Friday Features

This week I...

- Shared tips for helping students who press too hard when writing over at Dr. Anne Zachry's blog, Pediatric Occupational Therapy Tips.

- packed and I cleaned. And then I packed some more and cleaned some more. How did I accumulate so much stuff? Anyway, I think I'm almost done. We hit the road for our cross country move on Tuesday. I'm very excited to be a resident of the East Coast! I can't wait to experience four seasons again! My blog might be a little quiet for the next month or so, but I will try to post now and then. I do have some families lined up for the Parent's Perspective series, so be sure to check back every Wednesday for more great tips from parents!

Friday Features Links:

I have lots of great information starred in my google reader this week, so here we go:

- Handwriting Without Tears is offering a free online seminar, Get Set For School: Top 10 Ways to Prepare Your Children for Kindergarten, on August 21. I've watched this seminar in the past, and it has great tips for parents and educators.

- Ellen, over at Love That Max, interviewed a member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council and received lots of great tips on the best swim gear for kids with special needs.

- Another great post at Love That Max. A reader is looking for IEP tips. Please go over and share your experiences! Or just read through the tips readers have already shared!

- Thank you to Carol at OT's With Apps for the heads up that Skill Game by Good Apps is free for a short time. This looks like a good app to work on visual motor/perceptual skills in older students. I just downloaded it and can't wait to try it out! By the way, if you're looking for good apps to use in therapy, you should definitely follow her blog!

- This week I came across Miss Mancy's blog. What a great find! Written by an OT, it is full of creative therapeutic activities, especially fine motor activities.

- Remember back in May when the pediatric OT world was shaken up by The American Academy of Pediatrics statement on the use of sensory integration therapy? AOTA President, Dr. Florence Clark, has written an essay on the current status of sensory integration therapy. She is optimistic about the future of sensory integration therapy, but I think it still boils down to, OTs need to be doing more research to support the interventions we use. What do you think?

- CHASA has a new Ask the Professor feature on their website. Dr. Andrew Gordon will be answering questions related to hand therapy, hemiplegic cerebral palsy, and related topics. This is sure to be a great resource for parents!

- Columbia University has developed a new intervention for children with hemiplegia called Hand-Arm Bimanual Intensive Therapy (HABIT). It is an intensive therapy, as is Constraint Induced Movement Therapy, but in HABIT the focus is on the use of both hands. Researchers are currently looking for study participants. Click here to learn more about participation.

- Stuart Duncan, of Autism from a Father's Point of View, who has autism himself, wrote an interesting post titled, Autism is. His perspective is always interesting and this post is definitely worth a read.


I did not intentionally seek out extra links this week, it just so happened that a lot of articles caught my eye. This should be enough reading material to keep you busy for a few weeks while I make my way to the East Coast! Happy reading!