Quick Reads

As a parent, you know your child’s strengths and weaknesses. But life puts so many expectations on our children, and it is natural to wonder if your child is coping with it all. Many parents will know that their child is bright, curious, and capable — yet certain everyday tasks seem unexpectedly difficult. ...more

Many parents and teachers report and notice that their children find handwriting challenging. It is easy to assume that a child who struggles with writing has “weak hands” or lack of practice. In reality, handwriting is a complex skill that develops over time and relies on the speed and fluidity of many different body systems working together. From an occupational therapy perspective, handwriting is not just a fine motor task. It is a whole-body activity which depends on posture, strength, coordination, sensory processing, and cognitive skills all working in harmony. This helps us to understand that strengthening hands (while often valuable), might not be enough to help a child who struggles to write. ...more

Watching your child grow and reach new milestones is exciting, from rolling over and crawling to running and climbing. But sometimes, children take longer to develop these movement skills, or these skills lag being their friends in quality - which may be a sign of a gross motor developmental delay. ...more

Fine motor skills are essential for everyday independence. They involve the small muscles of the hands and fingers working together with visual coordination to complete tasks such as writing, cutting, buttoning, and using utensils. ...more

When we think about reading, we often assume it’s simply about recognizing letters and sounding out words. But reading is far more complex than that. It relies heavily on visual perception—the brain’s ability to interpret and make sense of what the eyes see. For many children, especially in the early school years, challenges with visual perception can quietly interfere with reading development—often going unnoticed or misunderstood. ...more

Regulation is a very big topic which will need to be unpacked over several “quick reads”. As children, we learn about the five senses (sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch). Occupational Therapists (OTs) consider other senses including: vestibular, proprioception and interoception. ...more

Our world is constantly changing and we as adults, have become “achievement” obsessed. There seems to be a mindset of “a child needs to walk by a certain age” otherwise we’ve failed as parents. ...more

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” Fred Rogers ...more