Monday, August 8, 2016
Pack It Light, Wear It Right
by: Kate LeFebvre OTR/L
A Community in Motion
Take a
close look at the photo above. The
Minnie Mouse outfit, the competing plaids, the… oh wait, not the clothing. Look at the schoolbags. See my sister in the middle, with her
backpack slung oh-so-coolly over one shoulder? Our fashionista neighbor on the right, whose bag only features one
completely unpadded strap? I’m not
actually looking too bad – mullet bangs excluded – on the left, but in another
two or three years you would have found me with my straps loosened about as far
as they could go, bag slapping against my bottom with every step. Oh, and five pounds of added keychain weight.
Don’t
send your kids to school like it’s 1995.
Incorrectly worn backpacks can actually cause serious problems for
people of all ages. In fact, almost
28,000 Americans sought treatment for backpack-related injuries in
2010. Studies have found that well over half
of students surveyed experience some pain or discomfort from carrying a
backpack. Here’s how you can keep your
child safe:
- Keep
it light: a backpack should weigh no more than 10% of your child’s total
body weight.
- Choose
a bag with two well-padded straps – and insist that your child wear them
both.
- Place
the heaviest items closest to your child’s body.
- Avoid
lunchboxes that dangle from the bottom of the backpack, opting instead to
place it inside the main compartment of the bag – or have your child carry
it separately.
- Cinch
up the straps so the bottom of your child’s bag rests in the curve of his
or her lower back.
- Pick
a bag that’s sized for your child.
Preschoolers may look awfully cute in giant bags designed for elementary-aged
kids, but oversized backpacks aren't doing their little bodies any favors.
Check out AOTA.org for
more information on backpack safety.
And for those of you who've read this far looking for
fashion advice to prevent your kids from being the victims of such tragic first
day of school photos as mine? I’m afraid you've come to the wrong place; those Disney character shirts followed me to
middle school.
Sources:
http://aota.org/News/Media/Experts/Backpack-Awareness-Advisory.aspx
http://www.aota.org/DocumentVault/Backpack/44404.aspx
http://www.aota.org/DocumentVault/Backpack/44388.aspx
Sources:
http://aota.org/News/Media/Experts/Backpack-Awareness-Advisory.aspx
http://www.aota.org/DocumentVault/Backpack/44404.aspx
http://www.aota.org/DocumentVault/Backpack/44388.aspx
Labels: A Community in Motion, backpack, Backpack-related health problems, child development, Hartland, Lebanon, OT, pediatric, school, Upper Valley, Vermont
Monday, January 13, 2014
Come On, It Can’t Be That Hard
By Kate LeFebvre, OTR
A Communication in Motion
A few months back, I stayed at a ski condo with some family members. It had a fairly typical set-up for such rentals, with bunk rooms designed to cram in as many people as possible. Each top bunk was accessible via a ladder, something like this:
 |
| Photo credit: http://www.flipkey.com/mammoth-lakes-condo-rentals/p307733/ |
There were three rungs – one in the middle, one a normal distance above it, and one a normal distance below. But a standard bunk bed ladder has four or five rungs and thus there was quite a distance from the floor to the bottom rung and from the top rung to the mattress. Another notable feature is that these bunks, unlike the one pictured above, lacked railings.
Now imagine trying to climb that ladder and coming back down again. Difficult for a young child with short legs, right? But surely a twenty-something adult who has slept on numerous top bunks, some without ladders at all, in her lifetime can navigate this simple task without a problem? Not so, it turns out.
My sister claimed one of the bunks in mention. She climbed up to check out her sleeping arrangements, hoisting herself from the top ladder rung onto the mattress, noting a lack of leverage due to the distance and lack of handholds. But after a slight struggle she was up. Nothing too taxing. Coming down, it turns out, was another matter.
She turned around, felt for the first rung, and took another step down. Before she knew it, she was out of rungs. She was standing there, her upper body still lying across the bed as she gripped wherever she could reach, one leg dangling down unable to locate another foothold. She flailed a bit, tried to reposition to see how far she still needed to descend… and got stuck. The rest of us, of course, laughed copiously at her expense. Stuck on a bunk bed ladder with her bottom sticking out in the air? How absurd. Her husband had to pick her up and place her back on the ground.
Well, I apparently don’t watch and learn from others’ predicaments. I thought I’d try this for myself, show my sister how easy a task it really was. Oops. I ran into exactly the same thing (rescued by my brother-in-law and all). Who designed that thing anyway?
The reason I’m telling you this story is that how my sister and I felt stranded on that ladder, unable to navigate our way down to the ground, is how I imagine my students who struggle with praxis feel when confronted with a novel task. Developmental dyspraxia occurs when a child is unable to create motor plans for new actions. His muscles and joints work fine, but his brain can’t figure out how to move them in the correct order. He may intellectually know exactly what needs to be done to participate in an activity, yet the neurons won’t fire to tell his limbs how to move. Children with dyspraxia do eventually learn new motor tasks with increased support and opportunities to practice. I likewise could have conquered that ladder if I had scaled it a few more times. In the meantime, it was frustrating, embarrassing, and a bit scary.
This is how it can feel every time a child with poor praxis (motor planning) skills faces a new task. This could be playing soccer, tying shoelaces, cutting with a knife and fork, climbing on playground equipment, stepping over an obstacle, catching a ball, holding a pencil, completing jumping jacks, anything. He’s helpless in controlling his own body. This child appears clumsy, uncoordinated, even lazy or obstinate in his refusal to try new things.
Luckily, treatment is available. In occupational therapy, we break down complex activities into their component steps, use forward and backward chaining techniques so children can be successful at part of a task before doing the whole thing, design sensory-rich obstacle courses and games, and teach new skills through play. Speech and language pathologists likewise work with children whose motor planning difficulties interfere with forming words. These kids can and do learn to move their bodies. Given appropriate support, they are able to participate in recess, physical education, rec sports leagues, and play of all sorts alongside their peers.
Interested in increasing your understanding of what it’s like to live with this condition? Try snowboarding, water skiing, or roller-blading for the first time. Attempt a gymnastics or martial arts move you've never done before. Try to keep up with an unfamiliar line dance. Or find that ski condo in Vermont and dare to venture up onto the top bunk. It’s harder than you think.
Read-aloud version of this post:
Edited, Recorded, and Posted by Noah Morse
Labels: A Community in Motion, Coaching, community, Lebanon, sensory integration, tactile sensitivity
Monday, December 30, 2013
UGG Boots, Skinny Jeans, and ADHD
By Kate LeFebvre, OTR
A Communication in Motion
I’m sure you've heard
about the increasing
rate of ADHD diagnosis over the past decade or so. I’m equally certain you've heard references
to it as a trendy disorder, over-diagnosed by doctors that cater to yuppie
parents. Perhaps the motivation ascribed
to these parents was to explain behavior problems created by lack of
discipline, to get medication to sedate the kids and make parenting easier, or
to obtain accommodations to give their children a leg up in school. I won’t argue that ADHD is never misdiagnosed,
or that there aren’t parents out there who have shopped around for a doctor who
would label their child with something – anything. ADHD, however, isn't just another chevron or moustache*. Trendy or not, this condition is a real
neurological disorder that causes major difficulties in the day-to-day lives of
those it affects.
I recently spoke with a woman who discovered as an
adult that she has ADHD herself, as does one of her children. She described her fears that, had they not
been diagnosed, she would believe she was a bad mother, her child wouldn't have
learned to slow down enough to speak and read, she could have been prescribed
ineffective and potentially dangerous medications, and her children would have
been considered “the behavior kids.”
Learning about ADHD allowed her and her family to develop coping
strategies so that they can be successful, independent, and, most importantly,
happy and fulfilled.
This family’s lives were changed – at home, at school,
at work – because of being appropriately diagnosed with ADHD. Armed with this knowledge about how their
brains function, she was able to seek therapies that made a world of
difference. She and her child now have
the tools to manage the symptoms of their disorder and prevent it from
interfering with the things they want and need to do. So the next time you hear of another child
who’s been diagnosed with ADHD consider that, although it may seem as ubiquitous as a fleece North Face jacket
on a college campus, this is a legitimate medical condition. ADHD calls for compassion, accommodation, and
coaching – not derision and dismissiveness.
* Moustaches? Who comes up with these things?
Edited, Posted, and Recorded by Noah Morse
Labels: A Community in Motion, A Community in Motion Occupational Therapy ADHD Coach New Hampshire Vermont, ADDCA, ADHD
Monday, December 16, 2013
Holiday Gifts and Tips
By Kate LeFebvre, OTR/L
A Community in Motion
Looking for a few
last-minute gift ideas for your child with special needs? Here are a few of my picks for therapeutic
toys your child will be happy to see under the Christmas tree!
For fine motor skills:
- Pictionary
Jr. – mix it up by replacing pencil and paper with Play-Doh
- Bed Bugs
- Wikki
Stix
- Aquadoodle
For visual processing
skills:
- Spot It
or Spot
It Jr.
- Swish
- Pictureka
- Jigsaw
puzzles
For executive
functioning skills (planning, organization, and sequencing):
- Lego
sets
- Craft
kits
- Guess
Who
- Children’s
cookbook
For gross motor skills:
- I
Can Do That
- Zoom
ball
- Scooter
board – encourage your child to use on his or her belly
- Hippity Hop
For calming sensory
input:
- Lycra cape –
to pull around his or her shoulders
- Liquid
motion toy
- Play
tent – place floor pillows inside to create a safe, protected place
for your child to retreat to when overwhelmed
- Weighted
stuffed animal
 |
Photo Credit:
http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/parenting/2008/12/23/santa240x272.JPG
|
Also, be sure to check
out Ten
Tips for Surviving Christmas with ADHD.
This is one of the most practical, specific “surviving the holidays with
special needs” guides I have seen. Most
of the information is relevant for children with a variety of other diagnoses
(especially autism spectrum disorders or sensory processing issues) and can be
adapted for whatever holiday or special event your family has planned.
And perhaps consider
skipping that visit to Santa...
Wishing you an
enjoyable, calm holiday season!
Click for a read-aloud version of this post!
Edited and posted by Noah Morse
Labels: A Community in Motion, ADHD, child development, Christmas, community, Holiday, pediatric, school, Vermont
Monday, December 2, 2013
The Time I Broke My Mother’s Finger – and OT Fixed It
by: Kate LeFebvre OTR/L
A Community in Motion
I suppose it comes as no great surprise to mothers everywhere that I wasn't the one to clean up the resulting gooey mess on the minivan’s upholstery. In the process of scrubbing some unknown person’s used gum, Mum applied perhaps a bit too much elbow grease. The result was mallet finger, a tendon injury that prevents the last joint of the affected finger from fully straightening.
 |
| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mallet_finger.jpg |
Labels: A Community in Motion, A Community in Motion Occupational Therapy ADHD Coach New Hampshire Vermont, Lebanon, Motion, New Hampshire
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