Developmental Playgroups: Just to keep you updated, we have successfully completed the first two weeks of our very first Developmental Playgroup for parents and their kids who are Pre-Walkers. The parents and kiddos who have attended have been able to look at development with regards to gross and fine motor as well as have all their developmental questions answered. We are looking forward to what evolves in the coming weeks. Don't miss out on this opportunity to take advantage of a bilingual physical therapist with extensive experience in early intervention and childhood development.
When: Wednesdays 10am-11am
**As demand grows we will look to add additional days and times, as well as additional groups. Please let us know if you have ideas and requests.
This group will be facilitated by an experienced physical therapist (who also speaks Spanish)
Contact: For more information please contact Starfish Therapies 650-638-9142 or by email at info@starfishtherapies.com
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Medicare: SGR and Therapy Cap
I know Medicare isn't something that we usually discuss with regards to pediatrics but I wanted to bring this up as this is important legislation that is being considered currently and we need your support for the PT and OT profession. This has the potential to affect all of us and the people in our lives. I know that I personally have been affected recently as my Grandmom's services for PT and OT were stopped because she had maxed out her Medicare benefits after fracturing her hip from a fall. She still isn't back to her prior level of function and is at continued risk of fall. Because this legislation is stalled right now, therapy providers are unable to request extensions to the Medicare cap as they have in the past. This has the potential to change they way things have been done so that we can move forward with providing our loved ones with the best care and therapy they need and deserve. Here is a letter from the president of the Private Practice Section of the APTA to the members. It outlines how we can help and why it is important. Thanks in advance.
Welcome back! Enjoy reading for information about occupational therapy month and how to make a weighted blanket.
National Occupational Therapy (OT) Month
April is National Occupational Therapy Month, a time to celebrate this growing profession. April is also Autism Awareness Month, which is fitting, as Occupational Therapy (OT) plays an important role in the lives of individuals with autism. OT's help individuals with autism live their lives to the fullest in a variety of ways. In particular, children with autism can benefit from OT to address difficulties with social skills, difficulties with self-help skills including dressing and feeding, difficulties with transitioning between activities, difficulties with attention span and focus, and difficulties with sensory challenges.
Sensory overresponsivity is one of the sensory challenges that children with autism may face. This means that a child is more sensitive to various sensory stimuli than their peers. They have a stronger response to stimuli including loud noises and unexpected touch then most people and may find these stimuli overwhelming and even threatening. These children may avoid touching sticky things/foods, may have difficulty concentrating in noisy environments, may experience light sensitivity, may avoid strong smells, may prefer a limited variety of foods, and may avoid jumping or spinning. One way to calm children with sensory overresponsivity involves providing the sensation of weight and pressure to the child's body when they are overwhelmed by stimuli in their environment. For example, use of a weighted blanket or lap pad may help calm a child, particularly when used prior to an event containing the stimuli. These items provide needed pressure and muscle compression to the child's body.
See below for the instructions on how to make your own weighted lap pad and blanket! Be sure to ask your occupational therapist if you have more questions about you child's sensory challenges and whether or not a weighted blanket might help.
Source:
Bialer, D.S., Miller, L.J. (2000). No Longer a Secret: Unique Common Sense Strategies for Children with Sensory or Motor Challenges. Arlington, Texas: Sensory World.
Making a Weighted Lap Pad/Blanket
A weighted blanket can be useful in providing input to the body's muscles when the body is overwhelmed by sensory stimuli in the environment. Blankets can be purchased, but you can also make a simple lap pad or blanket out of items that can be easily purchased from your nearby store for a smaller price tag than the ones available commercially.
Materials:
~Pint sized Ziploc bags
~5 pounds of rice (more depending on size of the pad/blanket)
~Duct Tape (try some of the fun prints currently on the market)
~Ruler/Tape measure
Instructions:
Determine how large of a pad or blanket you would like to make. The following configuration will make a blanket that is 22 inches wide and 16 inches high. You can easily make a smaller or larger blanket or lap pad by reducing or adding bags. You could also use a gallon sized bag to make a small lap pad.
Fill Ziploc bags with approximately 1½ cups of rice for each bag. Seal the bags by zipping the top. There is no need to add extra tape as duct tape will cover the tops of the bags when blanket is finished.
Lay two pieces of duct tape, each 22 inches long, horizontally on a flat surface. Place the pieces of duct tape parallel to each other and approximately 6 inches apart. You will want enough room to place the Ziploc bags on the tape so that both the top and bottom of the bag rests on each piece of tape about a third of the way to the middle of the piece of tape. Keep in mind that you will eventually lay another bag directly below the first bag, leaving some space between the two bags.
Lay three bags of rice on the tape, with top and bottom "stuck" on the tape. It is best to leave approximately ½ inch to 1 inch of space between the bags, both horizontally and vertically, as this will allow you to fold the blanket to a smaller size when finished.
Repeat this step twice, so that you eventually have 3 rows of 3 bags of rice, for a total of 9 bags of rice and four horizontal pieces of tape.
Once you have 9 bags of rice on rows of tape, place four rows of duct tape over the top of the existing four rows of duct tape so that no tape is exposed.
Cover the remainder of the lap pad with duct tape on both the front and back of the rice bags so that you can no longer see the bags of rice.
Finish the blanket by folding pieces of duct tape around all edges of the blanket in order to make a finished "binding."
You may now use the blanket, either as it's full size, or you may fold it up to create a heavier lap pad.
April is National Occupational Therapy Month, a time to celebrate this growing profession. April is also Autism Awareness Month, which is fitting, as Occupational Therapy (OT) plays an important role in the lives of individuals with autism. OT's help individuals with autism live their lives to the fullest in a variety of ways. In particular, children with autism can benefit from OT to address difficulties with social skills, difficulties with self-help skills including dressing and feeding, difficulties with transitioning between activities, difficulties with attention span and focus, and difficulties with sensory challenges. 
A weighted blanket can be useful in providing input to the body's muscles when the body is overwhelmed by sensory stimuli in the environment. Blankets can be purchased, but you can also make a simple lap pad or blanket out of items that can be easily purchased from your nearby store for a smaller price tag than the ones available commercially. 