Music and Speech Therapy
By Pranali Shah MS, CF-SLP Music can be an extremely beneficial treatment for speech therapy. Music activates all areas of the brain simultaneously. For children, music can promote language development, improve speech production, improve memory and spatial-temporal learning. According to the American Music Therapy Association: “Music therapy is an evidence-based, allied health profession that uses […]
Sensory Activities for Infants and Young Children
By: Christine Hemelians, MS OTR/L Below listed are the various activities for infants and toddlers broken down into the different sensory systems. Proprioceptive system: (the body’s ability to sense movement, action, and location in space) Infants: Toddlers: Graded tummy time on caregiver’s chest (airplane rides) Running, jumping, hopping, skipping, climbing Lotion massage and joint […]
Springtime Mindfulness
By Erica Gliga, MOT, OTR/L Springtime is just around the corner and this blog post is all about getting outside, enjoying mindful moments with your littles in nature, and engaging different sensory systems. Nature is filled with so many wonderful sensory experiences and time spent outside can support emotional regulation, for both adults and children. […]
Seasonal Sensory Bins
By Erica Gliga MOT, OTR/L ‘Tis the season for sensory bins. This post shares 2 different seasonal sensory bin ideas to inspire some of your own creations to incorporate into play routines during the holiday season. Generally speaking, sensory bins can support development in a variety of ways such as providing tactile, visual, auditory, and […]
Sensory Diets
Does your child having a difficult time focusing? Are they always on the go? Climbing furniture, seeking touch, crashing into objects, placing inedible items in their mouth? Maybe they are a picky eater, or they do not like getting their hands messy. Are they excessively bothered by certain textures and do not like wearing socks? […]
Sound Machines
By Madison Gwizdalski MS, CCC-SLP There’s been a lot of noise recently regarding whether the use of sounds machines is helpful or harmful to babies. Many families swear by them, while others have sworn off them. We will walk you through the pros and cons of these machines, and provide you with some tips on […]
What is the Auditory System and Why is it Important?
The auditory system is how we process and understand the sounds within our environment. Auditory processing can be broken into 3 auditory skills: auditory awareness, auditory discrimination, and auditory identification. Auditory awareness is the ability to detect sounds. Auditory discrimination has various subsections, but in this case, it is referring to the ability to detect […]
Sensitive to Loud Noises?
Erica Gliga MOT, OTR/L Let’s break down what it might look like if your child is sensitive to loud noises and how to support them Sensory Processing We each experience the world differently depending on how our brain and nervous system interpret all the information from our senses. Take a moment to think about how […]
Sensory Strategies to Make Bath Time a Breeze
By Nicole Tutaj OTR/L Do you dread bath time because your kid rules the place or doesn’t like their hair washed? Maybe they don’t like being tipped backwards, having water poured on their face, or they’re just having too much fun and refuse to get out. Try the following strategies: 1) For the kid who […]
What is the interoceptive system?
By Ani Oganesyan OTR/L Have you heard about the interoceptive sensory system? It’s the 8th sensory system that is most often overlooked and is considered the “hidden sense”. Just like taste, touch, smell, seeing, hearing, vestibular, and proprioceptive senses, we use interoception to understand and make sense of our world. What is interoception? It is […]