A Few Things

Right now I have more than 200 unread blog posts in my feedly! Lately I've been living like life is one big vacation (ummm...is there any other way to live?), so I've been reading long novels on long flights, instead of keeping up with my favorite blogs. (By the way, The Goldfinch was perfect for my multiple cross country flights.)

Thanks to wedding and graduation season, all of my travel for the year got crammed into one month. It's been a bit of a juggling act to see all of my clients and I truly appreciate how flexible the families I work with have been. As I get ready to head off for one last vacation, here are a few things I've found that I think are worth sharing:

Looking for some Fourth of July crafts? No Time for Flashcards has got you covered!

Pink Oatmeal shared fun and easy ways to get your little one (6-18 months) engaged in water play this summer.

Want to work on handwriting this summer? Here are some fun ways to do that!

Using this summer to work on bike riding? The Inspired Treehouse has some tips for you!

And last, but certainly not least. This is not really summer related, but good advice for any time of year. (Bonus-This is from one of the best speech therapists I know!)

See you back here on July 7!

Behind the Scenes | Playapy

Welcome to the second installment of Behind the Scenes. Today I am excited to have Amy Baez, MOT, OTR/L, founder of Playapy, here to share her story. 

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

I have been practicing as an occupational therapist in South Florida almost exclusively in pediatrics for 14 years. I have worked in pre-school, private school, outpatient clinic, and home health settings. I have a particular interest in fine motor, handwriting, and coordination skills. 

Tell me a bit about Playapy. Where did the idea come from and how did you take it from idea to reality?

Playapy is a child development resource for parents and educators that I launched in 2013. It provides consultation services on-line as well the creation of publications and the production of workshops in the Miami area. Playapy was created to serve a need to communicate with parents and educators about child development from a therapist perspective without direct therapy services or referrals. With the increased demands on pre-schools and the adverse effects of increased use of technology, many parents are finding that they need additional support for their children without the resources, insurance, time, or understanding of how to get it. Playapy is promoting the concept of Smart Play Made Simple by simplifying the methods used by therapist to promote efficient, fun, and functional play. Since I already had experience being self-employed since graduating from school, I worked on creating a business plan and a team of professionals that could support Playapy and its mission. Making it a reality is still an ongoing process as I learn more and focus on a more specific target market that we can best serve.

You’ve also created your own handwriting workbooks. Again, how did you go from having an idea to creating an actual workbook?

I am a creative person and spend a lot of time around artistic people like poets, designers, photographers, and painters. I like to look at the toys and tools that I use as a therapist and modify or create new ways to improve them. When I started seeing children in a clinic and private school setting, I noticed I was receiving more patients with handwriting concerns. Some of them had been exposed to the same programs for years with little progress, so I began to play around with my own ideas including using simple action words and drawings including a cute monkey. Over the course of a couple years I saw how much this method was helping a variety of my patients. One idea for a book led to another, and I put more and more time into making simple worksheets and putting them together into a book layout. From there, I made the conscious decision to maximize my potential and hired a designer, self-published the books, and created a company that would support and market my ideas and the services I had in mind. It really paid off not only from the progress I see in patients, but also to be receive recognition from Creative Child Magazine with the 2013 Book of the Year award for Educational Activity Books.

There are a lot of handwriting workbooks out there. How are your workbooks unique?

The first two publications are purposely divided into uppercase and lowercase letters to be completed sequentially according to development. This is not how the mass market is teaching children. Both books use specific action words that correspond to strokes used to create the letters. These action words help to promote proper directionality, formation, and alignment particularly for the lowercase letters. The Treasure C.H.E.S.T. and Heads, Tummies,& Tails workbooks are simply designed using a traditional 3-line format with a friendly mascot as the instructor. The letters are introduced in groups instead of alphabetical order so letters are associated by their similar formation or alignment. The child is encouraged to say the action words as he or she is writing to foster a multi-sensory approach. This also allows for the parent, educator, and/or therapist to use the same language as well. The books also do not require more than a one-page instruction due to the simplicity and are easily to use and affordable in addition to being engaging without also being distracting.

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

I would love to see Playapy as a known and trusted resource for parents, educators, and therapists working with young children globally. My dream to see continue publishing more workbooks, conducting workshops nationally and through webinars. I also have a dream to see Playapy workshops conducted in developing countries and meeting the needs of the Spanish language market both in the US and elsewhere.

What has been the most surprising thing about creating Playapy?

Since I am still a practicing therapist and have another company that I own and operate, time is always a factor. What has been most surprising is how much time and effort it takes to make something from nothing even something as simple as a logo. Starting a traditional therapy business seemed so much easier partly because the foundation of occupational therapy has been in existence for 100 years. Playapy has the challenge of competition and educating the public and why you are needed. Overall, there is always a to-do list to be better and improve what you have to offer and how you are offering it. This is also want makes it interesting and fun.

Play seems to be very important to you. How do you fit play into your everyday life?

It’s funny that you mention that because finding time to play is what is most challenging about starting a business. It’s a good thing I get to play for a living! In my everyday life I seek play through playfulness, leisure, and adventure. My version of play is to create, appreciate art, dance, take pictures, write poems and stories, listen to live music, swim in the ocean, travel to different countries, challenge my fear of heights, and spending time with friends.

Connect with Playapy:

Website: www.playapy.com

Blog: www.playplatform.tumblr.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/playapy

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/playapy

Twitter: www.twitter.com/playapy_llc

P.S. Are you an occupational therapist doing something cool? If you'd like to share your story, please send me an email at AbbyPediatricOT {at} gmail {dot} com. I'd love to feature you in an upcoming post!

App of the Week | Mom Maps

One last travel app for you to add to your summer travel kit. Have a kiddo that needs to move? As in, we need to get out of this car right now! Mom Maps might be able to help you.

The idea behind this app is that you can look up kid friendly places that are near where you are. This can be especially helpful if you are on vacation in an unfamiliar location.

 Looking for a park so your kiddo can get out and run around? Just pull up the map and click on the geotags for more information, including reviews, about the parks.

As you can see in the first screenshot, the app also includes kid friendly restaurants, museums, and indoor spaces. This app gets mixed reviews, I think because it uses crowd sourcing, which means it's only as good as the people who are using it. You might be better off using a more well known app like Yelp and doing a specific search, but Mom Maps seems like it has a lot of potential.

What do you think? Have you used this app? Do you use a similar app to find a place to take a break?

App Information:

Name of App: Mom Maps
Publisher: New Media Parents, Inc
Compatible with: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch; requires iOS 4.0 or later
Price: free!



*Information was correct at the time of publication, but is subject to change, so please confirm prior to downloading. This post contains affiliate links.

The power of social media

At times, I have a love-hate relationship with social media. Today I'd like to share one small story of the awesomeness of social media.

One of my blogging secrets ways to stay sane, is to schedule posts in advance and then just let my blog do it's thing. This works well for me because it allows me to blog when I'm less busy, but still have somewhat consistent posts. It's especially helpful during busy time at work or when I'm traveling, like I have been recently.

A few weeks ago, I scheduled a post with a student question asking how I knew I wanted to be an occupational therapist. While I was traveling, I scrolled through my Facebook feed and noticed that AOTA posed the same question to it's followers. I remember thinking, "How funny. I think I just posted on this same topic" and I made a mental note to check it out more closely when I got home.

Of course, when I got home, I forgot to do that, but as I was catching up on blogs on my feedly, I came across this awesome blog post from AOTA's Catching the Pulse. Turns out, my blog post inspired AOTA's blog post, which they in turned shared on Facebook. When AOTA posed this question to their Facebook community, they received 37 shares and 64 comments! How awesome is that! I really recommend that prospective students check it out! That Facebook post is a wealth of information and inspiration for students or anyone considering a career in OT. To check it out, visit AOTA's Facebook page and scroll down to June 6, 2014. I've also updated my original post to include all of this information.


PS-This is another scheduled post. I'm currently jetting off to New York for a friend's wedding :)

In My Therapy Bag | Margaret from Your Therapy Source

Please welcome Margaret Rice, PT for this installment of In MyTherapy Bag. You may already be familiar with Margaret, as she is the brains behind Your Therapy Source, a website full of excellent resource for both therapists and parents. Today she is stopping by to share a must-have item in her physical therapy bag.

What’s in my therapy bag?

It can be hard to pick just one item as my must have in my therapy bag but I can say this item is always in my therapy bag (or at least the back of my car) - a playground ball.

 

I know it sounds boring but I am always amazed at how many therapeutic activities you can complete with a ball. Obviously, I use it for eye hand coordination skills (throwing and catching). My ball is also used to encourage bilateral coordination, motor planning, body awareness, stretching and muscle strengthening. The ball can be used with all types of children regardless of ability. I have yet to find a child who does not generate some interest in playing with a ball whether it be eye gaze or a full game of basketball.

Head on over to Your Therapy Source, to print out a free list of 15 activities to do with a ball to hand out to the children that you work with for some summer fun.

Hope everyone has a ball this summer!

Connect with Margaret Rice, PT, founder of Your Therapy Source:

Website: www.YourTherapySource.com

Blog: www.YourTherapySource.com/blog1

Pinterest: www.Pinterest.com/YTherapySource

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/YourTherapySource

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/YTherapySource  

Have an item in your therapy bag that you'd like to share? I'd love for you to share it in an upcoming post! Just send me an email, AbbyPediatricOT {at} gmail {dot} com for more information. Open to all therapists! You don't have to be a blogger to participate!

App of the Week | Sunday Drive

I'm rolling with the travel theme this month. Are you staying closer to home this summer? If so, Sunday Drive might be the travel app for you.

In this app, you choose a start point, and it then provides you with driving routes along with points of interest along the way. To show you what it looks like, I put in one of my favorite places, Malibu.

This might seem like an odd app to share on an occupational therapy blog, but the reason I think this app has therapeutic power, is that it can be used by older kids or teens to help plan a day trip or staycation. Getting kids involved in the planning process for their day, week, vacation, etc. is such a great and practical way to work on those executive function skills this summer!

What do you think? Do you try to encourage your kids to help plan during the summer? How do you encourage executive function skills in the summer? I LOVE how Ali has tasked her son with making a batch of cookies each week this summer. What a great idea!

App Information:

Name of App: Sunday Drive
Publisher: Sunday Drive
Compatible with: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch; requires iOS 6.0 or later
Price: free


*Information was correct at the time of publication, but is subject to change, so please confirm prior to downloading. This post contains affiliate links.

A Few Things

Happy Friday! This week brought the first day of summer vacation in my area. To celebrate the start of summer, here are some activities to keep kids busy this summer.

The Pocket Occupational Therapist has created a list of summer activities. Added bonus: they're therapeutic!

Have a kiddo that seeks a lot of deep pressure? Here's a list of activities that can be done at school or at home over the summer.

Are you looking for activities to keep your preschoolers busy this summer? Here are 50 summer activities for 3 year-olds from No Time for Flashcards.

MamaOT has a list of 10 awesome summer activities for kids. And this list isn't enough, she's also got a great tutorial on how to make a water wall for summer fun!

Your Therapy Source has shared four free summer printables! Great for when you need a summer motor activity in a hurry!

A tip for limiting screen time during the summer. Maybe I need to do this for myself :)

And for some Friday inspiration, in case you missed it, a teen with autism spoke at his graduation.

Happy summer!