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One of my favorite apps!!!!!

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Writing Wizard is designed to help every child learn how to trace letters, numbers, and words through a fun system carefully designed to maintain motivation. * Show and enforce how to trace letters correctly ACCOLADES * "Writing Wizard is the most complete and intelligent letter tracing app we've seen"" AppoLearning.com PERFECT FOR KIDS Kids want to have fun, and Writing Wizard offers a lot of fun to keep them motivated in the learning process ! * They can trace using 50+ animated stickers and sound effects PERFECT FOR PARENTS & TEACHERS * Ability to create your own word lists (and record audio for each word)
* Detailed reports provide information on what kids have done, including the ability to replay and export the tracings to view kids' progress
* Share word lists via iCloud drive or other cloud providers, adhoc network, or email
* Multiple parameters to customize the app according to the child's current education level (e.g. letter size, difficulty, show/hide model, allow to stop between key points, etc.)
* 3 most popular fonts in the US (ZB, DN & HWT) and 10 international fonts (UK, Scandinavia,Australia, germany, France)
* Upper and lower case letters, numbers (and word lists)
* Letter names and phonics (which can be customized)
* A customizable 5-Stars play mode prompting the child to trace a letter or a word 5 times using different parameters (each step is more challenging)
* Create an unlimited number of users
* Many settings to customize the app (sound, game time limit, black background,...)
* In the A-Z section, special graphics available to match letters (e.g. ant graphic for A/a)
* Once tracing is complete, they can interact with them on 4 games that animate letters
* They can trace any word - like their name - and record their voice for each word
* They can collect stars in 5-Stars play mode
* "This brand-new app should be the go-to for every parent, teacher and therapist to work on handwriting" - TOP PICKS - 5 stars - SmartAppsForKids.com
* "Writing Wizard by L'Escapadou is everything a parent wants in a handwriting app, and more." 5/5 - kids-app-reviews.com
* "L'Escapadou has made handwriting fun." AppyMall.com 5/5
* Listed in "20 best educational iPhone and iPad apps for kids of 2013" - appsplayground.com
* Editor's Choice Award for Excellence in Design - Children's Technology Review
* 13 Fonts available (including 3 most popular USA fonts)
* Fun tracing using 50+ animated stickers, sound effects and interactive games that animate letters at the end of tracing
* Letter names and phonics
* Uppercase & lowercase letters, numbers and words
* Add your own words and create word lists
* Fully customizable to suit every child's needs (letter size, difficulty,...)
* Check progress thanks to reports that display what the child has traced
* Shapes tracing activity for toddlers
* Create PDF Worksheets and print them to help your child to write on paper
* (iPad) Use Apple pencil to write at very small size

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Writing Wizard - Handwriting App for iPhone, iPad, Android & Kindle Fire - L'Escapadou

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Writing Wizard is designed to help every child learn how to trace letters, numbers, and words through a fun system carefully designed to maintain motivation. * Show and enforce how to trace letters correctly ACCOLADES * "Writing Wizard is the most complete and intelligent letter tracing app we've seen"" AppoLearning.com PERFECT FOR KIDS Kids want to have fun, and Writing Wizard offers a lot of fun to keep them motivated in the learning process !

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Shoe Tying Tutorial (with a Shoe Tying Trick)

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"Get Dressed!" How to Modify Your Child's Dressing Routine is part of a year-long blog hop called Functional Skills for Kids. Each month, I will be working with other pediatric OTs and PTs to post on different developmental topics that impact functional skills for kids. I'm so honored to be working with some amazing pediatric bloggers to bring you a well-rounded blog hop that will ultimately result in a BOOK!

*This post contains affiliate links

This series will be a wonderful resource for parents, teachers, and therapists to learn about all the different activities a child performs each day. Every month, each therapist will discuss different aspects of functional skills. Each childhood function will be broken down into developmental timelines, fine motor considerations, gross motor considerations, sensory considerations, visual perceptual considerations, accommodations and modifications, activity ideas, and more.

April's topic in the "Functional Skills for Kids" blog hop is DRESSING, so check out the landing page for the rest of our posts and information on all things related to "Getting Dressed!"

WHEN SHOULD A CHILD LEARN HOW TO GET DRESSED?

Teaching your child how to get dressed by themselves can be rewarding and exciting. It can also be frustrating, time-consuming, and overwhelming. Children start helping when their parents dress them as early as one and half years old (Beery & Beery, 2004) . As they grow and develop, they become more independent. For more information about typical developmental progression of dressing, check out MamaOT in the #FunctionalSkillsforKids series.

Getting dressed is an important occupation in a child's daily life. As early as two and a half, a typically developing child is able to get dressed with help (Beery & Beery, 2004). This requires requires motor planning, fine and gross motor skills, spatial awareness of front and back as well as cognitive skills like sequencing and problem solving. This can be frustrating for a typically developing child, but what about a child with a disability? Research shows that "as many as one in five children are at risk for developmental delay, but less than 50% of children with these types of concerns are identified prior to entering school (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). This means that many parents might not even be aware that their child is experiencing a delay.

Children with disabilities are at more of a disadvantage when it comes to learning ADLs. A study that compared Activities of Daily Living (ADL) skills in typically developing children and children diagnosed with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) showed that children with DCD demonstrated delays in learning and poor performance of Activities of Daily Living skills. This study also showed that the children with coordination difficulty participated in ADLs less frequently. (Van der Linde, B.; van Netten, J.; Otten, B.; Postema, K.; Geuze, R.; Schoemaker, M. M., 2015).

It was also found that in instances where the child's delay impacted the whole family, parents had a tendency to take over in order to save time during ADL tasks (Van der Linde, et al., 2015).

Picture a family with three children who are getting ready for school in the morning. The child who struggles with ADL skills may be taking more time to get dressed, which could make the other children miss the bus. It is only natural that a parent would want to "jump in" to help the child dress. However, this pattern can lead to further delay in a child's performance. It becomes a cycle.

One option to help your child learn to get dressed independently is to involve their siblings. Evidence shows that using a sibling to achieve a goal can be very effective. Children are often motivated to copy an older sibling who is a "big kid", so getting your other children on board by demonstrating and encouraging can be a big help (AOTA, 2015).

"Get Dressed!" How to Modify Dressing for Children:

There are many reasons that getting dressed can be a challenge for a child. Some children have difficulty with balance and fine motor skills while others have trouble with problem-solving and sequencing. Still, others have trouble with a few different performance components that are required to get dressed. However, any child's dressing routine can be altered and scaffolded for optimal success.

Teach the Last Step First

It is important to promote he feeling of achievement during the process of getting dressed. An ideal way to accomplish this is to let your child complete the last step of the task by themselves. For example, you can help your child to get their arms into both arm holes of their shirt and help them to pull it over their head. Then let them pull the shirt down over their belly without your help. This effectively lets them "finish" the task alone, which will help them to feel like they've achieved something. When a child feels successful, they are more motivated to work on things that are challenging. By teaching the last step of the task first, you are allowing them to "achieve" the task. Once they have mastered the last step (pulling the shirt down), teach them the second to last step (putting it over their head) ("Teaching your child," 2016).

Other options to modify a dressing routine:

*This post contains affiliate links
Get Dressed With Balance & Coordination Challenges:
1) Sit down. This alleviates the challenge of balancing on one leg when attempting to put underwear or pants on.
Get Dressed With Spatial Orientation & Front/Back Difficulty:
1) Teach your child to locate the tag first.

2) Have your child lay the clothing on the bed front-side down so they can put it on easily without putting it backwards.

3) Make an effort to buy jackets that have a different color or pattern on the inside. This provides a visual cue for when an arm is inside out, etc.

Difficulty reaching feet for socks and shoes:
1) Have your child lean against a wall to stabilize their core and tuck their knee under their chin. This brings the foot close enough to don a sock or shoe, while taking away the additional chore of holding the trunk upright.
Difficulty donning socks:
1) Teach your child how to "gather" the sock in their hands. You can do this by showing them "thumbs up and in". Meaning, stick the two thumbs up, then in the "mouth" of the sock, and then scrunch, scrunch, scrunch. Next, teach your child to get the sock over the pinky toe first. Once the pinky toe is in, it's much easier to slip the "mouth" of the sock over the rest of the toes.

If your child has difficulty getting the "heel part" of the sock lined up with their heel, you can:

a. Buy the socks with colored heels or with a stripe across the toe like these...

b. Line the socks up next to the foot to make sure the heel is in the right spot before beginning the "scrunch" process".

c. Buy ankle socks so there is less material for little hands to manipulate.
Difficulty donning shoes:
1) If your child knows how to tie but can't seem to hold the laces and tie at the same time, you can try shoe lace clamps.

2) Start with slip-on or velcro shoes at first. If your child has laced shoes but isn't ready to tie, you can try elastic laces or hickies.

3) If your child can't get the shoe "open" enough to get their foot in, draw a big face on the inside of the tongue. Remind them that they need to see the whole face (including the mouth) in order to get their foot in. Again, teach them "thumbs up and in" to open the sides.

4) Draw fingerprints on the sides of the sneaker to give a visual cue as to where to grab to pull the shoe open.

5) If your child has trouble putting their shoes on the correct feet you can teach them either of these #OTHacks.

For Velcro Shoes:
Difficulty tying shoes:
For Character Shoes:

Try using the Memory Ties ™ training shoe lace. Memory Ties™ are a training shoelace that magically "remembers" where the lace is positioned. Basically, it doesn't flop over as soon as you take your hand away. This is such a cool feature because so many children struggle with the step of making the loop(s) and then moving to the next step. The laces are made with a special "memory fiber core". But they look like regular laces!

2. Pay attention to other reasons your child may be struggling with tying. Often there are underlying issues that a parent might miss.

References for "Get Dressed"!

Beery, K., & Beery, N. (2004). Beery VMI developmental teaching activities. Minneapolis: NCS Pearson, INC.

Developmental screening fact sheet. http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/parents_pdfs/DevelopmentalScreening.pdf

Supporting parents of children with autism:The role of occupational therapy. http://www.aota.org/About-Occupational-Therapy/Professionals/CY/Articles/Parents-Autism.aspx#sthash.TNiinXB1.dpuf

Teaching your child how to get dressed. (2016). Retrieved 4/17, 2016, from http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/getting_dressed.html

Van der Linde, B., van Netten, J., Otten, B., Postema, K., Geuze, R., & Schoemaker, M. M. (2015). Activities of daily living in children with developmental coordination disorder: Performance, learning, and participation. Physical Therapy, 95(11), 1496-1506.

For more information, check out this fact sheet from the American Occupational Therapy Association: Occupational Therapy in Early Intervention: Helping Children Succeed

This post is part of the Functional Skills for Kids series. Check out all of the bloggers who are participating and learn more about the series by clicking on the link or the image above.

For more information on the components and considerations related to Dressing, stop by and see what the other Occupational Therapists and Physical Therapists on the Functional Skills for Kids team have to say:

" Get Dressed!" How to Modify Your Child's Dressing Routine | MissJaimeOT

Have you read these?

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"Get Dressed!" How to modify your child's dressing routine

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"Get Dressed!" How to Modify Your Child's Dressing Routine is part of a year-long blog hop called Functional Skills for Kids. Each month, I will be working with other pediatric OTs and PTs to post on different developmental topics that impact functional skills for kids.

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Practice Typing with this free program

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Learn touch typing online using TypingClub's free typing courses. It includes 650 typing games, typing tests and videos.

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Keep a little to-go bag with a pad of paper and pencil/crayons so that when you are out in the community or nature, you and your child can draw and write about your experiences. Then you talk about them later. The little picture and word cues can spark the memories and ignite a conversation!

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Using Core Vocabulary When Getting Dressed

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Using Core Vocabulary When Getting Dressed

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How to make sensory bag books!

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I Spy Bags and Sensory Bags are a fun mess free way for younger kids to explore sensory play. In the past we have shared quite a few sensory bag ideas on the site.

Quite a few of y'all have asked how to prevent little fingers from tearing through the sandwich bags while they play. These no sew I Spy bean bags will solve that problem! Plus you don't have to have a crafty bone in your body to make these!!

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I Spy Bags and Sensory Bags are a fun mess free way for younger kids to explore sensory play. In the past we have shared quite a few sensory bag ideas on the site. Quite a few of y'all have asked how to prevent little fingers from tearing through the sandwich bags while they play.

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Borrow audiobooks through your local library!

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Search and borrow from OverDrive's huge catalogue of eBooks, audiobooks and videos

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Borrow eBooks, audiobooks and videos from thousands of public libraries worldwide.

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The Kids Are All Write: How to Make a Comic

By Jamie Nanfara

Artists all over the world are sketching in ink as part of the #Inktober drawing challenge. So this month, we want you to bring illustrations into your writing! We are making comics to celebrate #Inktober. It only takes five easy steps to make a comic, so grab paper and a pencil and tell your story!

Step 1: Pick a character
Who is your story about? Is your character a human or a fierce lion?

Step 2: Sketch your character
Do a few sketches of your character on scratch paper. Draw him/her happy, sad, and angry. What does he/she look like running or jumping? Make quick sketches of your character doing different things.

Step 3: Think of a plot
What does your character want? Plan your story by giving your character a hope, want, or goal. Then, put something in the way so that your character has to struggle before getting what they want. Use the sentence below to help you plan your story.

My character wants _____________________ but _____________________ so_____________________.
Example: Ted the Dragon wants a friend but everyone is scared of his fire breath so he lets them roast marshmallows in his fire breath!

Step 4: Plan your panels
Before you start drawing, plan how your story will go by saying it out loud. Point to each panel and plan what your picture will look like. Don't forget to think about dialogue - what will your character be saying in each scene?

Step 5: Bring your comic to life!
Download our comic worksheets and tell your story! Draw the pictures and add speech bubbles. Use colored pencils or crayons to add color to your comic.

Download your comic worksheets HERE!

Need some inspiration? Check out these great picture books that feature graphic elements such as panels and speech bubbles!

Like it? Pin it!
ABOUT THE BOOKS
Odd Duck
Written by Cecil Castellucci, Illustrated by Sara Varon
Theodora is a perfectly normal duck. She may swim with a teacup balanced on her head and stay north when the rest of the ducks fly south for the winter, but there's nothing so odd about that.Chad, on the other hand, is one strange bird. Theodora likes him, but she can't overlook his odd habits. It's a good thing Chad has a normal friend like Theodora to set a good example for him.

I Am Invited to a Party!
Written and illustrated by Mo Willems
Published by Hyperion Books for Children

In I Am Invited to a Party! Piggie is invited to her first party. She doesn't know what to wear so she asks her best friend Elephant for help. Piggie will try on all sorts of zany outfits before finally arriving at the party for a hilarious surprise.

The Pigeon Needs a Bath!
Written and illustrated by Mo Willems
Published by Disney-Hyperion

The Pigeon really needs a bath except he is not so sure about that. Besides, he took a bath last month. Maybe. It's going to take some serious convincing to try and get the Pigeon to take the plunge.

Mr.Wuffles
Written and illustrated by
Published by Clarion Books

When the space visitors dodge the cat and take shelter behind the radiator to repair the damage, they make a host of insect friends. The result? A humorous exploration of cooperation between aliens and insects, and of the universal nature of communication involving symbols, cave paintings, and gestures of friendship.

CONNECT WITH KidLit TV
Facebook Group | Facebook Page | Instagram | Newsletter | Pinterest | Twitter | YouTube
Executive Producer: Julie Gribble

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The Kids Are All Write: How to Make a Comic - KidLit TV

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By Jamie Nanfara Artists all over the world are sketching in ink as part of the #Inktober drawing challenge. So this month, we want you to bring illustrations into your writing! We are making comics to celebrate #Inktober. It only takes five easy steps to make a comic, so grab paper and a pencil and tell your story!

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Silly Stories that have many students writing more and more!

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Mad Libs - The World's Greatest Word Game

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Getting along with others, Having conversations, sharing toys

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Located in Johnston, RI, The Autism Project is a great resource for families!

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We get it because we've been through it. We are parents and professionals who connect with you to provide support, education, and strategies for the spectrum of needs in your home, classroom, or organization.
Discover How

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We get it because we've been through it. We are parents and professionals who connect with you to provide support, education, and strategies for the spectrum of needs in your home, classroom, or organization. Discover How

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Fill zip top bags with gel, paint, or flour and then practice making shapes, letters, numbers, or words.

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A fun way to practice printing shapes, letters, sight words and more!

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Playdough, cutting, tongs, puzzles, painting, and more....

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Playdough, cutting, tongs, puzzles, painting, and more....

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News All Body Community Dental Healthy Living Jobs Kids Mind NDIS Blog, Community, Events Read more Blog, Scholarships Read more Blog, Community, Healthy Living Read more Blog Read more Blog, Body Read more Blog, Body, Community Read more 1 2 … 9 Next »

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Fine and Gross Motor Fun with Recycled Materials

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General Hand Strengthening Activities: Squeeze Bottle

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General Hand Strengthening Activities: Spray Bottle Play

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to calm and organize

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Voted TD Monthly Magazine Top-10 Most Wanted Games Nominated TOTY 2009 Best Toy of the Year It's not just bingo. It's Zingo!, a matching game that encourages pre-readers and early readers alike to match the pictures and words to their challenge cards. The Zingo! Zinger dispenses tiles and fun as young minds quickly race to be the first player with a full card and yell "ZINGO!" With two levels of play, this matching game builds language skills through fast-paced play. And it happens to be our top selling junior game.

MSRP: $19.99

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Voted TD Monthly Magazine Top-10 Most Wanted Games Nominated TOTY 2009 Best Toy of the Year It's not just bingo. It's Zingo!, a matching game that encourages pre-readers and early readers alike to match the pictures and words to their challenge cards. The Zingo!

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A Dice Game that Makes Math Fun!

Math Dice Jr. is the perfect dice game to introduce or reinforce early math skills in children. Roll the 12-sided Target Die to get your target number, then roll the five 6-sided Scoring Dice. Add, subtract, or add and subtract - use whatever equation you need to hit your target number. For every Scoring Die used, move one space on the Scoring Track. First to the finish line wins! Math Dice Jr. makes math fun!

Type: Family Games Math Dice Games Our Top Games Travel Games
Skill: STEM and Creative Thinking
Age: 6 and Up
Players: 2 or More Players
Instructions: View PDF
Features:

12-Sided Die

Five 6-Sided Dice

Scoring Track

Instructions

Game-Go Bag

MSRP: $8.99

CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.

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A Dice Game that Makes Math Fun! Math Dice Jr. is the perfect dice game to introduce or reinforce early math skills in children. Roll the 12-sided Target Die to get your target number, then roll the five 6-sided Scoring Dice. Add, subtract, or add and subtract - use whatever equation you need to hit your target number.

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What is visual perception?

Visual perception refers to the brain's ability to make sense of what the eyes see. This is not the same as visual acuity which refers to how clearly a person sees (for example "20/20 vision"). A person can have 20/20 vision and still have problems with visual perceptual processing.

Why is visual perception important?

Good visual perceptual skills are important for many every day skills such as reading, writing, completing puzzles, cutting, drawing, completing math problems, dressing, finding your sock on the bedroom floor as well as many other skills. Without the ability to complete these every day tasks, a child's self esteem can suffer and their academic and play performance is compromised.

What are the building blocks necessary to develop visual perception?

How can I tell if my child has problems with visual perception?

If a child has difficulties with visual perception they might have difficulty:

Completing puzzles or dot to dots.

Planning actions in relation to objects around them.

With spatial concepts such as "in, out, on, under, next to, up, down, in front of."

Differentiating between "b, d, p, q"

Reversing numbers or letters when writing.

Losing place on a page when reading or writing.

Remembering left and right.

Forgetting where to start reading.

Sequencing letters or numbers in words or math problems.

Remembering the alphabet in sequence,

Coping from one place to another (e.g. from board, from book, from one side of the paper to the other).

Dressing (i.e. matching shoes or socks).

Discriminating between size of letters and objects.

Remembering sight words.

Completing partially drawn pictures or stencils.

Attending to a word on a printed page due to his/her inability to block out other words around it.

Filtering out visual distractions such as colorful bulletin boards or movement in the room in order to attend to the task at hand.

Sorting and organizing personal belongings (e.g. may appear disorganised or careless in work).

With hidden picture activities or finding a specific item in a cluttered desk.

What other problems can occur when a child has difficulties with visual perception?

When a child has visual perception difficulties, they might also have difficulties with:

What can be done to improve visual perceptual skills?

What activities can help improve visual perception?

Why should I seek therapy if I notice difficulties with visual perception in my child?

Therapeutic intervention to help a child with visual perception difficulties is important to:

Improve ability in and persistence with visual tasks.

Ensure the child is able to engage in/complete academic tasks.

Help the child to complete self care tasks, such as putting shoes on the right feet.

Avoid the child becoming disengaged in an academic environment due to difficulties completing visual activities (e.g. writing, cutting, drawing).

Avoid frustrations experienced by parents, teachers and children when a child is struggling to remain engaged in academic activities.

Help maintain and develop a positive sense of well being.

Ensure that the child doesn't fall behind their peers in development of skills such as handwriting, spelling and maths.

If left untreated what can difficulties with visual perception lead to?

When children have difficulties with visual perception, they might also have difficulties with:

Anxiety and stress in a variety of situations leading to difficulty reaching their academic potential.

Difficulties completing busy work sheets or following visual instructions.

Difficulties accessing the curriculum because unable to attend to the appropriate visual information.

Difficulties dressing independently and managing other self care tasks independently.

Difficulties completing exams due to difficulty blocking out unimportant visual information.

Poor self esteem when a child compares their abilities with their peers.

Poor handwriting skills.

What type of therapy is recommended for visual perception difficulties?

If your child has difficulties with visual perception, it is recommended they consult an Occupational Therapist.

If there are multiple areas of concern (i.e. beyond just visual perception) both Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy may well be recommended to address the functional areas of concern. This is the benefit of choosing Kid Sense which provides both Occupational Therapy and Speech Pathology.

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Visual Perception - Kid Sense Child Development

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Visual perception refers to the brain's ability to make sense of what the eyes see. This is not the same as visual acuity, which refers to how clearly a person sees (for example "20/20 vision"). A person can have 20/20 vision and still have problems with visual perceptual processing.

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Five Little Monkeys, Sharks, Aliens, Soccer Players, and More

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Inclusive Technology - All the Help You Need

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Inclusive Technology is a leading provider of assistive technology with over 20 years of experience helping learners of all ages and abilities to play, learn and communicate.