Sensory Solutions, LLC

HOLIDAY TIP #8: Consent Consent is an important skill to teach your child, especially around the holidays. For some children, it can be overwhelming to be in a crowded room with unfamiliar relatives, sounds, and smells. Sometimes, unwanted touches, hugs, and kisses can overwhelm your child. This is why consent is so important. If your child says no to hugging or kissing a relative, respect their choice. Forcing contact can upset your child. It is important to communicate with relatives in advance that it is important to ask before hugging or kissing a child.

Does your child display any sensory seeking behaviors? Here are a few examples: - Standing too close to others; decreased personal space awareness - Mouthing/chewing non-food items - Constantly on the go and moving ... - Seeks out movement activities (climbing, jumping, rough-and-tumble play, crashing, and spinning to name a few) - Fidgeting and touching items constantly Our Occupational Therapists can help! Call today to set up an evaluation.

HOLIDAY TIP #7: Family It's possible that some family members may not recognize certain signs that mean your child is feeling overwhelmed. Speak with family members in advance to create strategies to minimize anxiety and enhance participation from your child.

December is Ms. Ashley's birthday month! Ms. Ashley is one of our Occupational Therapists at our Creve Coeur and Saint Peters locations. Prior to becoming a licensed OT, she worked in our offices helping our therapists and office staff as needed. We love having her as part of our team. Ashley loves doing anything outdoors including running, hiking, playing with her dogs Honey and Yogi, and gardening. Happy Birthday Month Ms. Ashley!

HOLIDAY TIP #6: Traveling If you are traveling for the holidays, it is important to have your child's comfort items available. Blankets, headphones, or special toys can all be beneficial to your child. If you are flying for the first time, showing pictures and videos of planes can help acclimate them to the idea. Not sure if these tips may be beneficial to your child? We offer a play-based assessment to discover and help diagnose Autism Spectrum characteristics in your child. For more info: https://www.sensorysolutions.org//autism-diagnostic-observ

Does your child have difficulty grading force with handwriting? Does he or she write too hard or too light on the paper? Here are a few things to try: - Have your child push tacks into corkboard - Practice writing or drawing on a piece of paper placed on top of sandpaper - Practice writing on carbon copy paper

Ways to help your child with posture and muscle control while at home: -Have your child sit and bounce on a yoga ball -Have them play a game while lying flat on their stomach (this works core muscles) -Games or rides on scooters or bikes ... -Yoga or balancing activities Our occupational and physical therapists are always here to help!

Read below to see how to incorporate speech and language goals into your child's tooth brushing routine. Working on speech and language goals doesn’t have to be a structured activity. The best way to facilitate and implement speech and language skills is through every day routines and play. Brushing teeth while is a short period of time, happens multiple times a day and is a great time to promote speech and language skills! The following are ideas to implement speech and la...nguage skills while brushing teeth: Count/sing (e.g., ABCs, Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider) while brushing their teeth to help them brush longer and to learn vocabulary words from the songs, label the parts/locations of the mouth (e.g., teeth, lips, tongue, top, bottom, in/out of mouth), label actions (e.g., spit, rinse, brush, wash), produce adjectives (e.g., minty, foamy, clean, dirty), and request help or say all done. See more

Our speech therapy services are the perfect way to help children who struggle with articulation, stuttering, expression and comprehension, and MUCH more! And don't forget, we now have bilingually-certified Speech Pathologists!

Ways to help with your child's eating outside of our office: - Cut food into fun shapes - Try foods your child likes cooked in different ways (baked, steamed, raw, etc.) to introduce new textures - Present food on colorful plates or dishes with fun designs ... Our feeding team is here to help if you have questions about your child's eating habits! Happy Friday!