Before I became a parent, I was an Occupational Therapist, working with children and people of all ages with special needs since 1993, and as a pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT) since 2002. For children, their “occupations” are play and school. This is how they learn, grow, and develop. Once I had my own children, my [...]
Fine motor skill development is the ‘meat and potatoes’ of Occupational Therapy and the number one reason for referral. Generally, “fine motor” refers to the refined skills of the hands and fingers. It encompasses the use of different tools in daily life (eating utensils, writing utensils, keyboard, etc.) and basically anything that you do with [...]
Core strength and fine motor skills are both critical for a child’s development and learning. One specific fine motor skill that deserves special attention is scissors skills. Using scissors is not the be-all-end-all of a child’s success in school! However, it is important that children master the ability to use scissors not only so they [...]
Most parents focus on helping their child(ren) learn to read and write the alphabet, but first you need to think about the foundation for printing skills, which is pre-printing skills! Do you remember spending hours as a child colouring and drawing pictures? We had lots of time to learn and practice these skills. Now, these [...]