, as they will develop skills at different rates.

One way to practice mindfulness is through breathing exercises. Many occupational therapists and physical therapists will use deep breathing techniques like diaphragmatic breathing to assist in their goal of creating the highest level of independence possible for the lives of their patients.

For families with children, keeping them active during this #stayhomefornevada time is so important for everyone! When the local parks or school jungle gyms or equipment are closed, we have some ideas to share to keep kids active.

On average, 4.3 million children are reported as victims of child abuse and neglect. According to Childhelp.org, child abuse is reported every ten seconds in the United States. Interestingly, the CDC reports that there are about 4 million births per year are the result of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Knowing that there are almost 400,000 children in our foster care system, what is happening to cause the increase in abuse cases?

April is the month where we focus on the amazing work of occupational therapists! An OT or an OTA (occupational therapy assistant) assist others through therapeutic intervention to live their life with the maximum level of independence. Occupational therapists work with children during development and work with children with different learning or developmental abilities and we can celebrate them all year!

During the month of April, we aim to raise awareness about stress and the negative effect it can have on a person. As we get older, our responsibilities typically increase and it is understandable that stress comes as well. But children can also feel stressed because of the commitments they balance between school, extracurricular activities, or relationships.

In this game, kids will color in parts of the springtime scene, cut them out, and use the cards to get into action!

Use a simple stencil to create festive sidewalk fun. Children use fine motor skills to cut, trace, and smudge chalk. Work on visual motor skills with tracing and cutting while practicing accuracy and identification of colors.

This activity utilizes fine motor skills to cut, write, and fold the paper while making the beard. Children use visual motor skills with sequencing and learning the letters to spell their name or vocabulary words.

In addition to developing gross motor skills, this game does so much more! This game can aid in all of the following: Auditory processing to follow instructions, impulse control, attention to task, all motor coordination/motor planning, body awareness, dynamic standing balance, concepts (like play the bagpipes), bilateral integration, and more.

Bring in the luck with this festive holiday play idea! Use household items or find holiday decorations to include in your St. Patrick’s Day sensory bin. This activity utilizes fine motor skills with pinching, pouring, and scooping. Language skills are used to describe the items in the bin.

Build a sandwich to practice self-regulation! Kids can create their own sandwich and choose which toppings to follow the directions until they feel calm. You can use the printable sandwich pieces provided or create your own!

How does a lion feel? How does a lamb feel? Make your own lions and lambs with our printable faces and some simple items from around the house, such as toilet paper rolls and cotton balls.

Play this fun St. Patrick’s Day version of musical chairs! All you’ll need is the clover printouts and some music. Tape the clovers to the floor in a circle, then the fun begins!

Sensory bottles are very helpful in training children how to calm their body down; they provide a visual cue to help pair their breathing with and slow down. And with the variety of items in the bottle, this can be a great visual scanning activity to find different objects and have your child identify and describe them for language development.

Cutting tissue paper helps in building hand strength and bilateral integration. Working to collect the colors improves visual-perceptual skills. Crumpling and gluing works on fine motor dexterity, visual-motor planning, and sequencing.

Kids can work on their speech skills with this fun St. Patrick's Day-themed activity! Use this exercise to address sh-words. In addition to learning and practicing sh-words, kids work on articulation, phonology, and more!

With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, kids can make this fun streamer craft to help them celebrate on the holiday! You can use the template provided in our app or create your own at home by following the instructions.

For children with epilepsy, it can be very important that they are aware of some of the most common triggers of seizures so they can minimize the frequency of those episodes. Having a chart to remind them of ways they can be mindful and what to avoid could help them take an active role in their own health.