Newsletter
Summer Activities
Now that the weather has got warmer and the nights are lighter, there are plenty of opportunities to increase the amount of physical and outdoor activities your child is involved in.
Here are a few ideas:
Bicycling
Many children have difficulty riding a two-wheeler bike. Try using a scooter instead which will help the child develop balance skills. Start your child off cycling in a large open grassed space. If you are trying to remove stabilisers from a bike, a technique that often works well is to remove the pedals from the bike and allow the child to push along the ground with their feet and then lift feet off the ground. The child is much more in control as they can easily put their feet back on the ground when they are unsteady.
Make bicycling a family activity by getting a tandem bike attachment. This enables the child to develop cycling skills in safety and is great at increasing confidence and giving a sense of achievement. Find local cycle paths or quiet lanes.
Rambling
Walking outside gives an opportunity to increase endurance levels without relying on good coordination skills. Try introducing games to make the walk more fun. Children often enjoy collecting games, eg have a list of items to find and collect on the walk or a list of items to photograph.
Climbing
Go to your local indoor climbing wall and enrol your child on a climbing course. This is an excellent activity for sensory seeking children.
Trampolining
A trampoline in the garden will provide your child with plenty of opportunity to get regular vestibular (movement) and proprioceptive (body awareness) input. This will help develop postural control and balance. Encourage the child to use regularly.
Horse Riding
Horse riding helps the child develop core stability, postural control and balance, body awareness. Find a riding school that understands the needs of your child.
Book review 'Just Take A Bite' by Lori Ernsperger and Tania Stegen-Hanson
This book, written by a behavioural consultant and a paediatric occupational therapist, is an invaluable tool for parents and professionals working with children with food aversions and eating challenges. The first half of the book explains the motor, sensory, developmental and behavioural factors contributing to resistant eaters. The second half provides a comprehensive treatment plan in the form of clear practical strategies and simple activities which can be used at home or within therapy. I have recommended this book recently to several families who have children with very limited diets (under ten different food items), using the strategies within the book they have successfully been able to introduce new foods into their child's repertoire.
The book costs £15.95 from Amazon and we now have quick links through to Amazon UK website by 
clicking on the Amazon logo.
More information on useful books and resources can be found on the links and resources pages for parents and for teachers and professionals.
Courses for Teachers and Professionals 2008/2009
The dates for courses in the academic year 2008/2009 have now been arranged:
Recognising and Helping Children with Motor Learning Difficulties(Dyspraxia/DCD)18 November 2008
Setting Up Motor Programmes in Primary Schools 10 March 2009
Introduction to Sensory Integration and Sensory Processing Disorder 19 May 2009
The course brochure can be downloaded here or please contact us if you would like to be sent a copy.
Parent Workshops
Hillside Specialist School, Longridge, Preston have arranged a parent workshop with Julia on Sensory Integration on Thursday 19 June 2008 from 6.30 - 8.30 pm. This is open to parents who have children with autistic spectrum disorder. The cost is £25 for each parent place. Please contact us for more details or e-mail Carol Griffin at Hillside School.
Book review 'Sensory Balance' by Erna Blanche
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This book is a quick reference guide for parents and professionals (only 32 pages). It provides five sensory portraits of the different types of sensory processing disorders. For each sensory portrait a short introductory paragraph is given describing the child and then the rest of the information is provided concisely, using bullet points under various headings, for example 'Am I Henry?, How did I act when I was a baby?, How do I do in school?, How can you help me? The best school situation for me is:'
The information is readily accessible and clearly presented and would be ideal to give to those working with a child in order to simply explain their difficulties ie classteachers, carers, grandparents. It is also a useful and simple reference guide for health professionals.
The book costs £7.95 from Amazon and we now have quick links through to Amazon UK website by clicking on the Amazon logo.
More information on useful books and resources can be found on the links and resources pages for parents and for teachers and professionals.
Courses for Teachers and Professionals 2008
The next course 'Introduction to Sensory Integration and Sensory Processing Disorder' is being held on Tuesday 20 May 2008 in Clitheroe, Lancashire details can be found here .
Motor Programme Resources
This month we have completed the series of motor programmes aimed at children in primary schools. These fun and flexible resources are available to anyone who has attended the course Setting up motor programmes in primary schools and can be ordered here. They have been successfully piloted in a number of schools and in the practice clinic. Feedback from both children and parents has been very positive.
Courses for Teachers and Professionals 2008
This month we have been busy producing a brochure for the courses we are running in the Spring and Summer term 2008. It will be sent to all the local primary schools in January. If you would like a copy of the brochure please contact us or alternatively you can download it here.
Courses for Teachers and Professionals
The dates for the next series of courses have now been arranged and are as follows:
29 January 2008
Recognising and helping children with motor coordination problems (dyspraxia)
11 March 2008
Setting up motor programmes in primary schools
20 May 2008
Introduction to sensory integration and sensory processing disorder
Look here for more information about the above courses. We now have an online application form to make the process easier.
Christmas Present Ideas
There are plenty of toys/games available on the high street to encourage sensory processing abilities and motor coordination skills. Here are a few ideas:
Hawkin's Bazaar
What's in Ned's Head £19.99
Huge soft pop-up head that is filled with an assortment of objects. Children have to feel inside head and find an object. Excellent for tactile discrimination skills and great fun too. You can add your own items as well, such as different textured materials.
Space Hopper £4.99
Great fun and gives plenty of movement (vestibular) and proprioceptive (body awareness) input
Early Learning Centre
Light and Sound Funky Footprints £20
Good for improving jumping and hopping skills
Pop-up Combo £35
Ideal for putting up inside in winter months when children can't get outside as much
Junior Trampoline £30
Provides plenty of vestibular and proprioceptive input and again can be used indoors
Who Knows Whose Nose Game £10
Helps improve tactile discrimination and visual perceptual skills
Manic Martians and Jitterbugs £10
Two fun games that both help tactile and proprioceptive skills and motor planning
Book review 'The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun' by Carol Stock Kranowitz
This book features more than one hundred fun, sensory motor activities that help develop sensory processing skills and motor coordination skills. It is full of simple ideas that don't need expensive pieces of equipment. Makes a great companion book to 'The Out-of-Sync Child'. Ideal for parents, teachers and therapists. It is one of those 'must-have' books.
Equipment ideas from IKEA
Special needs equipment tends to be very expensive. At the moment there are plenty of toys/equipment in Children's IKEA that are great for developing sensory processing skills and motor coordination skills at a fraction of the cost of special needs equipment.
RUSIG rocker provides movement (vestibular) input
PS SVINGA hanging seat provides movement (vestibular) input
SNURRIG spinner provides movement (vestibular) input
PS LOMSK swivel armchair with hood provides movement (vestibular) input and also hide away/quiet space
KORALL FISK rugs (shaped like a fish) are great to use as targets for beanbags or soft toys
SOT soft toys (small sea animals) are great for throwing, sorting, hiding under blanket and crawling to find.
If you have any comments please email us, we'd love to have your feedback
