North Florida Therapy Associates

04/11/2026

04/10/2026

Hooked on helping little hands grow this OT month! 🎣

Check out some of fin-tastic fishing games! We're reeling in skills and tackling fine motor goals one catch at a time 🐠💪

04/08/2026

Our therapists design fun activities to engage the client! This week, Ms. Kelsey is featuring a modified crab walk/v-sit on a scooter board with distal motor coordination.

04/05/2026

Happy Easter!

04/04/2026

Wishing all of our friends who celebrate a very Happy Passover!

04/03/2026

It's International Children's Book day! Books make the best therapy tools, and early intervention for speech and language issues is a good prognostic indicator for literacy skills. What are some of your favorite children's books?

04/01/2026

Happy April Fool's Day!
😜

03/31/2026

Did you know that reading and writing are directly connected to visual motor skills, speech and language, as well as executive functioning skills? It's one big all-encompassing group of skills that are interconnected, and the sharpening of those skills is critical for a student's success and personal best.

Executive function is directly connected to reading and writing in the following ways:
-letter recognition
-sounding out letters and words
-comprehending words with multiple meanings
-understanding and recognizing passive vs. active voice
-the ability to focus

As Speech Language Pathologists, we often combine reading and writing in our treatment plans, as speech and language difficulties span the range of oral/vocal presentation to reading and writing challenges. There are a number of ways that we are able to assist our patients who have reading, writing, or learning difficulties.
How can you help your child in these areas? There are some really wonderful tools on the market to help with reading and writing. Here are a few of our favorites:

Abilitations Hi-Write paper: https://www.amazon.com/Abilitations-Hi-Write-Journal-Pages-Sheets/dp/B005P3LOXY/ref=ast_sto_dp_puis

Finger Focus Highlighter: https://www.amazon.com/hand2mind-FingerFocus-Highlighters-Individual-Removable/dp/B081R3LLJD/ref=pd_ybh_a_7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TPVWME1T96V8J3T9TF4Q&content_source=fb&fb_content_id=Q9-wBQGhRWrNLd227xxMwKO67S5d6JLV_C3QBoPIpTza6qdWZo_3O0PwN7aiR5WqHA&channel_type=fb&fbclid=IwY2xjawQ5LDxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFnYXVhOWJGYTBGeGxRa1Zxc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHseCVP2g-DdU5g99FQ-57ur02rRQW3BVcfSL4S1ETx-tj2BBt7VS6Apd4XIy_aem_FGZtAXfnZHbFoPizFZy5YA

Color Overlays: https://www.amazon.com/Overlays-Reading-Excellent-Dyslexia-Syndrome/dp/B0CP83LNPF/ref=pd_ybh_a_8?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=GSX0Q1X7S15VB9H1CNDH&content_source=fb&fb_content_id=Q9-wBQGhRWrNLd227xxMwKO67S5d6JLV_C3QBoPIpTza6qdWZo_3O0PwN7aiR5WqHA&channel_type=fb&fbclid=IwY2xjawQ5LK9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFnYXVhOWJGYTBGeGxRa1Zxc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHpRiywLlt7ChiZvq22WM64P3SnRXs7tEEsal0pYpBxmN5MjCER5xnl1CgwBe_aem_7056ecczffRKwqQL2CbTHw&th=1

Guided Reading Strips: https://www.amazon.com/Highlight-Bookmarks-Dyslexia-Children-Assistant/dp/B07QNSGBJN/ref=pd_ybh_a_9?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=WC8G96MX0QTMWA0FDYGR&content_source=fb&fb_content_id=Q9-wBQGhRWrNLd227xxMwKO67S5d6JLV_C3QBoPIpTza6qdWZo_3O0PwN7aiR5WqHA&channel_type=fb&fbclid=IwY2xjawQ5LM1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFnYXVhOWJGYTBGeGxRa1Zxc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHryu0ck7TPZRr0nvj-uLty5gmJbarXccnXLgzQyBwsQjd5xRVv2rJgBb4sgg_aem_Erls1_yAS-RWXvwfiGrqfQ&th=1

03/26/2026

Attention parents and guardians! With spring break behind us and 4th quarter underway, it's time to assess what the next 2 months of school will look like as we head into the home stretch! Take a look at your child's IEP and determine when it was implemented and whether it needs to be updated. Be sure to reach out to your child's coordinator at school to schedule an IEP meeting so that the document is completed and ready to go for the upcoming school year. It's best to have IEP meetings before the current school year ends, otherwise you'll end up having to wait several weeks for the new school year to begin before you can get a meeting scheduled. The delay usually allows teachers time to get to know your child and you may not be as happy with the accommodations being offered or suggested. It's more helpful to have their current teacher's input to set your child up for success when the new school year begins, this way they can hit the ground running! Need some more help? Ask your child's therapist to weigh in on accommodations to suggest or request at the IEP meeting so that your child receives maximum support in the classroom that will carry over into our therapy sessions at North Florida Therapy Associates.

03/24/2026

Did you know that crossword puzzles and other game-based worksheets can help to sharpen your child's learning skills AND language skills? Crossword puzzles help the child's critical thinking skills by having them use clues to generate words. Use a crossword puzzle to stimulate your child's mind and have them recite words to practice their speech and language articulation. The added bonus of this activity comes in the form of fine motor skills, by having your child write the word in the designated boxes. This exercise is great for hand-eye coordination, and allows them to practice handwriting by keeping their letters contained to the small boxes. This simple activity spans the range of OT and speech language!
You can find great downloadable PDFs on websites such as Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest. Short on time? Ask your therapist for some recommended sheets and they'd be happy to send some home for you!

03/23/2026

Check out the UFHealth Spring Fling for individuals with special needs on March 26, 2026 from 5:30-8pm
6271 St. Augustine Rd., Suite 1
Jacksonville, FL 32217

03/22/2026

Do your children have trouble following directions? Let's be honest, with the onslaught of people migrating to the state of Florida, it's clear that even the adults can use some refreshers on learning and following directions!
Here is a super fun and engaging way to actually teach children their directions: get some road tape (Amazon has some!) and lay it out on a flat surface, such as a floor or a table. Grab a few matchbox cars and line them up. Give each child directions one step at a time and increase it to three-step directions as their understanding improves. You can even get silly with your directions and instruct the children to place things over, under, above, below, behind, or in front of objects. This all helps with visual perception, following multi-step instructions, and executive functioning skills.
Here is a super fun and engaging way to actually teach children their directions: get some road tape (Amazon has some!) and lay it out on a flat surface, such as a floor or a table. Grab a few Matchbox cars and line them up. Give each child directions one step at a time and increase it to three-step directions as their understanding improves. You can even get silly with your directions and instruct the children to place things over, under, above, below, behind, or in front of objects. This all helps with visual perception, following multi-step instructions, and executive functioning skills.