Discover Abilities-A Path to success

These types boxes you can make/use to teach shapes for improving the fine motor skills of Children with , Dr. Sai Karthikeyan ,contact number 9843372816.

Autism spectrum disorder is an umbrella term for a wide range of conditions primarily characterized by difficulties with communication, and marked behaviors such as repetition (of words or behaviors); social withdrawal lack of interest in relationships; and in some cases speech impairments.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 1 in 59 children fit in the criteria for autism spectrum disorder, and it is four times more common in boys than in girls. There are no known causes for autism, however research has suggested that genetic factors seem to play a role in the development of the condition.

5 Balance Ball Activities for Kids:

Balance balls are often used to assist children with poor posture or back problems to help them build core strength during a workout. Balance balls have also become a popular treatment modality for children with ADD/ADHD, autism, and other types of sensory integration challenges. Teachers and occupational therapists use balance balls to help children improve their gross motor skills and manage sensory integration.

Learn how more movement can lead to greater stillness and improved attention with the use of a balance ball!

Benefits of Using a Balance Ball:

For Children with ADHD:

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioral disorder that often results in significant learning and sensory motor problems. Children with ADHD have an inability to sit still and pay attention in the classroom. These children often fail to complete assignments and do not perform as well academically as children without ADHD. Children with ADHD who use balance balls, minimize their out-of-seat time when completing schoolwork and homework. These balance balls also help prevent children from tilting backwards in their chairs, balancing on the back of the headrest, and assuming uncomfortable or harmful postures due to their inability to focus.

For Children with Autism/Sensory Processing Disorder:

Children with autism or sensory processing issues can be over or under sensitive to proprioception (body movement, position, and balance). Sensory-seeking children often require more proprioceptive input and sensory stimulation. These children enjoy activities like jumping or hopping as well as bumping or crashing into things to feel the physical contact and pressure. Knowing your child’s reactions and triggers can help you find which balance ball exercises will work best.

For Children with Weak Core Strength
While adding fun to their daily exercise routine, a balance ball can be used to challenge and improve children's balance, coordination, and muscles in many ways. Children with weak core muscle strength may have difficulty with simple activities such as keeping the correct sitting posture. Core strength is the development of the torso muscles that stabilize, align, and move the trunk of the body. You might find children leaning, falling off their chair, or propping their head up with their hands. Poor posture can also affect gross motor and fine motor skills. By using an exercise ball to build strong core strength, you are building a strong foundation for your child.

How to Choose the Right Size:

While height plays the biggest role in finding the right size for your balance ball, it’s also important to consider the child’s weight. A child whose weight-to-height ratio is higher than average will cause greater compression to the ball when they are seated. Some additional guidelines to follow include:

When seated upright on the balance ball, make sure that your child’s feet are flat on the ground. In addition, their weight should be evenly distributed across the top of the ball

Your child’s knees should be level or slightly lower than their pelvis. This will create a 90-degree angle at both the hips and knees with the thighs parallel to the ground

Your child’s ears, shoulder and pelvis should be in a vertical line, with no leaning necessary to act as a counterbalance to keep them seated on the ball. If they are slightly leaning, try having your child bounce up and down a little to assist with alignment

Measure the distance from your child’s armpit to their middle fingertip. This measurement will give you an estimate of what the diameter of the ball should be
By taking the time to choose the right size and type of balance ball, you’re committing to getting the most out of it each time your child uses it.

5 At-Home Gross Motor Activities:

Implementing at-home gross motor activities using a balance ball can assist with the development and building of bilateral coordination, core muscle strength, vestibular sensory input, postural stability, and so much more. When beginning these core strengthening exercises, start with just a few at a time. Make sure to find some that your child loves to engage in. You should see your child start to develop self-confidence and endurance as they progress in their daily routine. At this point, you can begin adding new exercises or gross motor activities.

The Rainbow Pass:

Lying flat on your back, start with the ball in your hands above your head
Lift the ball over your head while lifting your feet to the ball
Place the ball in your feet and bring the ball down to the floor. Move your feet back up to pass the ball to your hands
Continue to pass the ball between your hands and feet to create a “rainbow” shape

Flipped Over:

Sit on top of the ball and slowly roll the ball away from you so that you begin to tip backwards
Parents - hold onto your child’s hips or thighs for additional support

Continue to fall backwards until you are hanging upside down with your hands over your head

Bouncing:

Sit on top of the ball and start to bounce up and down on the ball
Parents - hold your child’s hips, thighs, or ankles for additional support

You can also bounce rhythmically while counting or singing a song with a repeatable beat

Prone Position on the Ball:

Lie your stomach on the ball as you roll back and forth
Parents - You can also roll your child forwards and have them hold themselves up on their arms while playing with a toy or completing a puzzle. This helps increase strength and provide proprioceptive input to improve body awareness

Superman Lifts:

Start on all fours with the ball under the stomach
Lift your arms (with elbows straight or behind your head), head, and shoulders off the ball
Hold for 3-5 seconds. Your upper body should be positioned like you are superman flying in the air

Movements can be added to make these exercises more challenging as the child becomes stronger. The large size of a balance ball makes it simple for children to use it to learn skills such as throwing and catching too. Hand-eye coordination can be addressed by having the child pass the ball to another child while stepping in a sideways motion. Kicking the ball develops coordination and leg muscles. Even toddlers can learn basic ball skills by rolling the ball to another person and then putting their arms out to receive it back.

Conclusion;

Active children often have big proprioceptive and vestibular needs. By using a balance ball, you’re providing your child deep sensory processing input that can help calm and regulate them. Some classrooms will allow your child to sit on a ball while doing class work as it can help your child have a sense of movement while staying seated. Implement several at-home activities to help improve balance, core strength, posture, and more!

I have worked as a pediatric occupational therapist my entire career. I have worked with infants and children in a variety of therapy settings including hospital inpatient (NICU, PICU, med/surg, cardiac, burn unit), outpatient, school-based, early intervention, and home-based. I also have experience with aroma therapy and aquatic therapy. I was a full-time consultan occupational therapist. for over 15 years and have a lot of experience working with Individual Education Plans (IEP's) for students with special needs, as well as Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP's) for infants and children with special needs through the Missouri First Steps program.

I have treated a wide variety of diagnoses including, but not limited to: Developmental Delay, Cerebral Palsy, Prematurity, Down syndrome, Autism/ASD/PDD, Rett Syndrome, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Cleft Lip/Palate, genetic syndromes, Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD), Traumatic Brain Injury, ventilator and tracheostomy dependency,
Brachial Plexus Injury, feeding disorders, upper extremity orthopedic impairment, upper extremity prosthetics and splinting,
and cortical visual impairments (CVI).

Specialties: I specialize in ORAL MOTOR and FEEDING ISSUES (especially transitioning an infant or child from G-tube to oral feedings), SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDERS, and NEURODEVELOPMENTAL TREATMENT (NDT). I’ve taken over 350 hours of continuing education directly related to pediatric therapy. I am an authorized provider for THE LISTENING PROGRAM. Dr. V.S.KARTHIKEYAN,
CONSULTANT OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST.
MOBILE NO; +91 9843372816,
EMAIL ID; [email protected]

Why, Why, Why!

The most popular question I get from parents of teens and young adults on the spectrum is “Why does my son struggle so much in simple, real life judgment and reasoning? Why can he know what he is supposed to do, but stumble so much while doing it?” Another one is “We can preview what to do before he leaves, but he forgets to do it once there!” Another popular question is “Why can’t he see the effects his behavior is having on others, and not see when he is out of sync with everyone else?”

The answers to these questions lie in the “executive functioning” center of the brain (frontal lobes). This area of the brain gives us the ability to appraise a situation, plan and organize a course of action, execute the plan, and monitor how we are doing while carrying out the action. To effectively carry out a course of action that matches the expectations of the demands, you have to engage in multi-tasking (which is a brain function difficult for people on the spectrum.)

To match your behavior to the situational demands you have to (1) continually appraise the situation, (2) assess what is needed, (3) plan how to respond, (4) monitor how you are doing as you are “doing” it, and (5) evaluate how effective your actions are. You have to perform all these five functions simultaneously to stay coordinated with the expectations. It requires the abilities to (1) process multiple information simultaneously and (2) multi-task the five functions above. This is where the person on the spectrum has difficulty with any social situations that demands them to perform. Plus, when you add the “anxiety” over performing under such conditions, what ability they have to multi-task crumbles. In essence, most daily responding that doesn’t involve responding by “habit” requires us to “think about” what we are doing while we are doing it. We step back and monitor what we are doing as we are doing it. We are constantly appraising, evaluating, and adjusting or actions based on this monitoring. This is very difficult for people on the spectrum.

At best, most kids on the spectrum can learn to appraise what is needed before acting, rather than during the response. They need to plan out a course of action based on that appraisal. However, once they decide to act, they have difficulty “monitoring” their actions while doing them. They have difficulty continually appraising, evaluating, and adjusting their actions in the mist of doing them. So, if their actions are not in sync with what is needed, they often have no clue that they are off balance. Or, if they feel that they are off course, they do not know why and what to do about it.

How can we help?

1. Prepare the child before entering a situation about (1) what he can expect, and (2) what is expected of him. Lay out a script for him. Very literally define any rules and expectations on what to do and what not to do. If possible role play and practice any known behavior expectations, and how to handle possible snags. Give them a mental map to follow.

2. Simply providing them a mental map a head of time is not enough. People on the spectrum have problems with “working memory.” They may understand what you tell them is expected, but forget it during the acting of “doing.” They often have a hard time maintaining this information in their “working (short term) memory”, and referencing back and forth between this memory and their behavior to keep their actions in sync with what is needed. We think that by telling them what is expected (previewing), they will naturally remember to do it. Then get mad at them for not following the expectations. We can enhance this previewing by providing them a more concrete path to follow. The following are possible strategies to use.

a. Use concrete visual roles and rules. For example, when taking a young child grocery shopping, you have to provide very concrete rules that set a path for correct behavior (otherwise they are all over the place and getting into everything). We need to give the child a role to play (push the cart) and concrete boundaries (path), such as “hands always on the cart, and walk alongside mom”. These two tools, concrete “roles and rules,” provide the visual “map” to keep the child on the correct “path.” If they start to steer off these boundaries (take hands off cart, or walk faster than mom) then we stop the action and redirect them back on track. When they don’t have a clear path, they are left to wonder haphazardly and get into trouble. We often yell at them to stop doing annoying things without providing them a concrete path to follow.

b. Another tool that can help is connecting the child’s actions to the sequential steps of the task by providing visual cues to each step. This is when picture sequence routines are helpful. Sequence of pictures of “what to do” at each step. When “A” happens, you do this, than when “B” happens, you do that, etc. The visual cue of each step of the task can cue them what to do next. Scrape the plate, then rinse the plate, then place it in the dishwasher, with a picture designating each step.

c. Another tool for bridging the weak “working memory” is to provide written instructions as a path to follow. At each step of the task, the child can reference the directions as needed, just like we navigate a map, street signs, etc. while driving. This often works well for school tasks; writing down the steps and directions. This gives a check list of what to do, step by step through the task.

3. Once the child starts into action, he must learn to monitor (appraise, evaluate, and adjust) what he is doing as he is doing it, to make sure he is doing it right. To help with this, teach the child to break the task/event down into sequential steps, than for each step “appraise, act, and evaluate”. Appraise what is needed for that step, do the step, then evaluate how he did before moving on to the next step. If the child has difficulty understanding what is “good enough” performance, provide him with a model, or picture of what the completed step looks like. This way he can check his performance to the model. We teach the “habit” of appraising what to do, doing it, then checking to see if it is right before moving on. So a multi-step task will be broken down into sequential steps of appraise-act-evaluate, appraise-act-evaluate, etc. The child is going to need some coaching to learn how to appraise and evaluate. This can be very taxing and mentally draining for the child. However, over time, the performance with become more automatic (habit).

4. Until the child becomes old enough to do the “self monitoring” in step 3, he will need someone coaching him during the action. This is where “guided participation” is a good technique. With guided participation, the coach and child do the action together, with the child learning by following the lead of the coach. The coach teaches by showing and using assistance to keep the child on the right “path.” Guided participation provides a very clear path, along with assistance to frame the child’s actions to stay on the right path. Once the child understands what is needed, the guide fades the assistance.

5. Another good strategy used in guided participation is teaching the child what to reference when monitoring how he is doing. Frequently through the action, the coach stops and evaluates how well their action is (if they are on the right track). This teaches the child to (1) stop and check, as well as “what to check.”

6. Once the action/task is completed, then help the child evaluate how his performance was in regards to the “path” that was laid out. If they got off the path, discuss what broke down and how you can tighten up on the path.

In conclusion, in order to support the child with poor executive functioning skills, you need preview what is expected ahead of time, provide him a concrete path to follow, coach him down the path, and then help his evaluate how he did.

Respected all,

I am taking immense pleasure in sharing my heart felt thanks to The Central Government for passing of National commission for Allied and healthcare professionals bill in both Rajya sabha and Loksabha on behalf of International occupational therapists group I take previleage to convey my gratitude to Shri.Narendra Modi ji The Honourable Prime Minister of India and To Shri.Harshvardhan ji The Honourable Health Minister of India for making a long term vision come true for occupational therapists in India!!!

Long Live Modi ji !!!

Thank you!!!🙏🙏🙏

For Formation of council for occupational therapists in India!!!

Dr.Sai karthikeyan
Founder, International occupational therapists group!!!

On Behalf of Indian occupational therapist's Group we sincerely convey our gratitude to the Honorable Prime minister's and Honourable Health Minister for Passing of The National commission for Allied and Healthcare professions Bill in Rajya sabha yesterday we also thank you for considering all the requests and modifications requested from our professionals and giving independent medical professionals status for occupational therapy in India.

Thank you 🙏🙏

Dr.Saikarthikeyan
Founder ,Indian occupational therapists group(IOTG)

Improving Your Child’s Pencil Grip:

As occupational therapists, teachers and parents often approach us about their children’s awkward pencil grasp. Left unaddressed, pencil grip problems can end up affecting a child’s academic performance at school. And when children can see they’re not keeping up, it can lead to anxiety, frustration and low self-esteem, which can see them fall further behind.

The most efficient way to hold a pencil is the dynamic tripod grasp (similar to that in the image below) where the pencil is positioned between the thumb and index finger with the pencil resting on the middle finger. Another option is the quadrupod grasp, where the pencil is positioned between the thumb, index and middle fingers, the fourth finger stabilises the pencil and the fifth finger is curled in towards the palm.

If your child isn’t using one of these pencil grips yet, fine motor activities can help them develop the skills they need to hold their pencil functionally, and write more easily.

Fine Motor Strength:

Kids need strong hands and fingers for a whole range of day-to-day activities for school and play. Having strong wrists, hands and fingers helps children hold their pencil functionally, as well as helping them write with endurance and fluency.

Some great exercises to help build your child’s fine motor strength include:

Paper Crumpling: Have your child crumple up sheets of newspaper or scrap paper into the smallest, tightest ball possible. Increase the challenge by only letting them use one hand to crumple the paper.

CRAFT IDEA: Crumple small pieces of crepe or tissue paper into balls to decorate craft projects, like we do at our holiday groups!

Tape Races: Get your child to tear off lots of pieces of masking tape and place them down on a flat surface (e.g. a table or the floor). Then have a race to see how many they can peel off in one minute!

CRAFT IDEAS:

Use the strips of tape to make an artwork
Write your child’s name and then they can cover the lines of the letters using small pieces of tape
Play-Doh and Theraputty Exercises: These games are always popular with kids!

Make a spider or octopus by having your child first roll the putty into a ball, flatten it down, and then pinch out eight legs using their pincer fingers (thumb and index finger)
Make spaghetti by having them pull off small pieces of Play-Doh and roll them into long ‘noodles’
Play a guessing game, where your child makes something using the putty and you or another child has to guess what it is!
Pegs: Pinching and squeezing clips, pegs, tweezers, or even tongs helps build hand muscle strength.

Have your child use pegs to pick up pom poms and move them into a bucket or sort them into groups by colour or size. Have a race to see who can do it the quickest!
Make a caterpillar! Cut out the shape of a caterpillar’s body and draw a face on one end. Have your kid clip pegs to the body as the caterpillar’s legs.

Separation of the Two Sides of the Hand:

Did you know our hands can be separated into two sides? The precision side (thumb, index finger, and middle finger) and the power side of your hand (fourth and fifth fingers). Being able to use the two sides separately is important for moving and using objects like pencils, cutlery and scissors.

We are best able to control the ‘precision’ side when our ‘power’ side is stable (curled up into our palm or extended away from the other fingers). In handwriting, this allows for fluency and control, which ultimately promotes neat handwriting.

Activity: To assist your child with this, you can encourage them to hold something (like a piece of LEGO, ball of Play-Doh or cotton wool, an eraser, button or coin) with their fourth and fifth fingers, while using their precision side by doing one of the following:

Flipping coins
Playing Connect Four or Battleship
Creating shapes or pictures using pipe cleaners or wikki sticks
Rolling Play-Doh into small balls
Squeezing a spray bottle with the pointer and middle fingers
Placing coins into a piggy bank
Holding a cotton ball in the palm with the ring and middle fingers while colouring, writing, or cutting.

Open Thumb Web Space:

The thumb web space is between your thumb and index finger (it makes an “O” when you make the “OK” sign). An open thumb web space is necessary for tasks requiring in-hand manipulation, such as moving coins from the palm to the fingertips or picking up a pencil. If the thumb is squashed up against the index finger, it makes it hard to move items. Writing with a closed web space often causes poor and slow handwriting, especially as kids are expected to write at faster speeds the older they get.

Activities: These activities can help open your child’s thumb web space:

Roll Play-Doh into small balls using the pads of the thumb and index finger
Pop bubble wrap (this can be fun to join in too!)
Thread plastic beads onto a string, place cereal O’s onto toothpicks, or stringing straws onto yarn
Play games like checkers where children have to grasp small disc-like pieces with a pincer grasp between their thumb and the pad of their index finger
Origami: There are loads of origami set books out there with different levels of difficulty

In-Hand Manipulation:

In-hand manipulation is the ability to move small objects around in your hand without using the other hand to help. This is, perhaps, the most complex fine motor skill as it involves three components:

1. Translation: Using your fingers to move or ‘squirrel’ a small item from your palm to your fingertips. (E.g. When you hold a coin in your palm and move it to your fingertips to push it into a piggy bank or vending machine).

2. Shift: Moving an object using the pads of your fingers. (E.g. Adjusting your pencil grip, or manipulating a button or a zipper with the fingertips).

3. Rotation: Rolling an object using your fingertips. (E.g. Rolling a pencil in your fingertips, turning a pencil over to use the rubber, or opening a bottle top by rotating the lid between your fingertips.)

If your child has difficulty with in-hand manipulation, they may use both hands for activities that would usually only require one or they may need to unnecessarily stabilise an object against their body to get the job done.

You can try these actives to improve your child’s in-hand manipulation, which will ultimately encourage use of a functional pencil grasp:

Pencil Games:

Hold the pencil in the fingertips, ready for writing, then “walk” the fingers to the eraser end of the pencil, then back to the tip
Turn the pencil between the thumb and fingertips: try turning it like a windmill in one direction, then the other
Practice flipping the pencil from eraser end to tip end

Extra Help

It’s important to try to improve a child’s pencil grasp earlier, rather than later because the older they get, the harder it will be to break their poor habits! These activities are a more effective (and fun!) way to help your little one develop a functional pencil grasp than just pencil to paper practice.

Our advice is to have a break from the iPad and screens, and to play with as many toys/utensils as they can get their hands on… Let them explore (with some guidance in the four areas above) and they will ultimately help themselves to produce controlled, legible handwriting!

If your child needs some extra assistance with their handwriting, please contact us or talk to your child’s Occupational Therapist directly.

Emotional regulation is the ability to control our emotions, majority of neurodiverse and neurotypical children has difficulty regulating their emotions which often results in various behavioral concerns

Take aways;

Understanding Emotional regulation

Understanding the spectrum of behavioral challenges and it's possible causes

Strategies to teach child to self regulate using ZONES OF REGULATION program.

Webinar is open to all professionals and parents of neurodiverse and neurotypical kids

Interested participants can register to:

7395909626
[email protected]

E-certificate will be provided to all participants

Students gets 50%off on fees

We are here with yet another major Sensory concern affecting child's participation in daily activities.

This webinar covers in detail about tactile defensiveness and potential results exhibited in various forms and their effective management strategies.

Intrested participants can register ASAP

Dear all,
Lock down webinar series session this weekend we have planned to focus on important Goals in Paediatric management so we invite all parents, budding therapist and students to participate actively in the interactive webinar.

Register faster!!!

Thank you!!!

Dear all,
Lock down webinar series tomorrow session registration closes by today night all of you kindly register faster.
Have a happy learning!!!