Weekend Reads

Happy Weekend! With the demise of Google Reader now just hours away, I am officially a Feedly convert. In fact, I already like it better than Google Reader, so I'm thankful that this change was forced upon me. If you hurry and make the switch before Google Reader closes it's doors July 1, then you can transfer all of your favorite blogs and RSS feeds into Feedly with one simple click. Seriously. It's that easy.

This is what my Feedly looked like this morning on my iPad:

A 'popular' post showed up on the left (of course it was a post by Kate from Chasing Rainbows with her always touching writing), followed by a post from 'today' (top right - from Becoming Minimalist if anyone's interested in what I like to read that's not therapy related), and then all of my unread feeds in chronological order came after that.

It was so easy to swipe through and mark posts as read (because I'm compulsive like that). I personally like having the magazine layout with a photo showing up with each post, but for Google Reader die-hards, you can change it to a list view and it looks and feels very similar to Google Reader. (For more detail on how to do that, check out this article 'How to Make Feedly Look Like Google Reader')

If you are one of the few remaining who have procrastinated longer than myself on choosing a new reader, here's the article that convinced me to use Feedly (which happens to be from one of my favorite non-therapy blogs, Everyday Reading).


As I got caught up on blog reading today (I got waaaay behind with the end of the school-year madness), I saved a few of my favorites with a summer theme to share with all of you.

OT Corner: Summer FUN (Shhh....Don't Tell Them it's Actually Therapy) | PediaStaff. Tips from an OT for making the most out of summer. 

Summertime 'At Home' Occupational Therapy | Special-Ism. More tips from an OT for making the most of summertime for children with ADHD.

Enjoying Summer with Sensory Issues | AOTA's Checking the Pulse. A roundup of what OT's can do to help children with sensory processing issues this summer.

Teacher Tuesday...Water Letters | Fundanoodle. Looking for some fun and educational ways to play with water this summer? Water letters is a fun activity from a kindergarten teacher to work on letter formation while playing with water.

Okay...this last one isn't completely summer related, but I want to share it anyway.....

Tips for Overcoming Learning Disabilities | MamaOT. Christie of MamaOT had a baby this week!! I'm helping her out this week with a guest post on learning disabilities. While you're visiting her blog, be sure to check out Ken Myers' guest post on fun water-based sensory play activities for summer.

Weekend Reads

Happy Friday! Summer is almost here! Today would have been my last day of school if we hadn't had all of those snow days...Oh well, the snow days were a nice break at the time, and I must say I really enjoyed the snow after years in California.

Here are a few weekend reads to get you in the mood for summer:

Fun Kid-Friendly Summer Snacks | Embrace Your Chaos. These peanut butter banana bites look kid- and adult-friendly to me!

Tips for a Successful (Educational) Summer | Engaging Minds. These are some of my tips to help your child set goals, prioritize, and plan for a successful summer. Don't just read my guest post...be sure to check out the rest of the Engaging Minds blog as well as their great Tip of the Week posts!

45 Ways to Show Dad You Love Him {For Kids}| No Time for Flashcards. Here are some fun ways for kids to show dad they love him, just in time for Father's Day.

TED Talk Tuesday: Teachers need real feedback

TED recently held a TED Talks Education Summit with a number of outstanding speakers. I haven't had the chance to watch many of the videos from this summit yet, but plan to get to them all soon. With so many great talks at once, it's hard to know where to start!

Today I'm sharing a talk by Bill Gates on teacher evaluation and feedback and his innovative idea for providing teachers with the feedback and coaching that they deserve to become better teachers. Did you know that most teachers receive almost no feedback on their performance? How can we expect teachers (and therapists) to improve and provide the best for our students if they're not receiving feedback (positive or negative) on their performance?

As the school year winds down, I try to take time to reflect on the past school year so I can create goals for myself for the upcoming school year to continue to improve my skills as an OT and to provide the best services possible to my students. After watching this video, it makes me realize how valuable video feedback on my performance could be (although I'm sure it would also be a bit uncomfortable at times to watch myself on video).

What do you think? As you watch this video, I'd like to know what you think of Mr. Gates' plan for providing teacher feedback. Would you like to watch videos of yourself teaching or providing therapy? How do you currently reflect on your performance? Does anyone ever observe you or provide you with feedback?

Simple Mother's Day Card

Here's a simple Mother's Day card that requires only a few supplies and can be graded to meet the needs of children of all skill levels!

Supplies:

• construction paper
• pencil
• scissors
• glue

Directions:

1. Depending on your child's skill level, grade the first step appropriately:

• Child draws and then cuts out shapes
• Child traces and then cuts out shapes
• Child cuts out shapes already drawn on paper

2. Your child can assemble and glue the shapes using a model as an example. This is great for working on executive function skills, like planning, organizing, and sequencing!

3. Add a message to the inside. This is a great way to sneak in some handwriting practice!

• Child can write a message independently
• Child can copy a message from another paper or from farther away
• If you want to work on typing, type a message, print it and glue it to the inside

Skills addressed:

• bilateral coordination
• fine motor dexterity
• eye hand coordination
• scissor skills
• handwriting
• planning
• organizing
• sequencing

 Happy Mother's Day!

Is cursive a thing of the past?

 Photo via Flickr

My aunt, an English professor, recently shared a story with me about one of her students. Her student, a college freshman, approached her to talk about a paper he recently turned in. When she asked if he had a question about a specific comment that she had written on his paper, his response was, "Well, I can't read what you wrote. I can't read cursive."

Whoa.

My aunt was shocked. As an OT, I was surprised, but not shocked. I've spent a lot of time in elementary classrooms, and I know that many students are no longer being taught cursive. In fact, many students are not even being properly taught how to print! [side note - I'd like to point out that this is at no fault of the teachers and this issue probably requires its own blog post]

Is cursive dead?

The New York Times recently ran a Room for Debate column on Is Cursive Dead? The lovely folks over at PediaStaff were kind enough to bring this article to my attention and asked if I cared to weigh in on the discussion.

Okay, okay. So I've seen first hand that cursive is not being taught in schools. But what is my opinion on the demise of cursive? The big question here is:

Should schools require children to learn cursive?

In my opinion, no.

I learned to write in cursive in third grade. And I loved it! I thought it was fun. And so grown-up! And then, with the exception of a fifth grade teacher who required everything be written in cursive, I immediately stopped writing in cursive. Which means I have not regularly written in cursive since I was 10 years old. That was 20 years ago!

The times are changing, whether we like it or not, and it's time for our curriculum to reflect that.

Should students be exposed to cursive?

Yes.

Should students know how to read cursive?

Absolutely. After all, it's really not that different from print. Learn what the following 10 letters look like in cursive and you should be able to read cursive without too much difficulty: b, e, f, m, n, r, s, u, v, z.

Should students be able to sign their name in cursive?

Yes, even if it quickly turns into an illegible scribble unique to them, because that's all they need to be functional in this digital world.

Should students learn to write using paper and pencil?

Yes, but that doesn't mean it needs to be in cursive.

Should students learn how to effectively use technology for writing essays? For taking notes? For communicating?

Yes. Yes. And yes.

Cursive in the age of technology

So where does cursive fit in in today's technological world? We still have to sign documents and receipts, even though many of those signatures are now done electronically. As an occupational therapist, I sign my name on reports, progress notes, daily notes, IEPs, etc. For most adults, there's really no way around the signature.

But, with the exception of my occasionally legible signature, I only write in cursive when I am helping a student learn to write their name in cursive.

Wait. Let's think about this for a minute. I only use cursive when I'm teaching students how to write in cursive. After all that I've written above, when do I expect that they will ever use cursive in their lives? The answer is, I don't expect students today to ever use cursive. But as an occupational therapist, I want my students to be functional and independent, which I believe does include a cursive signature. After reading this article from NPR about the fading away of the signature, I'm beginning to question the relevance of a signature in today's world. Maybe the merit of a signature will come up in a future Room for Debate :-)

Some final food for thought for OTs and educators.

Why are we so insistent that students learn cursive? Is cursive really the best option for certain students with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia? If so, where is the research to support it? Where are the studies that provide evidence of the benefits of cursive writing on brain development?

Are we holding onto cursive purely because of nostalgia?

Does a legible signature even matter these days?


To hear more thoughts on cursive in this era of technology, check out PediaStaff's roundup of posts written by occupational therapists in response to the Room for Debate article!

Please weigh in with your thoughts on this conversation in the comments below. I would love to see this conversation continue.

An OT's Perspective - Christie of Mama OT

OT Month is coming to an end, but I've got one more OT today stopping by to share her perspective.

Please welcome Christie of Mama OT! Christie is Mama to one precious kiddo (21 months old, plus one on the way this summer) and an occupational therapist to many. She has experience working in early intervention, clinic-based, and school-based settings, and she is passionate about educating and empowering those who work with kids. Her blog, Mama OT, is a place where she shares helpful tidbits learned from life both as a mom and a pediatric OT. 

 

My life as an occupational therapist in five words:

fun, creative, busy, challenging, educational

Four qualities every pediatric OT should have:

• creativity

  

  His mama is definitely an OT!

• empathy
• PATIENCE! 
• the ability to "think on your feet"

Three resources I can’t live without:

1. My OT colleagues
2. The ZONES of Regulation book
3. Pinterest 

Two words (or more!) of advice for the parents of a child who recently started receiving occupational therapy:

Be involved! Your ideal level of involvement will vary depending on your child's needs (and will even depend on the day). But don't feel like you have to be a by-stander in your child's therapy, and don't be afraid to ask questions about what the OT is doing. We LOVE it when parents want to know more about what we are doing and how you can carry it over into the home setting. Oftentimes, the kiddos who make the most progress are those whose families do their best to implement therapy ideas in the home and community settings. You can follow Kid Blogger Network on Pinterest for TONS of great sensory, fine motor, and gross motor play ideas.

A word of advice for someone who is considering a career in occupational therapy:

Be sure to observe or volunteer in one or more OT settings before you go to OT school, even if your program doesn't require it for admission. It's one thing to read about what OT is like on a website. It's often a completely different (and more exciting) thing to see what it looks like in real life. It may open your eyes to see that pediatrics isn't what you thought and isn't your gig. Or it may ignite your passion for working with families and kiddos and make you feel like your career as a pediatric OT can't start soon enough (that's what happened to me)!

One dream for the field of occupational therapy:

My dream is that more pediatric OTs could help educate and empower their communities (parents, teachers, coaches, doctors, psychologists, legislators, and beyond) in order to better serve the needs of children with and without special needs.

What I do to rest and relax. Or in OT terms, how I maintain occupational balance:

Crocheting. Blogging. Journaling. Being involved with my church. Trying new recipes. Going on weekly date nights with my awesome husband. Keeping up with my toddler son, who can practically outrun me by now. Following UCLA sports, especially gymnastics (Go Bruins!). Staying updated with my favorite shows such as Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, and Grey's Anatomy. And finding new toys and activities I can use with all the special kiddos in my life.

Even OT's have less than perfect pencil grasps :)

Christie, thanks so much for stopping by to share your perspective! Readers, please be sure to check out Mama OT for more of Christie's helpful tips. Follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter for more tips on how to promote your child's development and help them have fun along the way!

  

Honoring a superhero

 

As many of you in the special needs blogging world probably already know, Kate of Chasing Rainbows lost her son Gavin last week. Gavin was a true superhero who inspired so many. In my opinion, Kate is also a superhero. Her words have moved thousands of readers and she so eloquently and freely shares her story with the world.

Kate was kind enough to participate in my Parent's Perspective feature last fall where she shared her thoughts on therapy and raising a child with special needs. Kate went to the ends of the earth to provide for Gavin, and ultimately he was taken from her too soon. As she goes through this heartbreaking time, many are wondering what they can do to help.

Here's are some things you can do to honor Gavin:

• Stop by Kate's blog or Facebook page and offer kind words of support.
• Donate to the Nemours Child Life Department. The Child Life Specialists have played a huge role during all of Gavin's hospitalizations and Gavin's family would appreciate donations to the Child Life Department in lieu of flowers. In addition to monetary donations, you can view a list of items that the Child Life Department is in need of.
• Consider registering to be an organ donor. (You can read the story of Gavin's organ donation here)
• Donate to the Gift of Life Family House, which provides a "home away from home" for transplant patients and their families who travel to Philadelphia for transplant related care.
• Donate to CaringBridge, the site where Kate began her daily journals when Gavin was just an infant.
• And finally, Kate's birthday request: Honor Gavin by helping someone. Document it in words or pictures and share on the Chasing Rainbows Facebook page.

Gavin, you are a true superhero! You've inspired countless families all over the world and your memory will carry on. Kate, thank you for opening your heart and sharing your story with the world. Gavin and his beautiful smile will not be forgotten.