can we – especially our students – wean away from screens and willingly engage in daily life activities that do not involve technology?

I decided to find out. Read more to see what I learned and how we’re adapting in today’s day and age.

Are you beginning to think that handwriting is obsolete? This is certainly a valid thought given our students’ dependency over the last year due to the pandemic on keyboarding assignments instead of handwriting them. Keyboarding is always legible and who doesn’t life spell check?

The best tool in my occupational therapy toolbox, by far, is breathing. Conscious, mindful breathing.

Creating homemade DIY Valentines are a simple arts and crafts activity that includes the many necessary functional fine motor skills that a student needs in order to participate and be successful at school. More specifically, these fine motor activities require fine motor precision, a variety of grasp patterns, bilateral coordination and eye-hand coordination.

Setting up the best workspace both from an ergonomic and sensory framework will support participation and success for students of all ages. Revisiting their workspace is a great way to improve their learning performance.

Wearing masks and/or keeping them on for a prolonged period (over two hours) is sure to be challenging for most children. Here are some sensory-based tips and tricks for helping the resistive child.

Fidgets are not a “one size fits all,” but rather chosen based on individual sensory preferences. I have found the following examples of hand-help, wearable, and portable fidgets most effective and also accepted by classroom teachers. They are “small, quiet and mindful of others.”