“The man who has confidence in himself gains the confidence of others.”
Hasidic Proverb
OT Helps Develop Fine Motor Skills
A common reason that parents seek OT treatment for their child is because their child demonstrates problems with fine motor skills beyond just printing difficulties.
Fine motor skills involve the use of smaller muscles in the hands. Children with fine motor skill deficits often will have difficulties printing, managing zippers, laces, or buttons, picking up small objects, are messy when eating or coloring, and struggle to use scissors or to manipulate parts of small toys. It is important that these skills are developed to promote independence and self-esteem in children is as they age.
In the following video from our OT-V series, we discuss some of the ways OT’s help children develop these important fine motor skills.
Laughter Therapy
Happy Friday!
Weekly Mind Bender
In a one-story blue house, there was a blue person, a blue cat, a blue fish, a blue computer, a blue chair, a blue table, a blue telephone, a blue shower– everything was blue! What color were the stairs?
There were no stairs, it was a one-story house.
Inspired
Check out the wonderful story of a 10 year old boy with Autism who is a newly published author.
Autism Speaks: Boy with autism publishes book, “Darius Hates Vegetables”
Students Learn a Valuable Lesson
Recently, in an exercise to gain empathy for a young student, the principal at Holy Family elementary school in Whitehorse tried an interesting experiment. To allow students to realize what they often take for granted, the principal had students take turns in a wheelchair for a day. While students were only offered a glimpse into what life is like for their fellow student, many felt the experiment helped them gain some perspective and were able to better empathize with their classmate. Check out more on this story from CBC News.
CBC News: Whitehorse students see what life is like in a wheelchair
Inspired
“I’m learning to walk again, I believe I’ve waited long enough. Where do I begin?”
The Foo Fighters, Walk
This is Your Brain on Stress
Some stress is natural and can actually be helpful. However, when too much stress begins to affect you on a daily basis it can become damaging to your health. Take a look at the following video from Ted Ed which explains how chronic stress can affect your brain and your overall health.
Inspired
Perfecting Portions
As we continue our Nutrition Month series, care of the Dietitians of Canada’s 100 Meal Journey, we focus on portion size. Portion size plays a key role in maintaining a healthy weight and ensuring you are getting the nutrients your body needs from the food you eat. The following from the Dietitians of Canada provides you with all you need to know about finding the proper portion size for each meal and snack.