Starfish Therapies
Starfish Therapies Newsletter
Happy Thanksgiving!

November 2010

Volume 24

In This Issue
Starfish Updates
Just For Fun
Out and About
TheraTogs
Prematurity Awareness
Starfish Updates
starfish
Blog:  Check out our most recent blog posts! Giving Back:  Our donations this month went to support Children's Hospital Oakland and the Jean Weingarten Peninsula Oral School.
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Just For Fun
Park Math

DuckDuckMoose Presents Park Math!

Come play at the park, and learn to count, add, subtract, sort and more!  Park Math introduces early math concepts to children in Preschool and Kindergarten (ages 1-6). 


Park Math includes 7 fun educational activities:
1) SWING: NUMBERS - Count up to 50 as a rabbit swings.
2) SLIDE: ADDITION -- Help ducks climb to the top of a slide and learn how to add.
3) SEESAW: GREATER / LESS THAN -- Balance a seesaw by adding and subtracting mice.
4) APPLE TREE: SUBTRACTION -- Learn how to subtract as apples fall from a tree.
5) SANDBOX: PATTERNS -- Complete the pattern in a sandbox with the correct toy. 
6) BENCH: SORTING -- Order the dogs from small to large.  Order numbers in sequence.
7) PICNIC: COUNTING -- Feed a hippo the correct number of food items.

Out and About
Let Kids Play
The Holiday Season is fast approaching and many of you may be looking for great gifts for the kids in your life.  Let Kids Play posts each week for a period of 50 days, 50 great toys.  Check out their posts for some great ideas for your family and friends!  They send out a weekly newsletter and then their blog each day talks about the toy of the day.
Greetings!

Welcome back! Hope you are enjoying the beginning of the busy holiday season and can find a few minutes to read this issue.  Enjoy!
What's new with TheraTogs? 
theratogIn one of our previous newsletters, we introduced TheraTogs to you.  Now they have some new and exciting updates that we would like to share with you.  Since it's been awhile since we've talked about TheraTogs, here is a reminder about what the are and how they assist in the therapeutic process for, in our case, children but adults as well.

TheraTogs, Inc. describes this orthotic garment as a "live-in exo-muscular system for neuromotor, postural, and sensory training. The system provides a versatile, flexible approach to addressing and managing mobility, sensory input, and stability issues." The garment is made from a patented inner foam layer that gently grips the skin and a velcro-sensitive outer layer that allows for the attachment of elastic straps that are thought to act as external muscles.  Therefore, TheraTogs allow for custom application to address the specific needs of each individual who wears them.  TheraTogs are designed for daily use over several hours, which allows for prolonged, low load forces to the musculoskeletal system to create changes in muscle recruitment strategies as well as bone and joint alignment if the child is still at an appropriate age for bone modeling.TheraTogs facilitate optimum posture and function by ensuring that the thousands of movement repetitions each person executes each day are occuring in an ideal alignment.

 

So Whats New...?

  • Posture and Torso Alignment (PTA) System: This is the newest addition to the TheraTogs line.  It was designed as a simple and effective way to address postural issues such as flexible kyphosis and lordosis and excess pelvic tilt as well as give support for impairments such as hypotonia and trunk instability.  It consists of 2 garments vs. the 3 of the full body system so it is easier to put on and take off.
  • GoldTone: TheraTogs is also featuring a new and improved fabric called GoldTone.  This new fabric has stretch, tension, and rebound properties designed specifically for biomechanical retraining. This durable fabric grips the skin and soft tissue to allow for biomechanical correction and neuromotor training for up to nine hours of daily use and then rebounds to it's original size ovenight.  It's tan color (see photo above) makes it less noticeable under clothing.
  • New Distributors: TheraTogs are now being sold by several distributors in the United States.  For a full list click here.

For more information regarding TheraTogs, to view all their products, or to find out about funding and reimbursement, visit their website.

Prematurity Awareness Month
 
march of dimesNovember is Prematuriy Awareness month. Every year, more than half a million, or 1 in 8, babies are born prematurely in the United States.  The rate of premature birth has risen by 30 percent since 1981 and it is the leading cause of newborn death worldwide.  Even babies born just a few weeks too soon face serious health challenges and are at risk for lifelong disabilities. The March of Dimes launched the Prematurity Campaign in 2003 to raise awareness about this issue, invest in educating moms-to-be to increase the chance of having a healthy, full term baby, and to support medical research. Since the campaign launched, there has been a 3 percent decline in premature births. To find out more about this cause or to make a donation click here.
 
To learn more specifics about premature birth, why it occurs and who is at increased risk, click here.
Thank you for your continued support.  We wish you health and happiness as the holiday season approaches.  See you next month!
Sincerely,


Stacy Menz
Starfish Therapies