November & Associates Therapy Center

08/05/2025

COMMON ENVIRONMENTAL BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
from James MacDonald's Communicating Partner's website:

Use this scale to discover what might interfere with your child's natural learning to communicate. Then, start making changes in the ones you can most easily change. The goal is to make your environment more actively allow and help your child interact first, then communicate.
1.____Partners act in ways the child cannot try to do
2.____Partners talk in ways the child cannot try to do
3.____Child spends little one on one time with people
4.____His living environment is noisy
5.____His visual environment is distracting
6.____He has few boundaries to limit his behavior
7.____His peers are overwhelming
8.____His environment allows few successes
9.____He has little access to quiet time
10.____People rarely enter into the child's choice and style of play
11.____Interactions with people are very brief
12.____His environment discourages communication
13.____His environment encourages more solo than social behavior
14.____Teaching focuses more on performance than conversation
15.____His environment encourages passive behavior
16.____His environment offers too many choices
17.____ He is not allowed enough time at an activity
18.____ He is expected to do things on his own without modeling
19.____He is regularly corrected and criticized
20.____He is regularly pressured to do difficult things.

What barriers will you start changing to help your child communicate?

08/04/2025

SCOOTER BOARDS!
Scooter boards are back in stock in green, blue, red, yellow, purple and orange www.ot-abc.com

X3 FREE sensory & motor products with every purchase of the scooter board TODAY www.ot-abc.com

Ideal for upper extremity strengthening, movement, motor planning and vestibular activities.

The integral contoured handles help children grip the scooter to aid stability and balance, helping inspire confident movement . Children can sit, kneel or lie prone position.

Encourages balance and motor planning

Develops strength in the core and helps to improve weak muscle tone
Helps kids estimate speed and distance

An ideal tool for children with sensory challenges

Age 2+

Carries weight up to 110kg

08/04/2025

Vestibular activities are great for stimulating the inner ear and helping with balance, coordination, and body awareness. These activities are especially useful for children with sensory processing needs, but they’re beneficial for all ages. Here are several vestibular activities you can do at home 👆

08/04/2025

✅ Benefits of Proprioceptive Activities for Kids

1. Improves Body Awareness

Kids learn to understand how their body moves, how much pressure to use, and where they are in space — essential for coordination and safety.

2. Calms and Regulates Emotions

Proprioceptive input has a calming effect on the nervous system. It can help reduce anxiety, hyperactivity, or sensory overload, especially for neurodivergent children (e.g. autism, ADHD).

3. Enhances Focus and Attention

After proprioceptive input, kids often feel more grounded and ready to concentrate on tasks like schoolwork or listening.

4. Supports Motor Skills

These activities build strength, coordination, and motor planning (knowing how to start and carry out a movement sequence).

5. Promotes Better Sleep

Deep-pressure input and heavy work can help prepare the body for rest by releasing serotonin and melatonin.

08/04/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15qYdaE3kP/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Core strength is so important for the development of the muscles in the trunk, including the abdominals, back, hips, and pelvis, which are essential for postural stability, balance, and coordination. These foundational skills support a wide range of daily activities and functional tasks in children, such as handwriting, self-care, gross motor play, and sitting at a desk.

07/21/2025

07/19/2025

What is ARFID?