Eye See You

Sight allows us to take in all that is around us with our eyes. Being able to see clearly is referred to as acuity (think 20/20 vision or whether or not you need glasses). Visual perceptual skills, on the other hand, refer to the brain’s ability to make sense of what the eyes see. Being able to find a desired toy from a busy shelf, complete puzzles, track along a line when reading or writing, or complete an I Spy activity all rely on the child’s visual perceptual skills. Can’t discriminate between shapes and sizes? Unable to discern whether it’s a b or d? Do your child’s eyes keep losing their place when trying to read a book? If so, strengthening their visual perceptual system is definitely the next step. Our Eye See You category of videos will help your child build this skill so that they have better control over their eyes to create more engaged learners and happier players!

Get Messy, Get Moving 

When your child is interacting with the sensory world around them as well as managing the sensations occurring within the body, their sensory processing system is at work. Sometimes a child has difficulty interacting effectively with bodily sensations and their ability to process one or more of the senses is challenging. The tactile system, which provides feedback on how something feels, often takes a hit when sensory processing is off balance. Are you wondering why your child will often flinch when you try to gently brush their hair or will recoil when given a messy texture to play with? Their tactile system could be to blame as they are perceiving touch experiences as dangerous or threatening and are therefore overreacting to the stimuli. On the flip side, some children may underreact to tactile experiences. Does your child not even seem to notice a light touch on their arm when trying to get their attention? Are they a kid who would swim in a messy texture if given the chance and never seem to get enough? Again, this may indicate that their tactile system is not processing the information quite right. What about body awareness, their sense of movement, balance? These too are linked to sensory processing but involve other systems- namely the proprioceptive and vestibular systems. Does your child seem to crave heavy work types of activities with high frequency or have difficulty grading pressure required for a given task? If so, this could indicate that they are under-responsive to proprioceptive input which refers to the conscious and unconscious awareness of body position and movement. Does your child appear to be in nearly constant movement and never able to sit still? Do they seem to like to rock or spin more than their peers? The vestibular system, which tells us whether we are moving or standing still, how fast we are going and in what direction, and where our body is in space may be struggling to process the input accurately. While there are other sensory systems such as visual, auditory, taste, and smell, our Get Messy, Get Moving category of videos will focus on helping your child better process and integrate sensory information that arises from the tactile, proprioceptive, and vestibular systems. 

All Aboard The Brain Train

Executive functioning is defined as a set of mental skills that we use to learn, work, and manage our day-to-day lives. Executive functioning includes skills such as working memory, flexible thinking, impulse control, emotional regulation, organization, planning and prioritization, task initiation, goal-directed persistence, and time management skills. If your child has difficulty focusing on tasks, trouble following multi-step directions, or has a terrible time controlling his or her impulses, they may need to board the brain train! If managing emotions, keeping school work organized, finishing homework, or trying to put away toys is tough, we will make sure to save you a seat! The good news is that just like all skills, executive functioning skills can be developed too. Small changes and simple adjustments can add up to big improvements. The videos in All Aboard The Brain Train will show your child how. All aboard!!

Independent Me!

As a child grows, so too does their need to be independent. Hearing a child exclaim, “I can do it myself!” is something most parents have heard time and time again. But what happens when they can’t? What happens when their desire to do so and their skills aren’t in sync as needed to make the “I can do it” magic happen? The videos in Independent Me aim to successfully bridge this gap and will allow your child to build the self-help skills required for success in their daily lives

Happy Muscle Movement

Movements incorporating the whole body are referred to as gross motor skills and can be used in all kinds of physical activities. These can include anything from standing and walking to running and jumping. Kids generally love to move, but when gross motor coordination isn’t a strength, they may get discouraged and have difficulty fully engaging in their school day, accessing various activities during recess, and participating in sports if they desire. Gross motor skills also have a huge impact on fine motor control and without good postural control (part of gross motor skills), fine motor skills suffer. Moving your big muscles keeps your body and mind healthy so let’s get going with some Happy Muscle Movement videos! Prepare for some big muscle fun!