Colleen Beck OTR/L

Colleen Beck, OTR/L is a pediatric occupational therapist and the owner and author of The OT Toolbox website. She manages all of The OT Toolbox social media accounts and runs the popular newsletter. Read about Colleen's experience and career as an occupational therapist, including how The OT Toolbox began on our About The OT Toolbox page: https://www.theottoolbox.com/about-us/ Colleen created The OT Toolbox in 2011 and since then has written thousands of blog posts designed to support therapy providers, educators, parents, counselors, admin, and caregivers in promoting the healthy development of kids. Check out Colleen's blog posts below:

Visual Efficiency and Vision Problems You Can Not “See”

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Visual efficiency visual processing and other vision problems

This post describes visual efficiency, including visual problems such as convergence insufficiency or other visual processing issues impacting functional tasks. These visual processing problems may present in ways that are not obvious but do lead to trouble with reading and learning. As a related resource, check out our blog post on types of eye specialists and specifically, behavioral optometrists.

Visual Efficiency

A child struggles with handwriting.  They work hard in school and can verbalize answers to spelling tests or spout off vocabulary meanings and math facts.  But when it comes to reading assignments, creative writing tasks, or writing a list of words on a spelling test, you notice it.

This child seems distracted in the classroom.  They resist homework.  In-class assignments are not completed on time and when he needs to silently read a passage and recall the details, he seems distrait.

Sometimes, these learning problems are an indication of a vision problem. Sometimes, the child is not complaining of trouble seeing and they have passed vision tests, yet there might be a hidden vision problem.


Visual processing and visual efficiency are hidden eye problems that might not seem obvious when a child goes about his day. A child who needs glasses for acuity will squint his eyes of complain about headaches or blurry words on the page.  A child with visual processing or visual efficiency difficulties may slip through the fuzzy visual cracks.


Visual perceptual skills are needed for so many functional skills. You’ll find easy and fun ways to work on visual perceptual skills through play here. 

Visual processing, visual efficiency, and learning including how vision is related to reading and writing.

What is Visual Efficiency

Lets start by discussing the differences between visual processing and visual efficiency.

Visual Processing
Visual processing is a large way to describe many visual skills. When a child has a problems with visual processing, they have difficulty taking in information and processing that visual information in order to make sense of it. 

Visual processing includes visual tasks such as laterality, directionality, form perception, visual memory, visual closure, and visual motor integration. These are the kids who have trouble with letter reversals, difficulty learning the letters of the alphabet, has poor comprehension skills, has poor recall of visual information, has trouble with writing spelling words and vocabulary, or has sloppy handwriting.

Visual scanning can be one of these processing skills impacting the retrieval of visual information.

Taking in and processing that information can include visual efficiency.

Visual Efficiency
Visual efficiency refers to the ability to effectively view visual information.  While visual efficiency refers to nearsightedness and farsightedness, it also includes problems with how the eyes move in order to focus on visual information:

  • Visual focusing
  • Visual tracking
  • Visual tracking
  • Eye teaming
  • Convergence insufficiency

Visual efficiency problems may present as squinting, complaints of blurred vision, inattention, looses place when reading, poor reading comprehension, moving head when reading, or skipping lines when reading.

You can see how the ability to effectively track, focus, use the eyes together, and converge on information plays a huge role in processing that information for perceptual information so it can be used functionally, in conjunction with motor tasks (visual motor skills).

These are the types of problem areas that often times present later in the elementary school years or when students are required to read a significant amount of information.  

Visual processing, visual efficiency, and learning including how vision is related to reading and writing.


What to do about vision problems

If a child is suspected of having problems in these areas, it is important to have them tested by an optometrist who is qualified to treat learning related vision problems.  Kids can overcome problems with visual processing and visual efficiency through help, tutoring, adaptations, modifications, and corrected vision problems.

Here is more information about strategies to address visual perceptual skills and handwriting. Also check out our resource on handwriting problems.

Visual Efficiency Activities

Because the visual processing skills are so closely related (taking in information, visual perception, visual efficiency, and visual motor skills), activities are often combining all of these areas, and involve functional tasks as well.

Play is a favorite occupation of kids, so many of these activities incorporate play as a therapeutic activity to develop visual efficiency and visual processing skills.

Visual Motor Integration Bilateral Coordination Activity


Eye-hand coordination activity with letters


DIY Lacing Cards for Bilateral Coordination


Visual Closure Bug Worksheets


Scooping Eye-Hand Coordination Activity

Practice “b” and “d” with sensory writing

Color shape discrimination Sort

Coin discrimination

Real toy I Spy game  

You will find MANY more visual processing activities on our Visual Processing Page.

Here are some fun ways to help with visual efficiency concerns:  

Visual processing, visual efficiency, and learning including how vision is related to reading and writing.

These Visual Processing and Visual Efficiency tools are perfect for building skills that are needed in reading, writing, and learning tasks:

Visual Processing Bundle

Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

Impulse Control Worksheets

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impulse control worksheets

This past week, I’ve shared a few impulse control resources and these impulse control resources are just one more tool to add to the toolbox! I wanted to pull out a few of the helpful controlling impulsive behavior worksheets from The Impulse Control Journal to share with you. Use these in isolation, or grab the whole 80 page packet to use to help with areas such as habits, mindset, goal setting, and focusing on addressing impulsive behaviors that impact learning, social emotional learning, and more.

When we equip our clients, students, and patients to stop and think, they can use tactics and cognitive strategies that work to ensure success in daily functional tasks.

Free impulse control worksheets to help kids and teens with impulse control skills.

Impulse Control Worksheets

These free impulse control worksheets are just a snippet of the materials you’ll find in the Impulse Control Journal.

Included in this sample pack are 5 pages:

  • When is Impulse Control Hard
  • What Does Impulse Control Look Like Worksheet
  • BIG Emotions Journal Writing Page
  • Feelings Journal Writing Page
  • Coping Skills Journal Writing Page

Each page is printable and you can use them over and over again to target impulsive behaviors and actions.

Use the impulse control worksheets as teaching tools for kids and teens to show how responses to situations, emotions, and mindset impact impulsive actions, and how to use specific coping strategies to allow learning and functioning in situations. When is Impulse Control Hard

Free impulse control skills worksheets for teens and kids.

When is Impulse Control Hard Worksheet

This page in the packet describes situations when impulse control skills can be difficult. This is important because it helps individuals realize that they are not alone, and that controlling impulsive behaviors isn’t something to be worried about, ashamed of, or that they are the only ones having trouble controlling their impulses.

The worksheet includes a teaching portion: If you think about it, you might start to notice a pattern of times and places when using impulse control is hard.

Users can then check off any times or places that using impulse control is difficult. This can change depending on the day, the situation, emotions, events, etc. Users can also fill in any times not on the list.

Then, the worksheet asks about when using impulse control is easiest and when it is hardest. This is a good exercise to journal and build a toolbox of experiences using working memory. What are some strategies that DID help the user to be safe or make good choices in a a particular situation? What impacted poor choices? These are all areas that can be expanded upon.

What Does Impulse Control Look Like Worksheet

This worksheet helps kids understand what impulse control is and how specific situations can lead to different impulsive behaviors or actions to different people. The executive function worksheet then describes different ways to use impulse control skills in different situaitons. The worksheet allows users to check off different ways they have demonstrated impulse control skills in the past.

This is a great way to teach, but also to build working memory skills. What has worked in the past can be pulled from to use as a tool in the future.

Next, the worksheet asks about times that the individual has used good examples of impulse control. It also asks about specific times or events where poor impulse control was used. This worksheet can be used on a daily or weekly basis to help with working memory in building coping tools for impulse control.

BIG Emotions Journal Writing Page

Another worksheet in the packet is one on BIG emotions. These are the emotions that can be difficult to manage in a way that impacts actions and behaviors. The worksheet includes a quote from Fred Rogers:

“When we talk about our emotions, they become less
overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary.”

-quote by Fred Rogers

Kids can use the worksheet to journal about their biggest emotions, using the journal prompts. There is also a drawing prompt as well.

The big emotions prompts touch on interoception as well. Interoception, or the sense of the internal state of the body, is a sense that can impact how we “feel” on the inside with big emotions. Sensations connected with emotions might include:

  • Butterflies in the stomach
  • Heart racing
  • Holding your breath
  • Breathing fast
  • Stomach churning
  • “Seeing red”
  • Tensed muscles

Here is more information on emotions and interoception. The worksheet asks questions like this because it can help users to connect the dots between big emotions and impulsive actions.

There are also pieces on this worksheet that include concepts of empathy awareness. It asks users to recall times when others may have experienced big emotions. It can be helpful to connect to others and see that impulsive actions are something that everyone deals with at one time or another.

Feelings Journal Writing Page

There is also a feelings worksheet. This worksheet is intended to help users realized that feelings are great to experience, whether they are feelings of happiness, sadness, or anger, etc. Sometimes some of our kiddos might get into a thought process where if they are in a “red zone” (relating to the Zones of Regulation program), they might get it in their head that being in a red zone is a bad thing, when it’s definitely not!

There is a quote by Jonathan Martensson on this worksheet page:

Feelings are much like waves, we can’t stop them from coming, but we can choose which one to surf.

– quote by Jonathan Martensson

The journal page goes on to include writing and drawing prompts about feelings and emotions.

Coping Skills Journal Writing Page

And finally, there is a coping skills worksheet. This page includes writing prompts and a drawing prompt about coping tools that can be used in situations when impulse control might be needed. This worksheet page helps users draw from past experiences and to build their working memory “bucket” of tools they can use in the future. There is also a quote from John Wooden:

Don’t let what you can’t do stop you from doing what you
can do.

-quote by John Wooden

This letter to future self is a great activity to look at what one is doing currently and to identify changes that one wants to achieve. Using those goals as incentive to be a different or changed version supports development. Then, use that future version with a goal ladder to break down the steps to achieve that version.

You may also want to grab the Impulse Control Journal, which is where these worksheets come from. It’s a huge resource designed to develop and strengthen executive functioning skills as well as habit building, goal setting, mindset, and of course, impulse control. I love this journal because it helps kids and teens to recognize their strengths, build upon them, and realize they have the capability to do what they need to do and what they want to do.

Impulse Control Journal the OT Toolbox

The Impulse Control Journal…a printable resource for helping kids strategize executive functioning skill development. When saying “calm down” just isn’t enough…

When a child is easily “triggered” and seems to melt down at any sign of loud noises or excitement…

When you need help or a starting point to teach kids self-regulation strategies…

When you are struggling to motivate or redirect a child without causing a meltdown…

When you’re struggling to help kids explore their emotions, develop self-regulation and coping skills, manage and reflect on their emotions, identify their emotions, and more as they grow…

Grab the Impulse Control Journal to build organizational strategies, planning, prioritization, habits, and mindset in kids.

Free Impulse Control Worksheets

So, what do you think? Would you like to add this printable worksheet set to your therapy toolbox? You’ll need to enter your email address into the form below to access this file.

Free Impulse Control Worksheets

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    Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

    Organization Handouts

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    organization handouts

    Occupational therapists work with clients on executive functioning skills that impact functioning in daily tasks, or daily occupations. Sometimes organization handouts are needed to help to educate the team of a child struggling with organizational skills. In this post, you’ll find resources as well as free organization information to use helping individuals with organization.

    Free organization handouts for helping students stay organized

    Organization challenges can look like a lot of different things. In the classroom, it can look like lost homework, messy backpacks, and a disaster of a desk. You can read all about our organization information here on the website. There, you will find strategies, resources, and tools to support organizational skills.

    Try these other organization strategies here on the site, too:

    Organization Handouts

    Studies show that individuals with a small or underdeveloped frontal lobe of the brain tend to have difficulties with organization, poor memory, emotional reactions, and they tend to become overwhelmed by simple tasks. These individuals will have trouble keeping themselves organized in tasks.

    These free handouts are printable tools to identify specific needs. You’ll find information describing how these areas are connected, what organization challenges can look like, and tips to help. You’ll also find classroom sensory motor activities that can help with organizing sensory input in the classroom environment.

    Free Organization Handouts

    To grab these organization handouts, add your email address to the form below.

    Free Organization Handouts

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      Impulse Control Journal the OT Toolbox

      The Impulse Control Journal…a printable resource for helping kids strategize executive functioning skill development. When saying “calm down” just isn’t enough…

      When a child is easily “triggered” and seems to melt down at any sign of loud noises or excitement…

      When you need help or a starting point to teach kids self-regulation strategies…

      When you are struggling to motivate or redirect a child without causing a meltdown…

      When you’re struggling to help kids explore their emotions, develop self-regulation and coping skills, manage and reflect on their emotions, identify their emotions, and more as they grow…

      Grab the Impulse Control Journal to build organizational strategies, planning, prioritization, habits, and mindset in kids.

      Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

      Truck Handwriting activity Slide Deck

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      truck handwriting activities

      This truck handwriting activity is another free slide deck, but one that uses truck themes to help with writing, letter formation, and working on legible, functional handwriting. Perfect for kiddos that love all things construction vehicles, this truck handwriting activities go well with our recent construction vehicle brain breaks.

      Truck handwriting activities and truck writing prompts in a free therapy slide deck for teaching handwriting virtually.

      Truck Handwriting Activity

      Use this truck handwriting activity is great for virtual therapy (one of the many free slide decks here on the site) but can be used to outline therapy sessions in a face-to-face manner as well.

      In the handwriting slide deck, you’ll find truck words that kids can copy. There are different types of construction trucks. Users can visually scan to copy the words. Expand the activity in a few different ways to work on more handwriting skills:

      • Write the words in alphabetical order to work on visual scanning, visual memory, and visual scanning.
      • Write the words into sentences to work on spacing between letters and words, margin use, and size.
      • Describe a truck on the screen and ask students to write the word from memory to work on visual memory.
      • Work on cursive writing, uppercase letters, or lowercase letters to address letter formation.
      Truck writing prompts to help kids with writing words and sentences in to practice handwriting.

      Truck Writing Prompts

      Also included in the truck handwriting activities are writing prompts. Kids can copy the writing prompt and then continue the writing task to finish the thought. This can be a great way to work on spatial awareness, writing speed, margin use, and functional handwriting.

      There are four different truck writing prompts included in the slide deck:

      • If I drove a dump truck, I would…
      • I was digging in my backyard with a backhoe and I found…
      • A steam roller was making a road and it rolled over…
      • If I could drive any truck, it would be…and I would…

      Kids that love construction vehicles will love these truck writing prompts. Working on handwriting skills doesn’t need to be boring, it’s all about meaningful handwriting to make handwriting motivating and fun that build skills!

      What's missing pictures like this truck "what's missing" picture help kids with visual perceptual skills like visual discrimination, figure-ground, visual scanning, form constancy, and other visual perceptual skills in handwriting.

      Truck “What’s Missing” Activities

      Also included in this truck activity are different truck “What’s Missing” pages. These visual perceptual activities are challenges to help kids work on visual perceptual skills like:

      • visual discrimination
      • visual figure-ground
      • visual scanning
      • visual attention
      • visual memory
      • form constancy

      Turn these what’s missing activities into a motivating handwriting activity by asking kids to write the names of the truck words that are missing from the image on the right.

      Draw a Truck Activity

      Finally, kids can work on visual motor skills, pencil control, size and spatial awareness to draw a truck! There are several truck drawing slides included that challenge kids to draw different forms.

      Free truck handwriting activities slide deck

      Know a kiddo that loves all things trucks and construction vehicles? Grab this free slide deck to work on handwriting skills.

      Enter your email address into the form below and access these handwriting activities.

      Note: Try to use a personal email address, as work email addresses have been blocking the email delivery due to increased security issues.

      Truck Handwriting Activities (free slide deck)!

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        Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

        The Handwriting Book is a comprehensive resource created by experienced pediatric OTs and PTs.

        The Handwriting Book covers everything you need to know about handwriting, guided by development and focused on function. This digital resource is is the ultimate resource for tips, strategies, suggestions, and information to support handwriting development in kids.

        The Handwriting Book breaks down the functional skill of handwriting into developmental areas. These include developmental progression of pre-writing strokes, fine motor skills, gross motor development, sensory considerations, and visual perceptual skills. Each section includes strategies and tips to improve these underlying areas.

        • Strategies to address letter and number formation and reversals
        • Ideas for combining handwriting and play
        • Activities to practice handwriting skills at home
        • Tips and strategies for the reluctant writer
        • Tips to improve pencil grip
        • Tips for sizing, spacing, and alignment with overall improved legibility

        Click here to grab your copy of The Handwriting Book today.

        play dough mat writing prompts

        Add the Roll and Write Play Dough Mat Writing Prompts to your therapy toolbox and build fine motor skills and handwriting in fun and engaging ways.

        Construction Truck Brain Breaks

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        Construction Truck Brain Breaks

        These construction truck brain breaks are heavy work fun with a truck theme! The gross motor activities that kids can use as a brain break or a heavy work activity to help with attention, focus, and sensory input. The construction truck activities are great for kiddos that love all things trucks! You can access these heavy work activities in a free therapy slide deck and use it in teletherapy sessions or in face-to-face therapy (or at home and in the classroom, too!)

        These are perfect for kiddos that love all things garbage trucks, backhoes, excavators, cranes, steam rollers, and more. We’ve got all the construction vehicle activities covered in this therapy set!

        Construction truck brain breaks for kids that love all things construction vehicles.

        Construction Truck Brain Breaks

        I love using brain breaks in themed activities that kids love. The thing is that children are drawn to certain topics or themes, and construction truck themes are no different. There is just something about garbage trucks, dump trucks, backhoes, cement trucks, and excavators that are irresistible to children.

        These particular construction truck brain breaks offer an opportunity for kids to gain much-needed heavy work input in the way of proprioception. You can read more about proprioception and brain breaks here.

        The truck activities also allow children to move while gaining vestibular input as well. Adding movement in a variety of planes and directions in conjunction with input from the eyes, and heavy work feedback from muscle and joint receptors, is able to contribute to posture, coordination, and appropriate response of the visual system.

        Another reason to use heavy work activities like these truck brain breaks, is for the benefit of improving body awareness. Heavy work improves body awareness by incorporating proprioceptive input, with motor planning, attention, and “self-checks” that allow us to know where our body is in space during tasks. This is so important for kiddos facing more and more screen time than ever.

        For more heavy work activities, try these heavy work cards that come in a variety of themes.

        Free Construction Truck Brain Breaks

        You can grab these construction truck activities and use them in teletherapy sessions, in face-to-face therapy sessions, in the classroom, or in the home. They are presented in a Google slide deck, so that they can be easily accessible from different devices and situations, using a Google drive.

        Check out all of the free therapy slide decks we have available here on the site.

        Want to add this resource to your therapy toolbox? Enter your email address into the form below.

        NOTE: Try to add a personal email address for deliverability, as work emails (who have a strict security wall in place) may block the deliverability of the PDF email.

        Construction Truck Brain Breaks (free slide deck)!

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          Heavy work cards

          Use the Heavy Work Activity Cards in play, learning, and brain breaking!

          Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

          Outer Space Visual Perception Worksheet #2

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          Outer space visual perception worksheet

          This outer space visual perception worksheet is a fun printable page for kids who love all things outer space!  Sometimes a fun puzzle is just the way to make to therapy fun.  This Space Visual Perception Puzzle helps kids develop and build skills such as visual discrimination, spatial reasoning, visual motor skills, and motor planning.  It’s part of our free visual perception printable packet, full of resources to address visual scanning, visual discrimination, visual closure, and more.


          Kids can work on pencil control and motor planning to connect matching planets and shapes, but be sure to go around the planets that are in your way!  

          Outer space visual perception worksheet

          Outer Space Visual Perception Worksheet


          When completing this outer space worksheet, kids are working on several skills:


          Visual Discrimination– Noticing and identifying subtle differences in shapes, colors, direction, and forms is a necessary skill for functional tasks like matching socks or silverware.  Visual discrimination is a skill that is essential for handwriting, reading, and math.  Children who struggle with visual discrimination may not notice small details or may confuse letters or numbers that are similar like b, d, 2, and 5. 


          Spatial Reasoning– This skill is what allows us to walk around objects in our path with enough space.  Spatial reasoning is needed for handwriting when determining if a word will fit in a given space or if we need to write smaller or move to the next line at the end of the right margin.  Encourage kids to draw pencil strokes around the planets so they don’t touch the other planets with their pencil.  Visual spatial relations is a spatial reasoning skill. 


          Visual Motor Skills– Coordinating visual information with movements of the hands is a skill that is needed for handwriting.  Use a writing utensil to connect the matching planets and moons while working on visual motor skills needed for written work. 


          Visual Memory–  Children need visual memory for handwriting, reading, math, and many tasks during the school day.  Visual memory is a skill that allows us to store a visual piece of information or a form in our mind and recall the characteristics of that form.  


          This printable sheet can be used over and over again if you laminate it or slide it into a page protector.  Just use a dry erase marker to erase the lines and re-use the puzzle again. 


          The best news is that this space visual perception puzzle is FREE!  
          Grab your free worksheet by clicking the button below.  

          Free Outer Space Worksheet

          Click HERE to get this worksheet as well as 24 other printable worksheets in the free visual perception packet.

          There are a lot of other visual perception and visual motor activities on this site that you will love:

          More Outer Space Activities for Therapy

          Use the free visual perception worksheet along with these outer space activities to help kids develop skills in a variety of areas:

          Know a kiddo that loves all things space, astronauts, and planets? The Outer Space Fine Motor Kit is your chance to develop fine motor strength, dexterity, and coordination skills.

          Addressing hand strength, endurance, and precision is out of this world fun! The Outer Space Fine Motor Kit includes:

          • Fine Motor Mazes
          • Fine Motor Ten Frames for motor activities
          • 1-20 Star Counting Cards
          • Bead Copying Strips
          • Space Alien Directed Drawing Sheets

          This fine motor kit includes 24 pages of printable resources. Included in this printable pack are:

          1. Two pages of color coded bead copying strips
          2. Two pages of blank bead copying strips
          3. Four pages of “draw and write” directed drawing activities with a space theme (Includes 3 styles of handwriting lines: highlighted lines, single rule, and double rule)
          4. Nine pages of fine motor mazes
          5. 1-20 Outer Space Counting Cards
          6. Four pages of fine motor ten frames activities

          These printable activities extend to work on a variety of other functional areas, too: handwriting skills, numbers, math, adding, subtracting, one-to-one correspondence, scissor skills, coloring, and more.

          Click HERE to grab the Outer Space Fine Motor Mini-Kit.

          Outer Space Fine Motor Kit

          Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

          Superhero Gross Motor Activities

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          superhero gross motor activities slide deck

          Today, I have a fun therapy slide deck to share: Superhero Gross Motor Activities! These superhero exercises are movement activities that challenge motor planning, balance, core strength, and crossing midline. When kids move through the superhero movement activities, they can build and develop many areas. Grab this gross motor activity set and start building those motor skills!

          Superhero Gross motor activities for kids

          Superhero Gross Motor Activities

          I wanted to create a gross motor activity set to go along with our superhero writing activity deck, so be sure to grab that free resource as well. This is just one of the free teletherapy slides for OT and PT that are available on the site.

          The gross motor activity set includes 24 different slides and superhero exercises that challenges users to complete different movement patterns. Users can go through the exercises in order and work on various gross motor skills that can be a challenge to incorporate into teletherapy sessions, sometimes.

          By following along with the different superhero gross motor positions, kids can challenge and build:

          These various gross motor skills can help children with self-regulation, attention, and other areas.

          Add these other superhero activities for more skill-building:

          Free Superhero Gross Motor Slide Deck

          Want to add this slide deck to your therapy toolbox? Enter your email address below and you will receive a PDF containing a link to copy the slide deck onto your Google drive. Save that PDF file, because you can come back to it again and again and send it to the kids on your caseload (or classroom) so they can make their own copy on their Google drive.

          Note- You many need to use a personal email address in this form due to increased difficulties with sending deliverables to school district emails, organizations, and those with high security networks.

          Free Superhero Gross Motor Therapy Slide Deck!

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            Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

            Superhero writing

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            Superhero writing slide deck

            This superhero writing activity is a free therapy slide deck that can be used in telehealth sessions or face to face occupational therapy interventions. Get ready for superhero handwriting fun, because those pencils are about to be superheroes! Your kiddos will love these superhero writing prompts, superhero drawing prompts that make handwriting practice fun!

            This is another one of the many free therapy slides available here on the site.

            Superhero writing slide deck

            Superhero Writing

            The cool thing about this free therapy slide deck is that it includes a superhero craft to get those hands warmed up for writing practice. Kids can make the pencil superhero craft and then use their pencil superhero to write with for the writing portion of this therapy activity.

            The slide deck includes superhero words that children can copy. I’ve included many different words that are scattered all over the slide. When users visually scan for the superhero images, they are working on a few different visual perceptual skills:

            • Visual memory
            • Visual attention
            • Visual scanning
            • Visual discrimination

            All of these skills are used when copying words or math problems from a distance like when students copy math problems or a homework list from a smart board in the classroom. They need to visually shift from near to far and find their place in order to copy the information without missing letters or other information.

            Superhero Writing Prompts

            Also included in this slide deck are several superhero writing prompts. Users can use the slides as a starting point for handwriting tasks that are longer in nature. Then, work on areas such as spatial awareness between letters and words, line use, margin use, letter formation, and overall writing legibility. You can help children to check over their written work using this handwriting self-assessment list to build carryover of writing skills.

            Superhero writing activities

            Draw a Superhero

            Finally, in the superhero writing slide activities are several slides that invite kids to draw a superhero. The superhero drawing prompts include various pencil line forms that are easy and more complex to meet a variety of needs.

            When drawing and copying from a form, kids work on visual motor skills that are needed for letter formation, eye-hand coordination, spatial awareness, and pencil control. Plus drawing a superhero is fun!

            Add these other superhero activities for more skill-building:

            Superhero writing activity for therapy

            Free Superhero Writing Activity

            Want to add this free therapy slide deck to your therapy toolbox? Enter your email address into the form below and a PDF will be delivered to you. Use that to access the Google slide deck for therapy sessions. Have fun writing about superheroes!

            NOTE- You many need to use a personal email address in this form due to increased difficulties with sending deliverables to school district emails, organizations, and those with high security networks.

            Free Superhero Handwriting Slide Deck!

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              Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

              What are Executive Functioning Skills?

              by

              Executive functioning skills are an important component of skilled occupational therapy intervention, but they can be confusing to some. What are executive functioning skills? Executive functioning skills go beyond the basics like working memory and impulse control. Using the individual skills in a cohesive manner with mental dexterity drives function at all ages and stages of life. In fact, there is not necessarily one agreed-upon definition for executive functioning! Ready to learn more? Keep reading!

              What are executive functioning skills

              What are executive FUNCTIONING Skills?

              Executive functioning (EF) skills are diverse. Typically, EF consists of skills including the ability to manage emotions, initiate activities within a timely manner, shift attention from topics or activities, control impulses and urges, retain information for use during functional activities, develop plans and formulate systems to perform a desired task, prevent missing materials, and being mindful of how our own behavior impacts others.

              One aspect to delivering strategies and tools to support executive function development can be through a coaching model. In fact, executive function coaching is a powerful tool to support individuals in specific needs.

              Development of executive functioning skills

              When do executive functioning skills develop?

              Executive functioning skills take a long time to develop! As a result, different ages demonstrate different challenges when facing EF deficits.

              While a child in late elementary school may seem successful with their ability to manage classroom materials, turn in homework assignments on time, and engage in age-appropriate behaviors, the same child may demonstrate significant challenges upon the transition to middle school. For example, now they have to return to their locker between classes to exchange books, which is not just a simple stop-and-go activity.

              There are distractions, the desire to engage in social interactions, a time crunch to make it to the next class on time, the need to remember what class is next and what materials they need, and not to mention needing to remember the sequence for their combination lock! This all happens before they even make it into their next classroom or head home for the day.

              How can executive functioning skills improve?

              Thanks to the brain’s neuroplasticity, EF skills have potential for improvement! Many daily activities require diverse EF skills, making them a fantastic opportunity to integrate effective strategies.

              What are executive functioning skills

              Emotional regulation as an area of executive functioning:

              Emotional regulation is one of the first areas of executive functioning that many parents want to improve, since it can add significant stress to family life. Self-reflection is one way to improve emotional regulation. However, it’s important that this takes place after the big feelings pass, since learning takes place when bodies and minds are “just right.”

              This can easily be added to family routines. One way to encourage self-reflection is to have each family member share a positive and negative from the day when seated for dinner.

              This also allows for family members to support each other (“Good luck on your test today, Jacob, you studied very hard!”) and provides opportunities for continued conversation (“You mentioned having an argument with your friend at lunch today. Is there anything I can do to help?”). It can also normalize the big feelings we all experience!

              Initiation and executive functioning skills:

              We’ve all struggled with initiation at some point in our lives; we need to complete items on an ever-growing to-do list, but just don’t know where to start! Kids experience this, too.

              For children who are competitive, make a contest out of completing tasks. See who can complete their to-do list the fastest, but with the best quality, too! Teaching children and teens how to become more independent with initiation can be fun and successful.

              Shifting as an executive function:

              Shifting is often combined with attention, since shifting requires the individual to determine what is important and focus on that, rather than what they might have been doing or thinking before.

              Take, for example, a student who was writing a paper on a Shakespearean play for their English class. They’ve now finished the assignment and have moved on to a worksheet on the quadratic formula. Their mind needs to completely turn “off” Shakespeare and turn “on” the quadratic formula.

              Luckily, there are many activities for attention. One fun way is to build an obstacle course. Each time the child completes the course, change one of the rules!

              For example, the second time, they can only touch primary colors or can only hop on one foot in between obstacles. They will not only need to remember what the new rule is, but they will have to shift away from the old rules!

              Inhibition and executive functioning:

              Inhibition is often referred to as impulse control. It can be an exhausting component of executive functioning, as it can lead to significant safety concerns.

              One way to improve impulse control with younger children is through the game “Red Light, Green Light.” Many children (even early teenagers) enjoy playing versions of “Floor is Lava,” avoiding certain materials as they attempt to navigate a room. This can also be a great way to work on working memory!

              Working memory as an executive function:

              Working memory can be a significant challenge for many individuals. Working memory requires us to retain learned information and use it during daily activities.

              There are many ways to support working memory development and deficits. There are many task-management apps available, even for things like medication management. For activities to improve working memory, try playing games like Magic Labyrinth, Melissa and Doug’s Sandwich Stacking Game, or making a recipe!

              Planning/organizing for executive functioning success:

              Planning for projects and organizing ideas is stressful! It can be helpful to go through large assignments one at a time. Break the assignment into manageable pieces, including what materials are needed for that step and when that step needs to be completed.

              The good news is that these skills can experience definite improvements with practice. Check out this link for more information and strategies on prioritization and planning skill development.

              Organization of materials and executive functioning:

              Messy rooms with laundry covering the floor, desks and lockers overflowing with paper, expandable folders filled to the brim with assignments—these are the signs of a disorganized student! Organization is often the first thing to go when a person feels stressed or overwhelmed, as it can be time-consuming.

              To support a child’s organization skills development, try making checklists for their locker or desk. As they place each item into their backpack, they can check a box to make sure they have everything they need before they go! Or, use labels to clearly define where belongings go in a closet or on a bookshelf.

              Executive functioning skills in kids

              Monitoring for executive functioning success:

              Monitoring is important since we all interactive with others on a daily basis! Monitoring is the acknowledgement that we behave in certain ways and that these behaviors can affect other people.

              Self-reflection (mentioned above) can be a good way to promote monitoring. An individual can process through what they think went well, what they struggled with, and how they think others felt during these events. Behavior charts can also be helpful by clearly listing out what the expectation is and whether the individual demonstrated that skill area. Ultimately, the goal is to encourage self-monitoring as much as possible, rather than adults monitoring the child. The possibilities for monitoring strategies  are diverse and it’s possible to find something that works for each person.

              More Executive Functioning Skills Resources:

              • Free Executive Function Mini-Course- Wondering about what are executive functioning skills? This Executive Functioning Skills Course is a FREE, 5-day email course that will help you understand executive functioning and all that is included in the set of mental skills.
              • This collection of executive functioning skills resources outline many aspects of higher cognitive skills through various EF skill areas.
              • Getting organized can be a start to addressing several executive functioning skill areas. Here is a collection of organization strategies, tips, and tools.
              What are executive functioning skills? This resource on attention, organization, planning, and other executive functions helps kids develop skills needed for learning.

              For resources, tools, and printable activities to improve and strengthen the development of executive functioning skills, check out The Impulse Control Journal.

              Impulse Control Journal the OT Toolbox