Author Archives: Michaela Gordon

How We See Changes Everything!

By Michaela Gordon, OTR/L Contributing Author, Dr. Felicia Lew Since the arrival of technology, we are spending much more time sitting and looking up close at 2D environments such as phones, tablets, and televisions. A study was published in Preventative Medicine, (Varma et al., 2017) involving 12,500 people 6-84 years of age. The participants wore

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Scapegoat to Partnership

I work with children and fairness is a big thing that comes up in play. When there is a sense of unfairness, soon after follows blame. What I have noticed is that the children need support with responsibility, empathy, and communication. When these skills are not developed, the children stay in this vicious cycle of,

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Cleaning up the facts about The Wilbarger Deep Pressure Protocol (Therapressure Protocol)

At my first job, I remember seeing these white brushes. I knew they were for some sort of tactile stimulation, but did not use them with students. I moved to CA and here I would also find the white brushes! I was shown the protocol at an in-service. I didn’t fully understand the neurological underpinnings

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Posted in Sensory Integration | 1 Response

YOU DON’T KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE ME

Do you ever hear a kid say, “You don’t get it. You don’t know how it feels to be me!” That is the truth. We don’t know what it feels like to be them. We can only empathize and try to relate based on what we are experiencing. When it comes to sensory defensiveness, children

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OT Meets Raising Lions

As an OT, I have searched endlessly for an effective behavioral approach for children with sensory processing challenges. I was lucky enough to meet Joe Newman, author of the book RaisingLions. In a short period of time, I was on a trajectory to work with him, adopt his philosophy of addressing behavioral challenges, and assist

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The Just-Right Challenge

Occupational therapists are known for using the term , the just-right challenge. The term  was originally coined by occupational therapy Dr. Jean Ayres and later used in other occupational therapy frameworks. The just-right challenge can be looked at from many different points of view and becomes a little more complex when assessing this in children. I

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Posted in Motor Skills and Planning | Leave a comment

Craniosacral Therapy

When I was younger, I attempted to run from my brother as he dragged his feet across the carpet and touched my arm, giving me an electric shock. It amazed me that in seconds he could just zap me with his finger! Another childhood memory was having sleepovers with my friends and we would all

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How am I ever Going to get my Child to eat Fresh Foods?

I am sure that there are many parents out there that have the struggle of getting their children to try new foods and adding those foods consistently to their repertoire. Literature shows that approximately 25-40% of typically developing children and up to 90% of children with disabilities have issues related to feeding and eating (Clawson,

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Posted in Nutritional/Environmental | Leave a comment

The Therapeutic Experience

There are some frequent questions that are brought up when your child needs therapy. The thought of therapy can leave the parents experiencing a variety of emotions, which we will touch upon is this conversation. For some parents, they come to find that their child has been diagnosed with a disability. For other parents, they

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Posted in Life Skills | Leave a comment