Adding Variety to Your Picky Eater's Diet

Often children will ask for the same foods over and over again as part of their routine. For children that don't have a problem stepping outside of that box, say, when it comes to going to a friend's house for dinner or going out to a restaurant this may not pose too much of a problem. However, for the child that cannot 'step out of the box' when it comes to different environments where their food preferences are not available, there may be an underlying sensory issue.
There are several ways to try and entice your child to become a more adventurous eater. This may require you, as the parent, to expand your food preferences as well. Modeling is a good way to start off this journey. Humans are social beings and model behavior after each other which means if you eat it, your child is more likely to eat it. Getting kids into the kitchen to help prepare a meal is another way to get kids involved in the entire occupation of meal preparation and sharing. Kids are much more likely to try something that they have prepared themselves. You can also invite your child's friends over to share in the experience (check if this is okay with your child first and have him/her choose the friend).
Can't think of something new, fun and exciting to prepare? Look through cook books, walk through farmers' markets, scour the internet. There are recipes everywhere!

There are a few important things to remember when trying to expand the picky eater's diet.

1. Don't force them to eat anything that they are not ready to eat. This will discourage them from wanting to try new things in the future. If they are not willing to eat it see if your child will allow the new food on their plate, touch it to their lips, lick it, or place it on their tongue.
2. It takes over 12 times to try something before you decide if you like it. So if your child does not prefer something right away, that is okay. Reintroduce it at another time.
3. Eating is a sensory experience. By providing your child with sensory activities daily (such as playdoh, sand play, water play, fingerpaints, shaving cream, silly putty, glitter, glue activities) can help decrease tactile sensitivities.
4. A positive attitude can go a long way! Don't get caught up in what your child doesn't eat but rather give them praise for trying new things.

Halloween Bash at Miracle League Park Rescheduled

The Halloween Bash at Miracle League Park in Schnecksville, PA is postponed until tomorrow night due to rain. The rain date for the event is tomorrow, Thursday, October 20th from 6-8pm. Everyone at Bethlehem Pediatric Therapy Services looks forward to seeing you there!

Have a Fun and Safe Halloween with your Sensory Sensitive Child

Halloween, like any holiday, is fun and exciting for kids, but for the sensory sensitive child it can be overwhelming as well. School schedules may be changed, costumes may be itchy or fit snugly, face paint may feel sticky, a coat over or under a costume may not be comfortable. All of these things should be considered when helping your child choose a costume. Wearing a compression shirt under a costume can be helpful and for the tactile defensive child, skip the face paint and makeup. Discussing costumes and schedules changes in advance(1-2 days before) is helpful for the sensory sensitive child (but not too far in advance to cause anxiety). Work more heavy work activities into your child's schedule leading up to the holiday and in the days that follow to help organize their bodies.
If your child becomes easily overstimulated and/or has a tendency to take flight when overwhelmed,you may want to consider an alternative to the traditional outdoor trick or treating. Many malls have indoor trick or treating events which eliminate the element of traffic. A Halloween party at your house may also be an option.

Here are some of the free trick or treating events offered in and around the Lehigh Valley:

Halloween Bash at Miracle League Park

Wednesday, October 20^th from 6pm to 8pm

5858 Sell Rd

Schnecksville, PA

Lehigh Valley Mall Halloween Boo Bash

Whitehall, PA

Saturday, October 29 from 11-2

Halloween Dance Party at 2:00pm

Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley

2845 Center Valley Parkway

Center Valley, PA

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Sensory Activity of the Day

Oral motor activities are calming and organizing for the body. Try drinking yogurt or applesauce through a straw before a seated activity (such as homework). Make this activity even more fun with a crazy straw or bite off the ends of a Twizzler or Red Vine candy and use that as the straw.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative Does Not Require Cursive Handwriting Instruction

Over the weekend, I read that The Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) does not require instruction in cursive handwriting. Over 40 of the 50 states have adopted CCSSI. The Initiative supports increasing children's education in keyboarding skills. Pennsylvania and New Jersey have both formally adopted these standards and are no longer responsible for teaching cursive in the classroom (schools are permitted to teach cursive but it is not a requirement).
In the age of technology, it is easy to overlook the importance of legible, fluent handwriting. Here is my attempt to persuade parents to find out if their school is teaching cursive handwriting and, if not, provide cursive handwriting instruction at home. First off, to sign a check, write down a telephone message, or jot down a phone number you need legible handwriting (print or cursive). But in the age of technology, how will the future generations sign legal documents, sign a check, or read documents written in cursive? Still, in this technological age, people are judged by the legibility of their handwriting and the fluency of their compositions. Some examples include job applications, standardized tests (the SAT has a required WRITTEN essay; if you don't bring your own laptop to standardized entrance exams such as the LSAT you have to write it), homework assignments are hand written, school tests, and note taking all require the skill of handwriting. What does any of this have to do with cursive? Since letters are linked in cursive it provides a faster way to take note, finished timed tests, and complete homework assignments. The quickest, legible handwriting is a combination of print and cursive.
While teachers insist that they do not judge a student's work on legibility, research studies indicate that they do. Cursive writing allows for letters of words to be linked (not just single letters like in print and keyboarding)improving working memory skills. People are able to recall information better when they write it down as opposed to typing it. Only half of U.S. homes currently have a computer. If children without easy access to computers are not taught to write legibly and fluently, how are they going to be able to express themselves? Does this move toward the use of technology in the classroom consider the interests of all students? And finally, what happens when computers fail? when there is a power outage? There is still a need for written communication and a need for cursive writing education.

Sensory Activity of the Day - Cake pops!

So this weekend was my son's 4th birthday and I made cake pops (Angry Bird cake pops) for the first time ever. What a sensory experience! If you have never heard of cake pops, they are a ball of cake on a stick covered in icing or a chocolate shell. I started off with a cake round (it smelled sweet and felt a little warm even after cooling for an hour), crumbled it into a bowl (it was soft and squishy), and added icing (really sticky). After mixing the icing into the cake, I rolled the cake into balls (great for bilateral coordination and working on strengthening those pesky intrinsic muscles of the hand), Stuck a stick in the middle (hand-eye coordination/ bilateral coordination), and put them in the fridge to harden. I dipped them in chocolate. When the chocolate hardened, I used a piping bag (aka - a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off) to put decorations on the cake pop (good for fine motor control/ muscle grading). If you don't want all of the sugar of a traditional cake pop, you could do corn bread pops using plain yogurt or sour cream to hold them together - put beans or cheese  in the middle for a different texture and taste. Everything is a little more fun to eat when it's on a stick (so my son tells me). Getting kids into the kitchen is a great way to engage the senses!

Sensory Processing and Heavy Work Activities

'Heavy work' activities are activities that engage the large joints and muscle groups of the body. These activities allow the joint capsule to compress or expand providing increased proprioceptive input from the receptors located in muscles and ligaments. These activities are organizing for the body because the input provided allows the brain to map out where you are in space.
With these heavy work activities, the quality of the movement is very important. You don't want your child using momentum to complete the activity (this decreases the input to the proprioceptive receptors) and you don't want them to lock their joints. Locking of the joints provides stability without engagement of the muscles and is often seen when low tone is present.
Some examples of heavy work activities include:

• jumping (jumping down from somewhere will provide more input than just jumping from the ground)
• animal walks that incorporate weightbearing through the shoulder girdle (such as crab walks or bear walks) or wheelbarrow walks
• Tug of War (this can be played with a sheet, parachute, or cloth tunnel)
• propelling a scooterboard with arms or legs
• pushing a full laundry basket room to room (taking large handfuls of laundry from hamper to basket would also be heavy work)
• play activities that incorporate running and jumping such as soccer, football, basketball or kickball
• digging in the sand box
• pushing around a toy bin to clean up at the end of the day or before meals
• Climbing playground equipment
• swimming
• oral motor activities such as eating chewy or crunchy snacks and chewing gum
• Hammering pegs
• push ups or wall push ups
  

These are just a few examples of a seemingly endless list of heavy work activities. It is important to consider your child's interests when helping him/her pick activities. If they enjoy the activity, they will be motivated to participate. It is also important to take into consideration the environment the child is in when choosing an activity (jumping up and down when in the classroom may be a distraction to other children, but pulling on a resistive exercise band attached to the desk may be acceptable). Heavy work activities should be incorporated throughout your child's day to improve sensory modulation. It is usually a good idea for a child to participate in heavy work before a seated task or a task that will be challenging. Your occupational therapist can help you develop an individualized daily plan that works for you and your child.