Pediatric Therapy of Colorado

04/11/2025

04/10/2025

Love these creative ways to strengthen pencil grasp! Here are more ideas: https://www.theottoolbox.com/improving-pencil-grasp-with-fine-motor/

04/10/2025

Such a good reminder in case you haven’t heard it recently...carly

04/10/2025

Over on the website, we have a resource all about preschool midline crossing.
These age-appropriate activities target midline crossing and are great for motor planning, visual motor skills, and brain breaks for the preschool age. https://www.theottoolbox.com/crossing-midline-activities-for-preschoolers/

There are some early warning signs we might see in the preschooler who struggles with crossing their midline. When we see a difficulty with the integrated motor patterns, this can be an indicator for various challenges.

🚩Some of the ways that difficulties with preschool crossing midline will present as:

>>Not developing a dominant hand. Students use the left hand for left sided tasks and the right side for right sided tasks. https://www.theottoolbox.com/hand-dominance-laterality-functional-activities-kids/
>>Showing delays in crawling, or an atypical crawling pattern. Here is a great article on Cross Crawling Activities. https://www.theottoolbox.com/cross-crawl-exercises/
>>Rotating or turning their entire body to retrieve objects on the other side of their body instead of reaching across the body to the other side
>>Having difficulty with age-appropriate self-care tasks like dressing or grooming activities
>>Skipping or doing jumping jacks in an uncoordinated manner. Check out this post on Gross Motor Midline Crossing Exercises​: https://www.theottoolbox.com/crossing-midline-march-gross-motor
>>Difficulty making a horizontal line across a piece of paper (may stop in the middle and switch hands, or pause visually) or forming letters
>>Visual perceptual difficulties: https://www.theottoolbox.com/visual-perceptual-skills/
>>Challenges with age-appropriate literacy skills (identifying letters, following pictures in a story- due to difficulty with visual tracking across the midline. Here is info on visual tracking: https://www.theottoolbox.com/what-is-visual-tracking/

If you see these things in the preschool years, it's ok! Kids develop at different rates. Try adding some play ideas that target these gross motor movements: https://www.theottoolbox.com/crossing-midline-activities-for-preschoolers/

04/09/2025

Before you spiral into guilt, frustration, or self-doubt — read this again.

Your child isn’t broken. You’re not a bad parent. And this isn’t chaos. It’s development.

Yes, this is perhaps an oversimplification of more intricate and complex science — but it’s also a useful one…

It speaks to the reality that what we EXPECT of our kids, and what their brains can actually DO are often wildly out of sync.

By age 5, your child has made huge strides — but key parts of the brain responsible for attention, regulation, memory, and follow-through are still maturing.

So when you have to repeat yourself... again... and again…

When you’re met with blank stares or wild defiance...

It doesn’t mean they’re ignoring you to push your buttons. It might just mean their brain didn’t hold onto what you said.

This isn’t an excuse. It’s a reality check.

And when we meet reality with compassion, we shift the entire tone of our parenting. Because the goal isn’t to get them to “act like an adult.” The goal is to raise them with enough understanding and support so they grow into one.

So next time they only listen only a fraction of the time — take a deep breath.

That’s not failure. That’s exactly what it looks like to parent a child whose brain is still under construction. ❤️

Quote Credit: ❣️

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04/09/2025

"Fresh air is as good for the mind as for the body."

This is so true, and so clearly evident when our "blahs" turn to "ahs" in nature.

Let's get out there and be refreshed!

04/09/2025

If you’re trying to encourage a child to tolerate different textures on his feet, or a child who is reluctant to let his feet touch different surfaces, these barefoot activities for kids might just be the way to get his attention and peak his interest. 👣👶

Want to know some of the benefits of going barefoot 🦶 and a few more activities to try? See below! 👇😊

04/09/2025

I used to love Simon Says as a kid. Try this with the kids; it will keep them moving, laughing, and having a great time.

04/07/2025

04/04/2025

"Auditory Processing Disorder is a neurological condition that impacts the way the brain is able to process what is heard. Somewhere between the sounds that are heard and how the brain remembers or understands those sounds, the information is jumbled or even lost.

What makes this condition so challenging to diagnose and so frustrating for many parents whose children struggle with this condition is that functional hearing is usually not affected in people with APD – it is the processing of sounds that is affected..."

Non-exhaustive list in the image below!

More auditory processing tools:
👂 https://www.theottoolbox.com/auditory-processing-activities/
👂 https://www.theottoolbox.com/product/auditory-processing-kit/

04/03/2025

So, so true.
Staying calm while everything is testing your patience is no easy feat. But rewarding and worth it when the storm passes.

Gentle does not equate to passive. Think of it as ‘respectful’.

•

Gentle Healing Mom

04/02/2025

Makes perfect sense! 🙃

04/02/2025

Words to live by 💛

04/02/2025

03/31/2025

It's OK to hold multiple emotions at one time in this profession!

03/31/2025

Popsicle Stick Bird Feeder - a fun summer craft! 🐦
🌼Full tutorial: https://www.thebestideasforkids.com/popsicle-stick-bird-feeder/

03/31/2025

Yessss Little Pine Learners! 🌿🛝💜