March 25 is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day!

In honor of this day, I've rounded up some resources about cerebral palsy:

• For more information about cerebral palsy diagnosis and treatment, check out the cerebral palsy page by My Child Without Limits. In addition, you can download the Guide to Cerebral Palsy at the bottom of the page.

• The Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation is a great place to catch up on the latest research in cerebral palsy.

• AOTA has an Evidence Brief Series, which provides easy to read summaries of scientific articles. Check out the AOTA Evidence Brief on cerebral palsy to learn about evidence based practice for therapists working with children with cerebral palsy.

• Stacy Menz, of Starfish Therapies, wrote a great guest post on Friday for Love That Max: 9 best things to do for a kid with cerebral palsy (that don't feel like work). Be sure to check it out for great therapy ideas from a PT!

• I also recommend the book, Teaching Motor Skills to Children with Cerebral Palsy. This book provides a nice overview of motor milestones and how to approach them in children with cerebral palsy.

Friday Features

~To celebrate the upcoming OT Month, check out the word art created by Your Therapy Source by having occupational therapists complete the following statement, "I Love Occupational Therapy because..." You can even print it out and hang it up in your workplace to promote OT!

~Therapeutic Systems is creating a Vayu deep pressure vest, with the goal of creating a reimbursable medical device. This unique vest can be worn under clothing and contains a pump to adjust the level of inflation/pressure. In addition, Therapeutic Systems are working with Dr. Jane Koomar and Dr. Teresa May-Benson of The SPIRAL Foundation, which helps promote research in sensory integration and sensory processing disorder.

How to make a slant board

A slant board provides a slanted writing surface, which can better position a student's wrist for writing. Placing writing paper on a slant board can also make it easier for the student to copy information from the board.

The price of a slant board can vary from $40-$100 in a therapy catalog, so I often make my own.

I have a student who was hooking his wrist like this (yikes!):

I made a slant board to improve the position of his wrist and now he writes like this:

     Much better!

To make your own, here's what you'll need:
 

• two old binders
• clipboard
• Velcro
• duct tape

1. Use the duct tape to tape the two binders together.

2. Attach Velcro to the back of the clipboard.

3. Attach the clipboard to the binders

vertically,













or horizontally.

Friday Features

~Dr. Anne Zachry is completing a fun project with her students, Special Kids Helping Special Kids. Special education students will work with peer tutors to complete therapeutic art projects, which will be sold to raise money for St. Jude Children's Hospital. Visit her blog to check it out and to donate to the cost of their supplies. 

~I'm excited about AOTA's new blog, OT in DC: A Politics Policy & Blog. OT in DC should be a great way for OTs to stay informed about politics and policies that could affect the provision of occupational therapy services.

For Our Babies: A Call for Better Beginnings

As an occupational therapist providing services to children in a birth to three program, I am a strong believer in providing sound beginnings for all children.

Did you know that the human brain grows to 85% of its adult size between conception and age three?

For Our Babies is a national movement promoting healthy development in US children from conception to age three.

For Our Babies advocates for the following:

~Supported Pregnancies
     ~Prenatal health care coverage for all families, regardless of income, including home-based support and counseling during pregnancy
     ~Affordable intervention services for at-risk pregnancies
~Paid Leave & Well Baby Care

    ~Paid leave for parents for the first nine months of their child's life

    ~Affordable developmental screenings to identify physical and behavioral needs, with referral to affordable help when needed
~Screening & Follow-Up Services

    ~Affordable visits to the homes of all newborns for the first two years that include guidance by professionals trained in parenting and healthy development, along with counseling on early emotional, social, intellectual, linguistic, and perceptual/motor development

    ~Affordable services for children with identified special needs

    ~Free intervention services for families in crisis

~Quality Infant/Toddler Care

    ~Child care regulations that ensure that care is provided in safe, engaging, and intimate settings

    ~ Training, compensation, and professional stature for infant and toddler teachers at the same level as K-12 teachers

    ~Childcare subsidies for all families 

 
To get involved or to learn more about For Our Babies and their mission, visit www.forourbabies.org.

You can also follow For Our Babies on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ForOurBabies 

Healthy babies grow into productive adults. It is crucial that we capitalize on the rapid growth and development of babies and toddlers before age three.

I have signed the For Our Babies pledge. Will you?

Babies & the Budget: Opportunities for Action

Are you confused by all of the talk about budget cuts and how that will affect your child or your provision of therapy services?

Zero to Three, The National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, has created an advocacy tool: Babies & the Budget: Opportunities for Action.

This tool explains why advocacy is necessary and breaks the budget process down into a timeline, with opportunities for action included throughout the year. 

In addition, Zero to Three has created a Federal Policy Baby Blog, which you can check out at www.zerotothreepolicy.tumblr.com to follow the latest news about the federal budget and birth to three services.

Please check out the advocacy tool and be a voice for babies!

Friday Features

~Handwriting Without Tears is developing a university curriculum. This supplemental handwriting course for university professors to offer to their students will provide exposure to teaching handwriting. To get the word out, Handwriting Without Tears will send a copy of the curriculum to interested professors for free! If you are a professor or a student, click here to sign up to receive a copy.

~I came across the blog ARK Therapeutic, which provides tips on how, when, and why to use their many products, including the grabber, z-vibe, and lip blok, which are all products that I use. This is a great resource for therapists using these ARK's tools.