• 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.

Labels: A Community in Motion, backpack, Backpack-related health problems, child development, Hartland, Lebanon, OT, pediatric, school, Upper Valley, Vermont

• Pictionary Jr. – mix it up by replacing pencil and paper with Play-Doh
• Bed Bugs
• Wikki Stix
• Aquadoodle

• Spot It or Spot It Jr.
• Swish
• Pictureka
• Jigsaw puzzles

• Lego sets
• Craft kits
• Guess Who
• Children’s cookbook

• I Can Do That
• Zoom ball
• Scooter board – encourage your child to use on his or her belly
• Hippity Hop

• 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

Labels: A Community in Motion, ADHD, child development, Christmas, community, Holiday, pediatric, school, Vermont

Recently, I started a program at the ADD Coach Academy, http://www.addca.com/. ADDCA is an institution for the education of ADHD and training of coaches for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. I began the program with a goal of becoming an ADHD coach. There are few resources for those struggling with the day to day impact of ADHD in their lives, childen and adults alike. There is equally as little true understanding and use of solid education surrounding ADHD, even in supportive services that are available. It's a diagnosis that can sometimes seem invisible. It varies in degree and can often present differently from one person to another. For folks who don't know, while medication for ADHD can help, it only helps about 70% of the total ADHD population. While it can open a doorway, medication doesn't help with many of the underlying behaviors and beliefs those with ADHD develop. Even with medication, the day to day patterns that are not serving a person can remain unaddressed. Some benefits of coaching can include:

• Reduction of procrastination
• Support for decision-making and prioritizing
• Expanding perception of option
• Create ADD-appreciative accountability
• Set up supportive environment for success
  
• Management of impulsivity and distractibility
• Improvement in time and self-management
• Learning to set boundaries
• Improving social and communication skills
• Removing blame and shame
• Improving self-confidence
• Reducing overwhelm
• Controlling worry
• Learning about your ADD
• Appreciating your strengths and unique gifts
• Discovering personalized approaches

For more information about the program I am taking you can visit: www.addca.com

You can also go to: http://www.add.org/

Until next time, ~t

Labels: ADHD, advocate, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, child development, community, Lebanon, New Hampshire, occupational therapy, pediatric, school, sensory integration, Upper Valley, Vermont

My daughter just left for school.

For the third time this year, we are recovering from head lice. One would think I must have been doing something wrong. I wasn’t treating correctly. I wasn’t combing enough. I wasn’t washing enough. I suppose if the occurrences hadn’t been spread out longer than the gestation period, I might suspect I had missed something. My mother had a home daycare for nearly ten years. I’ve seen my fair share of head lice. My daughter having it for the third time is not likely attributed to our negligence.

It is infuriating that since I originally went to the school nurse and principal to bring this to their attention, not so much as a generalized note has been sent home with kids. After two months, I got a note yesterday, in a building miles away from my daughter’s school, my son’s daycare has their first reported case. At least they told everyone.

What have we come to? A school doesn’t feel they can or need to send home a note. Why? Mornings like this I get so mad that the fleeting and perhaps insane thought goes through my head: “ I know! I’ll march into the school and demand they do something to let other parents know. If they don’t do it, I’ll sue them for conspiracy to unnecessarily torture my daughter.”

O.K. I will never do that. But when your daughter screams for an hour every day, like she is dying and you’re the only one doing anything about it, it gets to you. She screamed at me this morning, "Mom! Why are you killing me?"

I’m writing about this because my daughter is diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. With this, we have the misfortune of sensory integration issues, specifically tactile sensitivities. Early on, we were very lucky to be closely linked with a sensory integration clinic. Sarah received SI treatment regularly and we worked through the bulk of it.

What we still struggle with is the sensitivity in her head. Along with the defensiveness, she has a lot of hair. It isn’t just that it’s a lot. It’s the kind of hair that is 90% straight and 10% spring curls. If you don’t know what I mean, let me just say that it’s the kind of hair that makes tiny impossible knots just by looking at it. It has a mind of it’s own.

To my daughter’s horror, I had to break down and cut her hair a couple of years ago. It just became too much to deal with. She couldn’t comb it or rather refused to and I wasn’t getting any volunteers to comb the rude, swearing little girl’s hair. As her mother, I felt traumatized. Every time I combed her hair, it was like another day of torture; it was like another day of driving a wedge between us. I felt like our hearts were breaking and for what?

Having her hair cut devastated Sarah. Yes, devastated is the word. While we all know what it’s like to have an undesired haircut, to kids with ASD, it can seem like the end of the world. Sarah views all parts of her body as something she can’t live without. On another day, perhaps I’ll tell the story of what it was like training her to do number two.

After the hair cut, we pledged to do better. We bought better conditioner, better brushes, combed the night before, piggy-tailed, you name it. And now, two years later, her hair is getting long again. It makes her feel happy. How do I keep up with this lice problem? How do I tell her I might have to cut her hair off again?

Can you imagine what this all must be like for her? She thinks I am hurting her on purpose. She thinks her mother is cruel. I am not guessing. She tells me these things. If you know a child like mine, than you know she believes it. Sarah has an extremely difficult time reconciling the difference between the fact that I have to do it with the alternative of not doing it and what the consequences are. She feels excruciating pain caused by someone she is supposed to feel safe with. This sucks.

I sat at the table this morning feeling quite helpless. Even as I write this, I know that some people will read it and perhaps think I am over reacting. I also know some of you will read this and know exactly what I mean. I guess my goal is to share this story and hope for four things:

1. That someone who is struggling with any of these issues, and doesn’t know why, will seek help.

2. That someone who is struggling with any of these issues and relates, will want to also share their story. It feels good to not be alone.

3. That someone who reads this might want to make some suggestions to me or anyone else dealing with this kind of thing.

4. That it will help me move on with my day.

Until next time, Terry

Labels: advocate, child development, community, Farm, Hartland, head lice, Lebanon, New Hampshire, occupational therapy, pediatric, school, sensory integration, tactile sensitivity, Upper Valley, Vermont

It used to be that parents just took the school's word for it. I still want to. I still want to believe that what is reported to me about my child's performance is true and accurate. Things are just not that simple anymore; and perhaps they never were.

In the public system, the teachers, the paraprofessionals, the case managers, and the service providers are all overwhelmed. I have lost belief that they are able to communicate effectively but I don't think its on purpose; its not even close.

I think I have a unique perspective on things. I am a parent of two children with developmental disabilities. I co-own a pediatric OT practice that primarily services school districts. I see this from a parent level, I see what the staff here go through to get their work done well, and I talk every day to at least one administrator who, believe it or not, is as frustrated as I am. I think sometimes the administrators in these school districts are viewed as evil. It really isn't true. Some of them are better at being diplomatic than others, but all of them are charged with a very difficult job.

It takes more time to communicate effectively than we allow ourselves. Its not the SPED directors that are evil, it's ineffective communication. In an attempt to teach myself about how my communication style is perceived, I attended two seminars done by Working in Sync International (http://www.workinginsync.com).

Email is easily misinterpreted. Almost no one answers their phone (including me:(). How do we do this better? How do we best use the time we have, realistically, to get our messages across? From my perspective, most of us are on the same team: that of our students, that of our kids.

How do you do it?

Allison Bembe, my wonderful practice partner, has the patience of a saint. I have affectionately labeled her, "The Great Compromiser". I could tell a number of stories about why I labeled her this, but I mention it for a more important reason. Allison works patiently with her students, with her staff, and with her team members to build bridges between opposites. Her ability to maintain her patience is paramount but, more importantly, its her faith in the good intentions of people that keeps her motivated.

The message I want to send is to be patient with others. Don't assume the worst. Have faith. Be sure you are taking responsiblity for being a good communicator.

~t

Labels: advocate, child development, communication, faith, Farm, New Hampshire, nutrition, occupational therapy, pediatric, school, Upper Valley, Vermont

On April 29th, Allison and I attended a conference entitled “Nutrition in Autism”. Elizabeth Stickland, MS, ES, LD presented it. She has a book called, Eating for Autism. I have a copy and picked it up at Border’s in West Lebanon.

Although the title of the conference suggested that it would be focused on autistic children, Elizabeth actually spoke to all children with a focus on those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and those with Attention Deficits (ADD, ADHD). The primary reason I wanted to share this conference was because a lot of what she said effects everyone including you and I.

What I will share comes directly from the conference and her book. I encourage anyone with children who have ASD, ADD/ADHD or other learning and/or behavioral issues to read Elizabeth’s book. It includes a reasonable step-by step process to work towards addressing nutritional problems and is written in understandable language with a glossary, just in case.

The conference was one of the more compelling seminars I have attended in recent history. Elizabeth herself was clearly knowledgeable and invested in her topic. She shared that her 21-year-old, Jackson, has ASD.

At the beginning of the conference she made a good point about food. Food isn’t just something enjoyable. Food is fuel. We don’t just eat because we like it. With fast and processed foods abundant, the nutritional value of what we eat has decreased over the years. Any child over the age of 2 should be taking a multi-vitamin, period.

Many of the kids we focused on at the conference were problem feeders; Elizabeth recommended a pill-swallowing cup called Oralflow. Here is the website: http://www.oralflo.com/. I ordered this cup for my son. I’ll let you know how it works. The site is actually pretty good. It has a video with real parents and real kids showing the use of the cup. I think even a typically functioning child can use help with swallowing pills.

I also ordered one of the three brands of vitamins she recommended, Kirkland. Kirkland is the Costco brand and are tested by two of the three independent labs that test dietary supplements. The children’s vitamins have no artificial color; if you research this topic further, you will learn that many children with ASD cannot digest artificial color.

What I liked most about this conference is that Elizabeth illustrated how the brain takes food that we digest and uses it to power our ability to remember, learn, pay attention, and focus. It also can have a significant effect on our mood, and behavior. She had a great illustration. I have done my best here to find one suitable for explaining what I learned. Hopefully as I explain, you will be able to refer back to the illustration. This is a typical brain cell.




1) The brain depends heavily on vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids and calories found in food. If your child is deficient in one of these areas it compromises the brain’s neurotransmitter production, the synthesis of her brain’s myelin sheath (the fatty layer of insulation surrounding the axons of neurons increasing the speed at which electrical impulses can travel from neuron to neuron), glucose oxidization (the breakdown of glucose to produce ATP, which transports energy within cells) and her visual cognitive processing. If your child is consuming too much sugar and too much artificial additives, it can compromise your child’s brain function and cause behavior and learning problems.

2) Children need to consume zinc, selenium, magnesium, beta-carotene, vitamins A and E, and choline to help the liver detoxify of neurotoxins (i.e. mercury, lead, arsenic, pesticides and solvents). Most of us know that prolonged exposure to these neurotoxins can damage your child’s brain and central nervous system. It can contribute to attention deficit, hyperactivity, compulsive behavior, aggression, speech delays, and motor dysfunction, just to name a few.

3) The GI tract is dependant on amino acid and glutamine and needs a constant supply of vitamins and minerals for normal function. When nutritional deficiencies occur it can impair cellular growth in your child’s gastrointestinal tract. This compromises her ability to absorb nutrients she consumes in foods. This, in turn, causes other nutritional deficiencies that affect the brain.

4) Our immune system function is affected by lack of good nutrition as well as Erythropoiesis (the process of producing red blood cells). Red blood cells carry oxygen to our brains and throughout our bodies. Vitamins supporting this include iron, vitamin B6, copper, flolate, vitamin B12, and vitamins C and E. Deficiencies with these vitamins and minerals cause anemia, irritability, headaches, loss of appetite, lethargy, inattentiveness, and poor school performance.

Perhaps for some, this is a review. For me, it is one of those things where, yeah, I know the kids and I need to eat better. We all know that, don’t we? Did I fully understand what that specifically means to my child’s growing brain? Did I fully understand how it affects my son who is diagnosed with a regulatory disorder? I don’t think so. I don’t think we (collectively) on a day-to-day basis appreciate how serious of an issue this has become not just for children with developmental issues but also for us all.

I do need to close for now. Hopefully this will get you thinking. To be continued… ~t

Labels: advocate, child development, Farm, New Hampshire, nutrition, occupational therapy, pediatric, school, Upper Valley, Vermont

Hello there,

A Community in Motion is starting a web log (blog)!

This blog is being started as a way to share information we, at ACiM, have learned as parents and occupational therapists but also to encourage you to share your own story.

If you, or someone you know, has a story to share, please contact us. There is no limit to who can post: parents, kids, teachers, therapists; all are welcome.

Theresa (Terry) Chausse, our practice manager, will post regularly and if you wish to submit something, please contact her.

We look forward to hearing from you.

~A Community in Motion~

Labels: advocate, child development, Farm, New Hampshire, occupational therapy, pediatric, school, Upper Valley, Vermont