Chief Therapy

05/16/2021

Try some of these ideas to strengthen pencil grasps, using what you've got in the home:

https://www.theottoolbox.com/improving-pencil-grasp-with-fine-motor/

AND here:

https://www.theottoolbox.com/tripod-grasp-fine-motor-skills-everyday-items/

05/10/2021

Y'all! it is ALMOST SUMMER! SO exciting ☀

I am offering an 8 week Summer Session for those who would like to keep up with therapy while school is out or just get started while they have some extra time! Sessions will begin the week of June 7 and go through August 8. This summer session will be discounted from my regular rates to the first 5 people to sign up! Please reach out for more information!
Phone/Text - 4236205064
chiefoccupationaltherapy@gmail.com

04/29/2021

When you do therapy in a barn, you use whatcha got! Jump poles, dressage letters, and camper leveling blocks for the win as the obstacle course in the big “sand box” (aka indoor arena) to work on visual scanning, balance, sensory processing, attention, and SO much more! 🐴


*posted with written permission from family*

04/29/2021

This! Y’all. This kiddo and this horse had an INSTANT bond like I’ve never seen. He talked to her like she was his best friend. He was calm. He used his words. He touched her ever so softly and gently. The picture we didn’t get, was once we got her in the barn, his sweet little hands cupped her face so softly while he was talking to her so and she lowered her head to him to speak her own language back to him. It was beautiful. This is why I do what I do 💜

*posted with written permission from family*

04/12/2021

This is SO important and something I am happy to address!

Fascinating connections between emotional regulation/social emotional skills and executive functioning skills. It makes total sense. Emotional regulation is essentially a person’s ability to manage stress.

This is not a skill we are born with. For children, particularly those who have anxiety, autism, ADHD, FASD, early childhood trauma, Sensory Processing Disorder, and other special needs, it can be especially challenging. Poor emotional regulation can lead to social issues, meltdowns, problems at home and school, negative behavior, anxiety, and later in life, even addictions and difficulty with relationships.

This impacts in ways maybe where the connection between ER & EF isn’t obvious:
•Making decisions based on ethical and social norms in play, learning, or work
•Understanding/Engaging in social expectations (social norms) in dressing, bathing, grooming, etc.
•Social participation
•Conflict resolution with friends
•Empathizing with others
•Responding to feedback in school, home, or work tasks
•Making good judgement and safety decisions in the community
•Showing manners
•Understanding subtle social norms in the community or play
•Transitions in tasks in school or at home

Many of the areas (occupations) that those with EF challenges struggle in are impacted by emotional regulation. Many of the areas of struggle in daily tasks have a component related to impulse control, working memory, attention, focus, metacognition, and persistence, etc.

Occupational therapists address all of these areas in their sessions with clients at all stages of the lifespan.

🎉🎉Happy OT month! 🎉🎉

Read more- https://www.theottoolbox.com/emotional-regulation-and-executive-function/

04/07/2021

WE HAVE A LOGO!!! What do you all think?!

04/01/2021

This 🙌🏼💜

So tell me, what is it YOU strive to do on a daily basis that makes your soul happy?!

Mine is horses... I use to say "riding"...though, the older I’ve gotten and busier I became with this adult life stuff (ie working and school and business and relationships and all the things in between), the more I have come to appreciate the simple things horses bring to my life. Do I ride everyday? Not usually. Do I compete like I did when I was a teenager? definitely not. Do I still love the smell of the barn? YES! Do I take more time doing the little things with horses than I use to? YES. My "occupation" has changed with horses, and that's ok.... it's not about competing and riding for me...but, it IS about continuing to do what makes my soul happy and finding any way I can to enjoy the things I love!
So you see, no matter what we are going through in our life, our “occupations” change slightly due to the many different circumstances of life (everyday life or ailment), and that’s ok! Because as long as we find a way to do what we love, THAT is the important thing 💜

03/29/2021

Happy Monday!

I am thrilled to announce that I am accepting new clients! PM/text/call me to set up a time for evaluation!😀

03/04/2021

Tidbit #3:
What’s the big deal about a therapist using a horse as a tool instead of a medicine ball/treadmill/endless range of motions/sensory bins/etc, you ask? Let me explain…

The average horse walks at a rate of approximately 100 steps per minute. Just 5 minutes on a walking horse represents 500 neuro motor inputs to the patient. In a typical therapy session, 15 to 25 minutes of equine movement may be incorporated by the treating therapist – which represents 1500 to 2500 neuromotor inputs to the patient.
Incorporating hippotherapy into an occupational therapy session can serve as a powerful tool for the facilitation of the key neuromotor systems that support function. Skillfully applied equine movement can offer the patient the opportunity for complex motor learning. Hippotherapy is combined with other standard therapy tools/strategies in an intervention plan designed to address the treatment needs of the client.
Strength, Muscle Coordination, and Sensory Processing used for walking, talking, and the use of fine motor skills for activities of daily living and general attention to tasks have all been shown to be positively impacted by equine movement as a facilitation tool/strategy, when under the direction of a therapist, as part of a larger total plan of care. In addition, increased motivation and participation in treatment and social emotional benefits have been reported.

02/25/2021

Tidbit #2: This is by far the biggest question I run into with the general public and therapists alike… “but isn’t hippotherapy the same thing as therapeutic riding?" NO… NO it is not and let me tell you why....
Hippotherapy differs greatly from horseback riding and adaptive riding/therapeutic riding (these two phrases are often interchanged); adaptive riding is a riding lesson adapted for individuals with special needs taught by horseback riding instructors. This activity is recreationally based, and goals may address leisure, education, socialization, competition in the sport, and fitness. It is not the goal of the riding instructor to rehabilitate, but rather to improve riding skills and quality of life through participation in an enjoyable activity.

SO, let us recap for those of us who like foot notes…. Hippotherapy is a TOOL used by a LICENSED PT/OT/ST and Therapeutic riding is a RECREATIONAL activity.

If you want to do some research on your own, check out these websites! The therapeutic riding association is PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) https://www.pathintl.org/ and the American Hippotherapy Association https://www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org

Happy Thursday!

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02/18/2021

Hey ya'll! I'm going to be posting some little tidbits over the next couple of weeks to get you thinking about why hippotherapy is such an amazing tool for therapists and how it differs from other terms/phrases we might hear when it comes to horses... Let me know what you think!

Did you know....
First of all, we aren’t using hippos around here…. Hippo- is Greek for horse. So there we have it, HIPPO-therapy, aka Horse-therapy.

The term hippotherapy refers to how occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology professionals use evidence-based practice and clinical reasoning in the purposeful manipulation of equine movement as a therapy tool to engage sensory, neuromotor and cognitive systems to promote functional outcomes (americanhippotherapyassociation.org).

There is NO such thing as “hippotherapists”, “hippotherapy service”, nor are there “hippotherapy programs”. Therapists do not “perform hippotherapy”. Licensed therapy professionals in PT, OT and SLP incorporate equine movement into their plans of care for their patients as a ” therapy tool”.

From a therapist standpoint, my favorite quote is this...
"Hippotherapy is a treatment strategy that is meaningful and functionally relevant, and can specifically address impairments of tone, range of motion, timing, attention, arousal, coordination, balance, and postural control. "

Happy Thursday!