Kids Love Puzzles
This month I reviewed an app that I have been using with a number of clients for about three months. The reason that I chose this app is because of the reactions I have gotten from my clients when using it. The program is simple with no bells or whistles, but the kids LOVE it!
Age Range: Kids Love Puzzles is a great app for kids aged 3-12 or older with visual perception weakness.
Difficulty: Kids Love Puzzles certainly caters to an array of user abilities. As users progress through the levels they are presented with more difficult requirements. There are three levels with twelve puzzles in each for a total of 36 puzzles. Level 1 presents the user with outlines for placement and would be best suited for younger children or older children with various visual perception weaknesses. In Level 2 the user is still given the placement outlines however this level breaks the puzzle into more pieces which requires a slightly higher level of planning and sequencing. In Level 3 the user is no longer given the visual cue of placement lines and therefore a higher level of visual perception, spatial awareness and visual closure is required.
Praise: I have to give Kids Love Puzzles praise for two specific reasons.
1. It's free!!! and very rarely do you find a free app that allows the user advancement through an entire program. So often, I download a light version of an app. and just when I am getting really excited about it, I get a message that reads "To use all the features of this program purchase the full version" That will not happen with Kids Love Puzzles. Feel free to explore this app from beginning to end over and over again.
2. Many free apps, don't use any sort of reward system for successful completion. As many of you know, it is important to give children praise for successful completion of a task. Most free apps. move through the program with little visual stimulation or praise for a job well done. Kids Love Puzzles plays background music through its entirety and as children properly place each puzzle piece, they are presented with a sparkling surprise of stars and flowers, encouraging them to continue working through the puzzle. When the puzzle is complete a larger array of stars and flowers moves around the page.
Needs Improvement: There is not really too many aspects of this app. that I would improve. Considering that it is a free app. I think the creators have done an overall good job of giving the user many features that other apps. charge for. I do think that the background music is boring and not very child friendly. I would like to hear a more exciting blend of sounds paired with each of the puzzles. I have felt a bit drowzy myself after listening to the music minute after minute as clients progress through the levels.
In a Nutshell: Kids Love Puzzles is a bright an colorful app that progresses in difficulty through three levels, making it appropriate and useful for a wide array of users. Level's can be repeated after completion which means that more than one child can use this app on a single device. Best of all, it's free. I give this app a four star rating.
Link to app: id421874227
Sunday, December 4, 2011
A great resource for families seeking information about SPD (sensory processing disorder
The SPD foundation website is FULL of information for families, they publish the most recent research articles, and provide a service provider database for families to use when searching for therapists in a number of disciplines. I encourage all clients to look at and follow the SPD foundations website. I will be updating this blog with new information from the website on a regular basis.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Upcoming Sensory Friendly Film (The SMURFS)
For anyone that has a child with sensory defensiveness or any type of sensory processing disorder you know how difficult a trip to the movies can be. An activity that is supposed to be fun and exciting for your little one can actually be a stressful and traumatic outing.
The Autism Society offers Sensory Friendly Films to help assist parents of children with SPD, Autism and other disabilities enjoy a trip to the theater. At this time the closest theater (to Stamford) is the AMC Theater in Danbury CT. I have reached out to the Autism Society to see if we can work with other theaters closer to home so that children in lower Fairfield County will have easier access to this great event as well. I will keep you informed of any new theaters that I find out about.
Below is a description of what a Sensory Friendly Film is like and also a list of the upcoming Sensory Friendly Films. If any of my clients do decide to go see one of these movies, please send me a picture of your little one in the theater! I would love to add some photo's to my website and blog as I think this program is a fantastic opportunity for all children with SPD and Autism.
AMC Theatres (AMC) and the Autism Society have teamed up to bring families affected by autism and other disabilities a special opportunity to enjoy their favorite films in a safe and accepting environment on a monthly basis with the "Sensory Friendly Films" program.
The Autism Society offers Sensory Friendly Films to help assist parents of children with SPD, Autism and other disabilities enjoy a trip to the theater. At this time the closest theater (to Stamford) is the AMC Theater in Danbury CT. I have reached out to the Autism Society to see if we can work with other theaters closer to home so that children in lower Fairfield County will have easier access to this great event as well. I will keep you informed of any new theaters that I find out about.
Below is a description of what a Sensory Friendly Film is like and also a list of the upcoming Sensory Friendly Films. If any of my clients do decide to go see one of these movies, please send me a picture of your little one in the theater! I would love to add some photo's to my website and blog as I think this program is a fantastic opportunity for all children with SPD and Autism.
AMC Theatres (AMC) and the Autism Society have teamed up to bring families affected by autism and other disabilities a special opportunity to enjoy their favorite films in a safe and accepting environment on a monthly basis with the "Sensory Friendly Films" program.In order to provide a more accepting and comfortable setting for this unique audience, the movie auditoriums will have their lights brought up and the sound turned down, families will be able to bring in their own gluten-free, casein-free snacks, and no previews or advertisements will be shown before the movie. Additionally, audience members are welcome to get up and dance, walk, shout or sing - in other words, AMC’s “Silence is Golden®” policy will not be enforced unless the safety of the audience is questioned.
Tickets are $4-6 depending on location and can be purchased on the day of the event.
Upcoming Shows
August 6: The Smurfs
August 6: The Smurfs
August 27: Spy Kids 4
October 1: Dolphin Tale
November 5: Puss in Boots
October 1: Dolphin Tale
November 5: Puss in Boots
*Please note all dates and times are subject to change
Does this thing come with a manual???
He is here!!! A star is born!!! Or maybe I should say a little firecracker!!!
While everyone else was enjoying firework displays, spending the day at the beach, eating hot dogs and ice cream and celebrating this great country, I was at Stamford Hospital meeting my precious baby boy, Michael. While I do love the beach and ice cream I think that my 4th of July tops everyone else's (I'm just saying).
So I have been a mommy for three weeks now and I would not trade it for the world! I love every minute of it... Every time we make eye contact, every overnight feeding, every poop, every pee pee fountain, every swaddle, even every 3:00 screaming fit; however the other day I did find myself thinking... "Does this thing come with a manual???"
So for the past nine months I have heard time and time again "You are going to be a great mommy, you are fantastic with kids." Well...I have always had the opportunity to hand those children back to their parents after the first waaaaaahhhhh... Well the other day I had my first "I can't pass him back to his mommy cause that is me" moment. Crying does not even begin to describe the noise that this tiny little boy was making...
So I pulled out my mommy bag of tricks and started with the famous Dr. Karp's 5 S's of soothing a crying baby list that they handed us in the hospital.
1. Swaddle- Michael loves a good swaddle! In fact we can usually end right here cause he cries, we swaddle, end of story... Not this time! In fact the swaddle only made him cry harder. On to S number 2.
2. Side or Stomach- "Maybe it's a little bit of gas? Let's do some skin to skin tummy time and that will sooth him right down, right"? WRONG so here I am, shirtless, with my little baby still screaming. The only thing that could make this moment any worse would be the doorbell ringing.
3. Shhhhhh- OK, so S numbers 1 and 2 were not big hit's, this one has to work.... Mike and I take turns shhhhshing (is that even a word?) We eventually turn our shhhhh's into a friendly contest to see who could make the longer shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh (anyone that knows Mike and I knows we love a little friendly competition with eachother). We are turning our shhh's into songs, first nursery rhymes but eventually we find ourselves shhhhhshing to Lady Gaga and Beyonce and we actually stoop so low as to do funny little dances around the nursery to sooth our screaming little noise maker. I am not sure if any of you are fans of the show Friends, but I did in fact try to shhhhh "Baby got Back"I mean it worked for Ross when Emma was crying, why wouldn't it work for Michael. Apparently my baby still needs to watch that episode cause he was not impressed.
4. Swinging- OK down the stairs we go, by this point I think to myself that the baby is going to give himself a laryngitis, I mean if I screamed for 20 minutes non stop I would loose my voice for a week. In fact it happened recently when Mike brought me to see the New Kids on The Block in concert, I screamed so much that I could not speak for the rest of the weekend. If you were born between 1978-1982 you understand!!! Well there is not much to report here except that the swing was a complete and utter failure. I think at one point Michael actually stopped screaming for one split second but it was only because he saw me trip over the Boppy pillow on the floor.
5. Sucking- OK here goes nothing!!! We are on the final S. This one has to work, I mean Dr. Karp is famous around the world for this list, right? So Mike sprints back up to the nursery to grab the pacifier, literally leaps down the stairs in a single bound and puts the pacifier into the babies mouth with one graceful motion...We wait....We watch....We wonder??? and WAHHHHHHHH!!!!! The pacifier gets one powerful plop out of the mouth and right onto the floor.
So at this point I actually looked at Mike and asked "Does this thing come with a manual?" And then, just like that, it comes to me... THATS IT!!! I am a genius!!! How come I didn't think of that sooner!!! Dr. Karp forgot one S... The most obvious one.. I have invented the sixth S!!!
6. SH**- You can fill in the blanks!!! We bring him upstairs, lay him down on the changing table, a few wipes and a new diaper later and our little firecracker is quiet as can be, smiling at us as if he is saying "I was trying to tell you all along."
So the moral of the story is... Dr. Karp probably made millions with his famous "5 S's" list, however, he forgot the most important one....SHIT
Next time Michael is crying, the first thing I am going to do is check the diaper! Forget the other 5 S's
While everyone else was enjoying firework displays, spending the day at the beach, eating hot dogs and ice cream and celebrating this great country, I was at Stamford Hospital meeting my precious baby boy, Michael. While I do love the beach and ice cream I think that my 4th of July tops everyone else's (I'm just saying).
So I have been a mommy for three weeks now and I would not trade it for the world! I love every minute of it... Every time we make eye contact, every overnight feeding, every poop, every pee pee fountain, every swaddle, even every 3:00 screaming fit; however the other day I did find myself thinking... "Does this thing come with a manual???"
So for the past nine months I have heard time and time again "You are going to be a great mommy, you are fantastic with kids." Well...I have always had the opportunity to hand those children back to their parents after the first waaaaaahhhhh... Well the other day I had my first "I can't pass him back to his mommy cause that is me" moment. Crying does not even begin to describe the noise that this tiny little boy was making...
So I pulled out my mommy bag of tricks and started with the famous Dr. Karp's 5 S's of soothing a crying baby list that they handed us in the hospital.
1. Swaddle- Michael loves a good swaddle! In fact we can usually end right here cause he cries, we swaddle, end of story... Not this time! In fact the swaddle only made him cry harder. On to S number 2.
2. Side or Stomach- "Maybe it's a little bit of gas? Let's do some skin to skin tummy time and that will sooth him right down, right"? WRONG so here I am, shirtless, with my little baby still screaming. The only thing that could make this moment any worse would be the doorbell ringing.
3. Shhhhhh- OK, so S numbers 1 and 2 were not big hit's, this one has to work.... Mike and I take turns shhhhshing (is that even a word?) We eventually turn our shhhhh's into a friendly contest to see who could make the longer shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh (anyone that knows Mike and I knows we love a little friendly competition with eachother). We are turning our shhh's into songs, first nursery rhymes but eventually we find ourselves shhhhhshing to Lady Gaga and Beyonce and we actually stoop so low as to do funny little dances around the nursery to sooth our screaming little noise maker. I am not sure if any of you are fans of the show Friends, but I did in fact try to shhhhh "Baby got Back"I mean it worked for Ross when Emma was crying, why wouldn't it work for Michael. Apparently my baby still needs to watch that episode cause he was not impressed.
4. Swinging- OK down the stairs we go, by this point I think to myself that the baby is going to give himself a laryngitis, I mean if I screamed for 20 minutes non stop I would loose my voice for a week. In fact it happened recently when Mike brought me to see the New Kids on The Block in concert, I screamed so much that I could not speak for the rest of the weekend. If you were born between 1978-1982 you understand!!! Well there is not much to report here except that the swing was a complete and utter failure. I think at one point Michael actually stopped screaming for one split second but it was only because he saw me trip over the Boppy pillow on the floor.
5. Sucking- OK here goes nothing!!! We are on the final S. This one has to work, I mean Dr. Karp is famous around the world for this list, right? So Mike sprints back up to the nursery to grab the pacifier, literally leaps down the stairs in a single bound and puts the pacifier into the babies mouth with one graceful motion...We wait....We watch....We wonder??? and WAHHHHHHHH!!!!! The pacifier gets one powerful plop out of the mouth and right onto the floor.
So at this point I actually looked at Mike and asked "Does this thing come with a manual?" And then, just like that, it comes to me... THATS IT!!! I am a genius!!! How come I didn't think of that sooner!!! Dr. Karp forgot one S... The most obvious one.. I have invented the sixth S!!!
6. SH**- You can fill in the blanks!!! We bring him upstairs, lay him down on the changing table, a few wipes and a new diaper later and our little firecracker is quiet as can be, smiling at us as if he is saying "I was trying to tell you all along."
So the moral of the story is... Dr. Karp probably made millions with his famous "5 S's" list, however, he forgot the most important one....SHIT
Next time Michael is crying, the first thing I am going to do is check the diaper! Forget the other 5 S's
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Stationery Card
Truffle Ruffle Blue Birth Announcement
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Saturday, June 18, 2011
Handwriting in the press!!!!
This is a great article that was headlined in the LA Times today. As you know, I can not emphasize enough, the importance of good handwriting instruction, it is one of the largest voids in our school systems today!!! The many health perks of good handwriting.
Summer Sensory Fun... Get outside and play
Some of the fondest memories that I have of childhood include getting off the school bus, running into the house, throwing my backpack on the floor, giving mom and dad a quick hello and then running right back out the door to PLAY!!! Play what, you may ask??? Well you name it, we played it... The kids in my neighborhood were NEVER at a loss for games to play... kickball, hide and seek, bike rides, rolling down the front yard hills, swimming in the pool, making mud pies, jumping in piles of leaves, wiffle ball, I could go on and on...
Recently on my way home from work I could not help but ask myself, "Where are all the children"? It was 5:30 in the evening on a Friday, the sun was still high, the weather was perfect for a good ol game of kick the can, but my neighborhood was silent. Where were the kids? Well unfortunatlely I think it is fair to assume that they were inside playing Wii, XBox or Playstation, some may have even been working on their homework. What has become of all those great, social, active, outdoor games that consumed my childhood? Why don't todays children know what freeze tag is? Why aren't the neighborhood kids playing outside?
Recently on my way home from work I could not help but ask myself, "Where are all the children"? It was 5:30 in the evening on a Friday, the sun was still high, the weather was perfect for a good ol game of kick the can, but my neighborhood was silent. Where were the kids? Well unfortunatlely I think it is fair to assume that they were inside playing Wii, XBox or Playstation, some may have even been working on their homework. What has become of all those great, social, active, outdoor games that consumed my childhood? Why don't todays children know what freeze tag is? Why aren't the neighborhood kids playing outside?
Well I don't have all the answers; however, I can offer some advise to all the children, parents, teachers, babysitters, grandparents, aunts and uncles that have watched the children in their lives fall into the video game slump...This summer is a great time to get outdoors, play some "old school games" and have some fun in the sun with the children in your life!!!!
As an occupational therapist I am constantly thinking about or creating "sensory rich" ideas for parents to use with their children. Well summertime takes most of the thought out of creating these activities. Just get outside and do what comes naturally. Below list of sensory rich activities that take little creativity, little set up, almost no purchasing of materials and best of all, they bring back that age old saying "God made dirt and dirt don't hurt" Just go outside and do what you did 30, 40 even 50 years ago with the children in your neighborhood. What we didn't realize back then was that we were all being "little OT's" and filling our days with sensory rich games and activities that didn't seem anything like work but instead were all just part of being a kid.
As an occupational therapist I am constantly thinking about or creating "sensory rich" ideas for parents to use with their children. Well summertime takes most of the thought out of creating these activities. Just get outside and do what comes naturally. Below list of sensory rich activities that take little creativity, little set up, almost no purchasing of materials and best of all, they bring back that age old saying "God made dirt and dirt don't hurt" Just go outside and do what you did 30, 40 even 50 years ago with the children in your neighborhood. What we didn't realize back then was that we were all being "little OT's" and filling our days with sensory rich games and activities that didn't seem anything like work but instead were all just part of being a kid.
Here is a list of games and activities that I remember playing when I was a kid, little did I know that as an OT I would be recommending these activities to my clients as a way to enrich their therapy programs!!!!
- Run through a sprinkler
- Play catch with water balloons
- Build a sandcastle
- Draw with sidewalk chalk
- Play Hopscotch
- Ride a bike
- Jump on an outdoor trampoline
- Play Tag (freeze tag, tv tag or just plain old tag)
- Family Kickball game
- Hide-n-seek
- Relay races
- Swim in a pool
- Play leap frog
- Make mud pies
- Open a lemon aide stand
- Kick the can
- Slip and Slide
- Play with water guns
- Play in the mud (that's right, GET DIRTY!!!!)
- Rollerblading
- Tug-of-war
- Camp out in your own backyard
- Wash a car
- Wiffle Ball
- Go to the beach
- Swings, slides, monkey bars
- Rolling down a hill
- Blow bubbles
- Soccer
- Take a hike
Sunday, June 5, 2011
The first official OT-Kids blog post!!!
OK, after much consideration I have finally decided to begin blogging. I have been following various therapists blogs for a few months now, and have often thought about creating one myself. Well needless to say life has been hectic in the Nguyen household lately, as we anxiously await the arrival of our first bundle of joy in just a few short weeks, however an hour or so ago I sat at my computer and said to myself "There is no time like the present"
The deciding factor for me was the fact that I have encountered so many wonderful people in my life that are dedicated to children in one capacity or another!!! Whether you are a fellow therapist (OT, PT or SLP), a teacher, a friend with children of your own, a parent of one of my clients, or a relative, we all have had an experience with children that we wish we could share with the world. I hope you will follow this blog to read about my experiences as well as to share your own.
As a pediatric occupational therapist I have interactions with children each and every day that make an impact on my life. It is my job to help children access their full potential and there is no better way to make a difference in a child's life then to teach them through play! Yep, I get to play all day long!!!!
Through this blog I will be sharing activities and ideas that you can use with the children in your life. I will share information that I have gathered and used in my practice as an OT as well as information and ideas that I hope to be using with my own children in just a short time!!!
I look forward to sharing my experiences with you and hope that you too will use this blog to share your own ideas and thoughts along the way! Also for more information OT-Kids please check out my website at www.OT-Kids.com
The deciding factor for me was the fact that I have encountered so many wonderful people in my life that are dedicated to children in one capacity or another!!! Whether you are a fellow therapist (OT, PT or SLP), a teacher, a friend with children of your own, a parent of one of my clients, or a relative, we all have had an experience with children that we wish we could share with the world. I hope you will follow this blog to read about my experiences as well as to share your own.
As a pediatric occupational therapist I have interactions with children each and every day that make an impact on my life. It is my job to help children access their full potential and there is no better way to make a difference in a child's life then to teach them through play! Yep, I get to play all day long!!!!
Through this blog I will be sharing activities and ideas that you can use with the children in your life. I will share information that I have gathered and used in my practice as an OT as well as information and ideas that I hope to be using with my own children in just a short time!!!
I look forward to sharing my experiences with you and hope that you too will use this blog to share your own ideas and thoughts along the way! Also for more information OT-Kids please check out my website at www.OT-Kids.com
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