OT for Kids

07/30/2025

😱 Sensory differences can mean STRESS!

Signs of sensory avoiding and more information from The OT Toolbox at: https://www.theottoolbox.com/understanding-sensory-dysregulation/

07/28/2025

🌊 Iceberg Concept and Whole Child Approach...
Think of a child’s behavior as the tip of the iceberg...it’s what we see on the surface. A meltdown, refusal to participate, trouble sitting still, or emotional outburst might seem like the "problem." But just like an iceberg, most of what’s really going on is beneath the surface.

That’s where the whole child approach comes in.

The whole child model reminds us that every child is made up of interconnected parts: sensory needs, motor skills, emotional regulation, communication abilities, cognitive development, social understanding, and environmental factors. These underlying skills and experiences shape what we see on the outside.

So when we look below the surface using both lenses (iceberg thinking + whole child perspective) we stop asking, “How do I fix this behavior?” and start asking, “What’s this behavior telling me about what my child needs?”

Example:
A child is refusing to write in preschool.
Surface behavior (tip of iceberg): Avoiding writing tasks, tantrums, shutting down.

Underlying skills (beneath the surface):
🧊Fine motor delays
🧊Poor pencil grasp
🧊Sensory discomfort
🧊Low frustration tolerance
🧊Lack of confidence
🧊Difficulty with visual-motor integration

The whole child approach helps us support all of those needs, not just focus on “getting them to write.”

✅ Key Takeaway:
The iceberg shows us there’s more than meets the eye.
The whole child approach gives us the map to understand it, and support every layer with care.

07/26/2025

Get to the root cause of your kiddos problems! Don't just treat the symptoms!

The symptoms of PANS/PANDAS are the same, but an individualized treatment approach is necessary for healing!

Symptoms can include (but are not limited to) severe neuropsychiatric symptoms such as food refusal, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), sleep disturbance, anxiety, defiant behavior, tics, and trouble with bladder control. Often these symptoms appear suddenly.

Give us a call or visit thepandasdocs.com if you’re interested in becoming a patient! We can only treat US residents at The Center For Fully Functional Health and the first visit must be done in person in Carmel, IN.

📞(317) 989-8463

07/22/2025

07/09/2025

🎙️ Episode 90 is LIVE!

Join me. Host Heather Gray interviews me, Julie Matthews, Certified Nutrition Consultant & author of The Personalized Autism Nutrition Plan.

With 20+ years in autism-focused nutrition, I share my game-changing approach to supporting kids with ASD, ADHD & anxiety through personalized nutrition.

Key Topics:
✨ Science-backed therapeutic diets for autism
✨ Supporting picky eaters with sensory sensitivities
✨ Her practical 12-step roadmap
✨ Why some parents don't see results (and how to fix it!)
✨ The role of pyroluria & inflammation in ASD

Watch now: wearenikki.com/nikki-podcast/episode-90-Julie-Matthews

Thanks Renegade Health Boss

07/07/2025

From Kim

I read this yesterday just after I'd removed the broom from blocking the back door. Sudden Onset Insomnia has struck again here. We have door chimes, but I can't always hear them from my bedroom, so I use the broom as back up noise.

Our autism mindset affects other relationships. All relationships. Like how I assist my 85 year old Mom via Ring cameras set up 140 miles away.

My observations are mostly predicated on constant disaster, worry, thinking ahead. I make different suggestions than my brother (no children) and sister (1 son, married.) My ex-husband has taken me to court assuming that when I say, "No" to something he wants, it's about an ex-wife just being contrarian, that it's a power play about him. Never. It's always built on worry for my daughters.

I took a computer programming class in college. There, I learned about the concept that would come to rule my life: Boolean logic. "And, Or, Else." It's our constant autism companion, "If, Then." The worry machine. From Grok: if-then statements are fundamentally tied to Boolean logic. The "if" condition evaluates to a Boolean value—true or false. If the condition is true, the "then" block executes; if false, it skips or executes an "else" block if present. The condition itself is typically a Boolean expression, like comparisons (`x > 5`) or logical operations (`is_active && has_permission`). So, at their core, if-then statements rely on Boolean evaluation to control program flow.

I got my only college C in that class. Kim

07/06/2025

Drop a 👶🏻 for the download!

06/27/2025

Remember this? The fine motor, visual motor, bilateral coordination skills at work here! 🤩

I kind of want to get some string and see if my muscle memory can do this now!

06/27/2025

Move! Create! Imagine! Ditch the screens!

📱 New Research Alert!

A comprehensive review of 132 longitudinal studies (nearly 300,000 children) finds a two-way link between screen use and socioemotional problems in kids.

The strongest effects? 🎮 Gaming.

🔁 More screen time ⇄ More emotional/behavioral issues

👀 It’s not just how long—it’s what they’re doing and who they’re doing it with.

📚 Full study in Psychological Bulletin: https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000468

06/26/2025

Dr. Nicole began as a special education teacher and later shifted into working with parents and children to empower parents to help their kids and continue therapies at home. Now she integrates healthy diet and lifestyle into her work as a psychologist.

In this interview, she'll talk about the connection between sensory processing disorder and picky eating and how some kids might not just grow out of picky tendencies.

https://kidscookrealfood.com/sensory-processing-disorder/

06/26/2025

A zinc deficiency, coupled with low calcium and magnesium levels, may impact your child's growth, behavior, and learning. https://ilslearningcorner.com/2016-01-zinc-deficiency-white-spots-child-nails-may-show-signs-of-learning-challenges/