Behind the Scenes | CanDo Kiddo

 Today, I am so excited to welcome Rachel Coley, MS, OTR/L, of CanDo Kiddo to share a peek behind the scenes of her new business! As a new mom, Rachel lets her personal passion for parenting and her professional expertise about babies collide in CanDo Kiddo, a family business with a mission to support and inspire new parents to play with their newborns for healthy development.

Please tell me a little bit about yourself. How long have you been an occupational therapist? What is your primary practice area?

I’ve been an OT for nearly 9 years - all of them in pediatrics. I’ve bounced around - working in a pediatric rehab in a children’s hospital, in-home early intervention (under 3), clinics with a sensory integration emphasis, and in a private practice treating Plagiocephaly and Torticollis. For the past four years, I’ve worked in an inclusive day care and preschool. Being able to focus on those first months and years of childhood and working with children with special needs right alongside their typically-developing friends was an ideal setting for me.

Tell me a bit about CanDo Kiddo. Where did the idea come from? How did you take it from idea to reality?

I’ve long been interested in parent education to promote infant wellness but felt that I couldn’t move into that sort of role with any credibility until I had a child of my own. No one wants parenting support from the lady with no kids! Then I had a baby. When I posted photos of activities I was doing with my newborn on my personal Facebook page, I received lots of unsolicited encouragement to start a blog, write a book or create a product to help parents. It felt like my long-standing interest in helping parents help their babies was beckoning me so I answered.

I’ve had an online business since 2012 so I had already tackled some of the learning curves. But I’m a bit on the over-achiever side so the moment I had the idea of an activity quilt I was setting up a website, purchasing fabrics, and working on my first book. I reached out to a friend who had sold on Etsy, spoke with quilters and seamstresses, and joined a blogging and online business group.

I LOVE your play mat quilts! What makes your play mats different from the typical play mats parents will find at Target or on Amazon?

Thanks! The main difference is that the only “bells and whistles” my play mat has is custom fabric with 45 creative play ideas printed directly on the quilt. I wanted the product to be simple to show parents that babies don’t need a lot of stuff, gear or equipment. And I wanted it to be a resource for new parents - to remind them that their baby needs to be down on the floor moving and playing every day and give them ideas of how to do that.

The main reason I thought of a quilt was that I wanted to get the information in the hands of parents right before their babies arrived. I figured that creating a cute baby shower gift might be a good strategy and would be an alternative to giving new parents more baby gear and equipment.

What has been the most surprising thing about starting CanDo Kiddo?

Definitely the most surprising thing has been how much I’ve been able to do while having a baby in the house! I started CanDo Kiddo when Rowan was 8 weeks old and have learned along the way how to maximize my time with him while still getting a lot done for the business and blog. It’s not always been easy but it’s amazing how much doing work that you’re passionate about motivates you to push hard.

What are your dreams for CanDo Kiddo? Where do you see CanDo Kiddo in five years? 

I have dreams for CanDo Kiddo that go in a million directions! I don't particularly care that CanDo Kiddo is a household name, but I care dearly that the information I present becomes household knowledge. I love writing and teaching so I'd love to continue to grow the business in those directions - more books, speaking engagements, maybe even direct consulting or coaching with parents. I'd also hope to push for reform in daycare licensing policy to include variety in infant positioning as a criteria for licensing and rating facilities. Oh, and have a dozen more babies. I'm in the process of convincing my husband that it's good for the business!

What advice would you give to an OT who has a product/blog/book idea, but doesn’t know where to start?

Use the internet. That sounds like such a cliche these days but truly every “how to” that you could possibly want to know is out there. How to start a blog, how to self-publish a book, to sell something on Amazon or through your own site. Find others who have done something similar and reach out - ask for their best tips, resources and if they could recommend any groups to you. And finally, do something badly. I heard that tip recently on a podcast and it really spoke to me. Don’t wait until everything is perfect - just launch it. You can always redesign a website, do a second print run of a book or change a product. I can almost guarantee that where you wind up won’t be where you began but you have to just get started.

You’re a new mom and a pediatric occupational therapist. As someone who is very knowledgeable about child development, what has been the most surprising aspect of becoming a mom?

It doesn’t matter how much I know or understand about infant development, it is still jaw-droppingly miraculous to watch this little being who I love more than anything learn and grow. The human body, brain and spirit have always amazed me but infinitely more so when they belong to my child.

Connect with CanDo Kiddo:

Website: www.candokiddo.com
Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/candokiddo
Instagram: www.instagram.com/candokiddo
Facebook: www.facebook.com/candokiddo
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/rfh6886


P.S. Go behind the scenes with Playapy and Schoodles.

Book Review | Retro Baby by Dr. Anne Zachry

Let me start this off by saying I am a huge fan of Dr. Anne Zachry, so when she contacted me and asked if I'd like to check out her book, Retro Baby for review, of course I said yes!

Dr. Zachry is an occupational therapist and child development specialist. Dr. Zachry's research focuses on tummy time, as well as the impact of baby gear on child development. I recently had the opportunity to hear Dr. Zachry present at the 2014 AOTA Annual Conference and her passion for educating parents and therapists about the importance of tummy time is inspiring! I found myself nodding and thinking "Yes!" to many of the things she said. I could feel the energy of the room elevate as she spoke.

Want to know the biggest piece of take-home advice I got from Dr. Zachry's presentation?

"Parents need to know that tummy time is safe and they need to know about the potential implications of not doing tummy time."

Yes! And that is where Retro Baby comes in as an excellent resource to help occupational therapists educate parents on the importance of not just tummy time, but also on cutting back on gear and getting back to the basics!

This is what you'll find in Retro Baby:

 

Chapter 1: How the Baby Product Industry Affects Your Child's Development - This chapter highlights common baby devices that are frequently overused.

Chapter 2: Set a Solid Foundation - Grow, Baby, Grow! This chapter reviews the stages of movement development that occur during the first two years of life.

Chapter 3: How Senses and Experiences Shape Your Babies World - This chapter covers how the sensory systems work, including the proprioceptive and interoceptive systems.

Chapter 4: Keep Your Sleeping Baby Safe and Practice Tummy Time - This chapter contains research supported safe sleeping recommendations, as well as tips for engaging your baby in tummy time.

Chapter 5: Prevent Positional Skull Deformities - The combination of back sleeping, limited tummy time, and the overuse of baby gear is leading to an increase in positional skull deformities. This chapter contains tips on how to prevent these deformities.

The second half of the book contains developmental milestones for each phase of growth, toy tips, activities, and advice on common equipment.

Chapter 6: Building a Solid Sensory-Motor Foundation: Birth to 3 Months

Chapter 7: Enhancing Development with Retro Activities: 4 to 6 Months

Chapter 8: Enhancing Development with Retro Activities: 7 to 9 Months

Chapter 9: Enhancing Development with Retro Activities: 10 to 12 Months

Chapter 10: Enhancing Development with Retro Activities: 13 to 24 Months

Epilogue - The epilogue contains a great chart containing common baby devices along with the maximum time recommendation for each device.

As an occupational therapist working in early intervention, I'm actually not a fan of baby development books and I wasn't really expecting Retro Baby to be any different. I think these types of books tend to just stress out parents and give conflicting advice.

And then I opened Retro Baby and I couldn't stop reading! Retro Baby is the one book I would recommend to any parent! It is easy to read and understand, and not at all intimidating or condescending. The activities in the book are simple and effective. You don't need all of that fancy baby equipment-you just need this book! I frequently loan out my copy of Retro Baby for parents to read through, but I also use the book for myself! I love getting new ideas for therapy and these activities are perfect for an anyone working in early intervention.

Who should read this book? Parents and soon to be parents, especially those working on their baby registries! Grandparents, aunts and uncles. Anyone who works with babies or is going to school to work with babies, or those who dream of one day working with babies. Anyone who thinks they already know all there is to know about baby development.And especially, anyone who is tempted to spoil the babies in their life with all of the latest baby gear!

To get your very own copy of this book, you can find it on Amazon.

Connect with Dr. Zachry:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

*I received a complimentary copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own. Amazon links throughout are affiliate.

Aimee's Babies

 

Aimee Ketchum, OTR/L, CNMI is a pediatric occupational therapist and the founder of Aimee's Babies, a child development company. Aimee is on a quest to provide parents with practical and easy to follow information and instructional tools regarding their children's development. Aimee is embarking on this journey with a series of educational DVDs and apps. 

When Aimee contacted me and asked if I'd like to check out her DVDs, I'll admit, I was a little skeptical. As a pediatric occupational therapist myself, I tend to encourage parents to throw all milestone books and charts out the window, since they seem to cause unnecessary anxiety and worry among parents of children with special needs. After watching Aimee's Babies First Year Milestones and Aimee's Babies Baby Massage DVDs, I still believe that it is important to not get too caught up in the milestone race, however these DVDs are a great resource for parents and therapists alike. Let me tell you why...

Aimee's Babies First Year Milestones

Aimee's Babies First Year Milestones contains four chapters, one on each of the following ages:

• Newborn
• Three - four months
• Six - nine months
• Twelve months

Each chapter demonstrates what typically developing babies are doing at that age, and then provides helpful tips and exercises to help babies reach important milestones. Each chapter contains the following sections:

• Reflexes
• Vision
• Hearing
• Touch
• Movement and balance
• Taste and smell

In addition, there are "Baby Boot Camp" exercises interspersed throughout the video. These are simple exercises that parents can do with their baby to promote development.

The most useful aspect of this DVD is being able to see what your baby's movement or reflexes should actually look like. I think one of the biggest downfalls milestone books and charts, is that they are just a bunch of words (and maybe some pictures), but it is hard to really understand what your child should be doing. The video clears up that confusion by showing what babies are doing.

In addition, there are several Aimee's Babies Apps (and most are free!) that complement the video. Below is a screenshot of the Aimee's Babies Newborn App.

Aimee's Babies Baby Massage DVD

I frequently used infant massage as an intervention technique when I worked in early intervention. Infant massage has many benefits including, increasing circulation, enhancing the immune system, improving sleep, relief of colic, improving digestion, and helping to develop coordination and motor skills.

This DVD begins with an overview of sensory development of babies, along with some simple exercises to promote the development of each sense. The DVD then provides some simple step by step baby massage instruction. Again, as with the milestone DVD, I think it is so much better to see baby massage in action, rather than try to read about it or look at some pictures. Aimee shows how simple it is for parents to massage their babies and to give them the best start possible!  

Who would benefit from Aimee's Babies DVDs and apps?

• New parents - The videos and apps provide simple tips and exercises for parents to easily implement. They also provide an easy to understand guide to developmental milestones.
• OT students - Being able to see typical baby development is so much better than just reading about it in a textbook.
• New OT graduates -These serve as a great guide for therapists who are out on their own for the first time.
• Early Intervention practitioners - Both the DVDs and the apps are a great resource to have on hand to share with parents. The apps would be great to pull out when explaining a reflex or exercise to a parent. It always helps to have a visual!

For more information, visit www.aimeesbabies.com. You can also follow Aimee's Babies on Facebook.
Click the image to the left to visit the iTunes app store to learn more about the Aimee's Babies apps!


 *I received complimentary copies of the DVDs mentioned in this post for my review. However, all opinions are entirely my own. This post also contains iTunes Affiliate links.

Five Friday Features

Whew! What a week it has been! My thoughts go out to those who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy. Here in Massachusetts, the damage was minimal and power outages were short, but many others were not so lucky. I can't stop thinking about families with children with children with special needs who need and depend on technology to keep their children healthy.

In the midst of all of the hurricane news, here are some other things that caught my eye this week.

1. World OT Day was on October 27 and to celebrate Online Technology 4 Occupational Therapy held a 24 hour virtual exchange. I have no excuse for not checking it out, since I had power AND I was home from work because school was cancelled, but nonetheless I did not listen to any of the sessions. I am hoping they will be archived here and I will be able to check them out a later date.
2. In honor of World OT Day, Linda (over at Linda's Daily Living Skills) hosted an OT Blog Carnival. The theme was the same as the theme of World OT Day: Finding Balance. I haven't had a chance to read through all of the submissions, but I am looking forward to checking them out this weekend and discovering some new OT blogs. I hope you will do the same! Click here to visit the OT Blog Carnival.
3. Remember this New York Times Op-Ed? I Had Asperger Syndrome. Briefly. New York Magazine is back on that topic, questioning, is everyone on the autism spectrum? Hmmm...interesting read.
4. Baby play tables are one of my must-have pieces of equipment for early intervention therapy. MamaOT has a great post articulating exactly my thoughts on why they are so great. Be sure to check it out here!
5. Did you hear about these NICU nurses? Amazing.

Five Friday Features

First things first. Drum roll, please....And the winner of the $50 Educational Insights Giveaway is.....Carrie Hager! Congrats, Carrie! Please send me an email so I can get your prize to you!

Not the winner? Don't despair! Thanks to the generosity of Educational Insights I will be hosting more giveaways soon, so be sure to check back!

1. I received my copy of Dark and Light: A Love Story in the mail this week! I'm so happy to see Shasta's book in print and so proud of what she has accomplished! Way to go Shasta!

2. The October newsletter from Tots-N-Tech is a great one! The topic is Using Visual Supports with Infants and Toddlers. The newsletter defines visual supports, helps you decide which type of visual support to use, and then gives examples and how-to's on making a variety of visual supports, from social stories to visual schedules to choice boards and more! What a fantastic resource! Click here to view the newsletter (it is a PDF file).

3. Love, love, LOVE these DIY travel size chalkboards from No Time for Flashcards. The tactile feedback that chalkboards provide are great for teaching letter formation.

4. On Wednesday I attended an in-service at work about Michelle Garcia Winner's Social Thinking. I'm very excited to implement some of the concepts I learned with my students! It should tie in nicely with concepts from The Hidden Curriculum.

5. I recently started a new job and I'm now working with more older children than I was previously, which means I'm being challenged to think of different ways to address skill development. This week I played a game of Twister with a couple of my students. What a fun way to work on strength, motor planning, and right/left identification! What activities do you use to work on right/left identification?

Bamboo Brace

Have you heard of the Bamboo Brace? I hadn't either until I was contacted by Michael Workman, PT, C/NDT, creator of the Bamboo Brace. In his work as a pediatric physical therapist, Michael saw a need for a dynamic elbow splint for children with hemiplegia, so he designed one himself!

What is the Bamboo Brace?

The Bamboo Brace is a flexible pediatric arm brace that is placed around the elbow joint for children with cerebral palsy and other developmental challenges. The Bamboo Brace assists children in maintaining a more extended position at the elbow, so both gross and fine motor skills are easier to perform. The Bamboo Brace is made out of neoprene and has five flexible and interchangeable stays, as seen below. These flexible stays make this a dynamic splint rather than a static splint, which allows gross motor movement while still allowing fine motor play.

How is it used?

The Bamboo Brace is recommended for use with children with an elbow flexion pattern that is slowing development, children who are unable to bear weight through their arms or support themselves for crawling, and children who present with spontaneous hand movements and hand mouthing.

As recommended by Michael Workman, I started out using the #3 insert when working with children and then adjusted from there as needed (the higher the number, the more rigid the plastic). The flexible insert easily slides into the brace (as seen below). The insert does tuck into the fabric completely - I just left it partially out in the photo to demonstrate how it is inserted. The inside of the brace has three non-slip dots to help hold the brace in place against the child's arm. The brace simply Velcros around the child's arm and you're ready to go!

I used The Bamboo Brace bilaterally to assist with weight bearing in infants and I found the brace to be very helpful when using it in this way. It allowed the child to develop more shoulder strength while being supported at the elbow. It was also easier for me as the therapist to position the child, because sometimes I feel like I need eight hands! The Bamboo Brace was also less bulky than other similar splints on the market.

I also used The Bamboo Brace with a child with hemiplegia, as seen below. The brace positioned the child's arm in an extended pattern, which allowed for weightbearing through the more affected arm. Typically this child was resistant to bearing weight through that arm and would only use the affected arm for functional activities if strongly encouraged to do so. I found the brace to be effective for both bilateral and unilateral activities, depending on the needs of the child.

For the most part, I found that children were willing to wear The Bamboo Brace and did not appear to be uncomfortable when wearing it. I have not yet used it for children who frequently mouth their hands or engage in self-injurious behaviors (e.g. hitting self), but it seems that it could be useful in those situations as well.

Product Details:

The Bamboo Brace
Available in three sizes: Infant/Toddler (under 18 months), Preschool (18 months to 4 years, Early Grade School (5 years to 9 years)
Price: $60 for Infant/Toddler and Preschool; $69 for Early Grade School; Discounted price when purchasing two braces at the same time. Click here for purchasing information

For more information:

Visit Professional Therapies at www.bamboobrace.com
Follow The Bamboo Brace on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheBambooBrace (When The Bamboo Brace reaches 2,012 fans, Professional Therapies will donate $5,000 worth of Bamboo Braces to therapy clinics across the country. Go give them a thumbs up and let's make this happen!)
To purchase The Bamboo Brace, click here or you can purchase it on Amazon

Disclosure: I received demos of the Bamboo Brace free of charge. However, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Has anyone else used The Bamboo Brace? I would love to hear about your experience!

Baby's Musical Hands

While I don't agree with using apps purely to distract or to keep a baby busy, I do think some apps have therapeutic value for babies. Baby's Musical Hands by Streaming Colour is one of those apps! This simple cause and effect app contains 15 brightly colored squares that provide audio and visual feedback when touched. The red squares make drum sounds, the yellow squares play piano notes, and the blue squares play guitar notes.

Screen prior to activation.

Bubbles appear after screen is activated.

How I use Baby's Musical Hands in therapy:

Since this is a basic cause and effect app, I frequently use Baby's Musical Hands to encourage reaching, especially in infants/toddlers with hemiplegia. Since most babies love music, this app can be a motivator for babies with hemiplegia to reach with their more affected arm.

Toddler reaching with affected hand.

I've also used this app as a motivator for weightbearing. I simply lay the iPad flat on the floor and then have the infant place his or her hands on the iPad screen while maintaining a crawling position. The baby can look at the screen and the screen continues to activate (making music and lighting up) while the baby is weightbearing through his arms.

Other possible therapy uses:

• Encourage visual tracking in infants with visual impairment
• Encourage head turning in infants with torticollis

What I like about this app:

• Activates easily, doesn't require precise fine motor movements
• Engaging and motivating to babies
• Can turn down the volume to allow for visual feedback only

Room for improvement:

This is a basic app that does what it sets out to do. I think it is great just the way it is and I don't see any reason to change the app!

Best for ages:

• Infants and toddlers

Bottom Line:

Would I recommend this app? Absolutely! For the price, this app is well worth it. In my experience, babies and toddlers are drawn to its music and bright lights, making this an engaging and motivating app.

Baby's Musical Hands App Information:

Name of app: Baby's Musical Hands

Publisher: Streaming Colour (www.streamingcolour.com)

Compatible with: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android. Requires iOS 4.1 or later. Android 2.3 and up.

Price: $0.99 available in the iTunes App Store or Google Play Store for Android devices.

Do you use Baby's Musical Hands? What therapeutic uses have you discovered for this app?

In my therapy bag...checkers

Checkers can be used for many activities other than grasping (stacking, counting, sorting), but I'm going to show you how I use them to work on grasping with little ones with visual impairment. Remember, checkers are small enough to be a choking hazard, so use close supervision at all times!

I have these great wooden checkers that are high contrast. Sorry, I don't remember where I got them!
When placed in my hand, the black checker provides a high contrast against my skin, making it easier for a child with a visual impairment to see. The texture on the checker is fun too!

You can also place the black checker on a light colored surface, or place the light checkers on a dark surface.

What do you use to provide high contrast when encouraging infants and toddlers with visual impairment to reach and grasp?