Starfish Updates
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Motor Smart Kids: Our last day for group for the summer session will be August 28th. There will not be group September 4th. Our next 6 week session will begin Tuesday September 11th from 2:45-3:30. Cost is $90 for all 6 sessions or $20 for drop in sessions. For any questions or to sign your child up please call or email Corinne at 650-638-9142 . We hope to see your child at group!
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Out and About
With the Olympics over and the Paralympics quickly approaching many bloggers came up with ideas for kids themed Olympic activities! Here are a few of them:
What ideas have you come up with?
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Greetings!
Welome back! We hope you will enjoy reading this month. In this issue you will find some insight into sensory integration, occupational therapy and find out what's new with Starfish! |
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Making Sense of our World
The way in which we interact with the world around us depends on the countless number of sensations that we experience at every moment. There are some sensations that give us a conscious awareness of our environment. These sensations are called exteroceptors and include the visual sense, auditory sense, gustatory sense, olfactory sense, and tactile sense. We also have sensations that provide us information about where are body is in space and how we are moving. These sensations are called proprioceptors and include the proprioceptive sense and the vestibular sense. Finally, the visceral sense include senses within our internal organs and gives us information about what is going on inside our body. Our brain is required to organize all of these sensations so that we can move, learn and behave in a productive manner. Sensory Integration is the neurological process that organizes sensations from one's own body and the environment and allows us to respond to a situation in a purposeful manner. Sensory integration is the foundation for academic and social behavior. Occupational therapists receive frequent questions about the vestibular and proprioceptive system and the connection of these systems with sensory processing. Let's take a closer look at these 2 systems.
Vestibular System: structures in the inner ear (semi-circular canals) detect movement and changes in position of the head. The vestibular system tells you when your head is upright or tilted (even when vision is occluded). Some children may be hypersensitive (over sensitive) to vestibular stimulation and be fearful to ordinary movements such as swings and slide. They may also have difficulty learning to climb stairs or walk on uneven surfaces. They may seem fearful in space and appear clumsy. On the other hand, some children may be hyposensitive to vestibular input (decreased sensitivity). This child may seek out intense vestibular experiences such as jumping or spinning.
Proprioceptive system: The proprioceptive system is responsible for perceiving and integrating information from the body's muscles and joints. Proprioceptive input relays messages to the brain regarding how muscles are contracting and stretching and how joints are compressing or stretching. The proprioceptive system impacts a person's perception of the body and provides awareness of body position.
Sensory integration is a complex process that allows us to "make sense" of the world around us. It begins in the womb as the fetal brain senses the movements of the mother's body. Some people are especially good at organizing sensations. Others are average at organizing sensations and some people are poor. If the brain has difficulty organizing and integrating sensations, it will impact the person's life experiences and may contribute to difficulty learning and behavior problems. The following books are good resources to learn more about sensory processing:
- Sensory Integration and the Child by A. Jean Ayres
- Raising a Sensory Smart Child by Lindsay Biel and Nancy Peske
- The Out of Sync Child by Carol Stock Kranowitz
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School-based Vs. Clinic-based OT Services
 It's the month of August where the academic school year has already started or is about to start. A common question that is asked of our occupational therapists is "What is the difference between school-based versus clinic-based occupational therapy?" Hopefully this article will answer a few questions as we start the new school year. General categories to review when comparing school based therapy to clinic based therapy include identifying the intent of the therapy provided, the role of the occupational therapist, the type of support that is available to the occupational therapist, and when discharge is determined.
In a school setting, occupational therapy services are provided based on whether the needs of the child are determined "educationally necessary" by the IEP team through the school district. The primary intent of therapy is to satisfy goals where intervention is directed towards facilitating educational progress. Therapy is focused on establishing functional skills and adaptations that promote the attainment of educational objectives. Occupational therapists address several areas that assist a child with successfully performing in their school environment. Examples include self-help skills that allow a child to manage their personal needs in the classroom or fine motor and visual motor skills that allow a child to manipulate classroom tools (i.e., writing tools, puzzles, and art tools). An occupational therapist plays a role within an interdisciplinary team where a group of educational professionals collaborate in a coordinated fashion toward a common goal for the child. Occupational therapy services are continued as long as the family and IEP team agree that the services are needed to assist a child in their education. The services are no longer indicated when the child meets functional levels similar to their peers or the classroom staff is able to apply strategies to meet the child's needs.
In a pediatric outpatient clinic based setting, occupational therapy services are more unrestricted and include both medical and educational aspects. However, occupational therapy services that are approved through health insurance companies or California Children Services (CCS) may be limited to "medically necessary" therapy. In contrast to meeting educational objectives in a school setting, therapy goals in an outpatient clinic are based on achieving developmental milestones, facilitating components of moving, and obtaining functional outcomes that a child needs to perform in a variety of contexts and environments. These goals are addressed by providing intervention in areas of self-care, play skills, sensory processing, visual perception, visual motor integration, fine motor development, feeding skills, bilateral coordination, social skills, grasping skills, upper body strength, and handwriting. The occupational therapist plays a role within a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals that each contribute from their own discipline to improve care for the child. Occupational therapy services are discontinued if a child's progress plateaus and therapeutic activities can be continued at home to support the gains made in therapy.
Special thanks go out to online publications and various blog posts that were referenced to answer this question. For further helpful information, please refer to the links below.
La Londe, S. (2008). Occupational therapy guidelines: Contra costa SELPA
S. Labandz. (2011, April 8). What's the difference? Clinic-based versus school-based physical therapy and occupational therapy
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Thank you for reading this month. See you in September!
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Sincerely,
Your Friends at Starfish Therapies
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