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:

Sensory Touch

by
sensory touch

One of the first postnatal senses to develop is sensory touch.  There are eight senses to sensory processing, with touch being one of the more important ones.  The tactile system helps the brain understand and make sense of the world around it. Starting in infancy, people use touch to explore objects, protect themselves from danger, and safely navigate their world. Sensory touch is an important piece to looking at a sensory processing disorder checklist.

Sensory touch

Sensory touch

According to what we know about sensory processing, and looking at the sensory processing disorder chart, The body sends tactile information to the somatosensory cortex through neural pathways to the spinal cord, the brain stem, and the thalamus.

The primary somatosensory cortex is the primary receptive area for touch sensations and is located in the lateral postcentral gyrus, a prominent structure in the parietal lobe of the human brain.

Think of sensory touch and the tactile system as a set of wired pathways, similar to the inner workings of a machine. In a typical body, the wires are the correct size, go the right direction, and send the appropriate information from the touch receptors to the brain. 

Types of sensory touch

Three Types of sensory touch

There are three types of touch; light touch, deep pressure, and discriminative touch.  

  • Light touch is alerting.  It may alert you to danger such as something touching the skin, or brushing against a spider web. For those with sensory sensitivity, light touch can be bothersome, painful, and elicit negative emotions. 
  • Deep pressure tends to be calming.  Hugs, weighted blankets, and compression clothing, offer external deep pressure sensory touch. Deep pressure can also alert the body about how tight something is, if there is too much pressure, or not enough. 
  • Discriminative touch alerts the body/brain to the type of sensory touch.  It helps describe the incoming information.  Was it sticky, wet, dry, rough, bumpy, hot/cold, or smooth?

Sensory Touch Issues

How does this affect people with sensory touch difficulties?

If the sensory touch system is not functioning optimally, the wiring can be off. Some wires might be too large, sending too much information at once (sensitivity). 

Other wires may be too small, not sending enough information (sensory seeking). 

Sometimes the wires are too long, taking it longer for the messages to be sent to the brain and registered.

Other times the wires don’t go where they are supposed to, and misinformation is sent.

Slow responses to touch sensory input, or the wiring may be too long/send misinformation:

  • Doesn’t notice if hands or face are messy or dirty
  • Doesn’t cry when seriously hurt and isn’t bothered by minor injuries
  • May not notice if bumped or pushed

Seeking out touch sensory input or the wiring is too small:

  • Touching people to the point of irritating them
  • Loves messy play
  • Likes haircuts
  • Constantly touching objects, running their hands along the walls, or playing in the dirt

Sensitivity to touch sensory input or the wiring is too big:

  • Dislikes having hair cut or brushed
  • Difficulty with toe and fingernail cutting
  • Fussy with food textures
  • Avoids getting messy, wants to wash hands immediately
  • Does not explore with touch
  • Irritated with certain clothing textures, labels and seams and socks. Avoids new clothes

Sensory Touch and Function

So, how does touch affect functional tasks?

Touch is critical to making sense of the world. Along with the other senses, it teaches the brain the characteristics of an object or situation.

This is the reason babies and young children touch everything!  They can not understand a new object without physically exploring it.  

Let’s break down the definition of sensory touch terminology:

  • Stereognosis – a fancy word meaning; the ability to feel an object, and know what it is without seeing it.  An example of stereognosis is reaching into a bag to find a set of keys. 
  • Dyspraxia – difficulty with motor movements. Without the correct sensory touch information, movements and motor planning can be difficult.  Is that sand going to be soft and squishy, how close to the wall am I walking, how much force do I use when petting this puppy?
  • Tactile defensiveness – Inability to tolerate touching food, wearing certain clothes, standing in line, being touched, exploring the environment, or experiencing new tactile sensations.

Another component of touch that impacts functional performance is the information about touch that keeps us safe and gives us information about the world around us. This includes touch information such as:

  • Where is a particular item touching me?
  • The sensory touch awareness that “disappears” over time (feeling your socks on your feet when you put them on, but then not constantly feeling the “feel” of the socks on your feet). This awareness isn’t always present in Autistic individuals.
  • Is this item hot or cold?
  • Is a particular item too sharp or dangerous?

Somatosensory Touch

Somatosensory touch is a physiological body process which includes several aspects of sensory touch:

  • Exteroception input which can include touch sensitivity, thermoreceptive input (heat and temperature awareness), pain receptors
  • Interoceptive perception– awareness of pressure or feelings inside the body
  • Proprioceptive perception– feelings and awareness of joints and body awareness.

Research about the somatosensory touch sense

There are several research articles available on the somatosensory or tactile system:

  1. This article covers the sensory neurons of touch, including important information about the somatosensory system which serves three major functions; exteroreceptive (perception of sensory stimuli outside the body and on the skin), interoceptive (perception of internal stimuli inside the body), and proprioceptive functions (for the perception and control of body position and balance). Of important mention is the inclusion of
  2. This article which covers the development of touch.
  3. This article which discusses the common influences of the visual and tactile systems in using similar cognitive processes to enable humans to rely merely on one modality in the absence of another to recognize surrounding objects.
  4. This article discusses how Meissner’s corpuscles work in sensory touch, and how the location and presence of the number and distribution of Meissner’s corpuscles occurs in different locations on the human body.

These are scientific journal articles which provide facts and research on theories about the sensory touch aspect of sensory processing.  To the layperson, they are difficult to read and decipher. Using the wiring example above, along with concrete examples may prove to be more beneficial to caregivers.

Sensory Integration and Touch

Sensory integration is the ability to correctly receive and interpret information from the senses. Difficulty with sensory integration, often labeled sensory processing disorder, results in misinformation about incoming information.

It can be in one or more of the senses.  

For more information on this theory, please do read our resource on Ayres Sensory Integration for an understanding of what is happening in our nervous systems that results in the motor or behavioral output. It’s truly fascinating!

Why do babies touch everything?

Babies and toddlers explore with touch.  A person who has not integrated this sense, may need to explore with touch long beyond the acceptable time frame. Learners who are developmentally delayed may exhibit “inappropriate” sensory behaviors because their system is functioning at a much lower level. 

A four year old functioning at a one year old level would be expected to explore with taste and touch. 

Infants and children who are born prematurely may also have difficulty with sensory regulation.  Their sensory systems were not developed well in utero, and it is almost impossible to mimic the womb sensations in an external NICU. 

Premature children may be especially vulnerable to sensory challenges.

Sensory Touch Preferences

Everyone has their own set of sensory preferences.  You might dislike wearing jeans, cut the tags in your clothing, love snuggling under a heavy blanket, or prefer not to get messy. 

These can be normal reactions to touch.  It becomes a problem when the reaction to sensory input impacts function. 

The person who can not wear any clothes, is not able to be around people who might touch them, or has a panic attack stepping on the sand, are on the further ends of the typical spectrum.

Their ability to lead a productive life is being compromised by their sensory difficulties. These are the people who may benefit from treatment.

What can I do about this?

The first step is understanding. Understanding a child is not “bad” or being difficult on purpose. Provide good tactile experiences to nurture and build the sensory system. 

Amazon affiliate links are in this list below.

Hands on strategies to support sensory touch:

Understanding sensory touch, along with the other seven senses is tricky and complicated. What seems like a basic human function, can be a tangled web of crossed wires and misinformation.

NOTE*The term, “learner” is used throughout this post for readability and inclusion. This information is relevant for students, patients, clients, preschoolers, kids/children of all ages and stages or whomever could benefit from these resources. The term “they” is used instead of he/she to be inclusive.

Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.

Thanksgiving Mindfulness Activity

by
Turkey exercise for a mindful thanksgiving

Having a mindful Thanksgiving is so important, but have you ever considered HOW to achieve Thanksgiving mindfulness during a time when abundance is everywhere? Today, we have a few tips on holiday mindfulness, but also a great turkey exercise. This Thanksgiving deep breathing exercise is a tool to use when the overwhelming feelings of a big holiday event can overcome emotions and behaviors. Add this turkey activity to your Thanksgiving occupational therapy plans.

Thanksgiving Mindfulness

This time of year, being mindful is a huge part of the gratitude of Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving Mindfulness activity doubles as a deep breathing coping strategy but also is helpful in teaching kids to be mindful during a time of year when the holidays can get the best of them.

A few weeks ago, you may have seen a Pumpkin deep breathing exercise on The OT Toolbox. This mindfulness strategy is inline with that coping tool. Use it to talk to the kids about mindfulness or as a sensory strategy.

You can also use this activity along with our Thanksgiving tree to work on mindset and gratitude.

Thanksgiving mindfulness activity with deep breathing exercise to use as a coping strategy with kids.

During the time of year when signs of a feast is everywhere (from a family get together to a feast in the classroom), it can be easy to become overwhelmed by tensions, boundaries of others, and even the over-abundance.

For our kiddos with sensory needs, we see this play out in emotions, behavioral meltdowns, and sensory regulation needs.  

However, for ALL of us, sometimes having an open mind and mindful strategies can support a complex season. 

Mindfulness for kids can be a creative way to address common concerns with attention, self-regulation, self-awareness, coping skills, and concentration.

Mindfulness activities can be a way for kids to be more present in the moment, and more aware of themselves in every situation, including in the home, in the classroom, and while performing everyday activities.

With the turkey exercise below, we use a few areas of mindful attention:

  • Deep breathing
  • Coloring (if using the coloring page)

Deep breathing exercises can improve a child’s attention, emotional regulation through mindful attention to Breath Control. 

Breathing exercises are a coping tool to support relaxation by attentive breathing. When focused breathing occurs with breath control to inhale a deep, diaphragmatic breathing strategy, and then held for a moment to hold the breath at full capacity, there are many calming benefits, which can slow a racing mind. This relaxation breathing is a breath control mechanism.

Mindfulness Strategies for Big Holidays

There are many ways to incorporate mindfulness into holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas. You can still honor the spirit of Thanksgiving or other big holidays even when overwhelm and a racing mind are at play.

Here are some of our favorite mindfulness tools for holidays:

  • Fun Mindfulness activities for kids–  creative mindfulness exercises that can help kids feel better, reduce stress, address anxiety, and have a greater awareness of their body and mind. Mindfulness activities for kids can be used as a self-regulation tool or a coping strategy. 
  • Go for a quick walk to add movement, heavy work through the body, and the opportunity to take a few deep breaths.
  • Make a list of things you are grateful for. Use that gratitude to pray, give thanks, or use in gratitude meditation.
  • Talk about gratitude with kids. This Bear Says Thanks activity is a great hands-on activity for this lesson.
  • Take a walk in nature and practice gratitude while walking
  • Talk about gratitude. You don’t need to save thankfulness for the Thanksgiving table. Talk about the things you are thankful for each day.
  • Consider mindful eating during big meals or family meals.
  • Winter Theme Mindfulness Activities–  Use these tips for mindfulness in the classroom and creative mindfulness exercises with a winter theme. 
  • Mindfulness Videos on YouTube– Use these YouTube videos to help kids pay attention and responding to input from the world around us, including emotionally and cognitively. 
  • Make gratitude and mindfulness a habit. 
  • Adding a quick morning meditation can help with overall wellbeing.
  • Hug your friends and family. Did you know there are benefits to giving and receiving hugs? Not only do they offer proprioceptive input through deep pressure, but they can be very calming.

Turkey Exercise for Mindfulness

This mindfulness activity is a fun one for kids this time of year. Like our pumpkin deep breathing exercise, we used a visual graphic of a turkey paired with directions to breathe deeply as a sensory coping strategy. Use the turkey deep breathing activity to teach kids mindfulness and awareness.

Use the printable along with these free Thankful Turkey Templates for hands-on play.

What better activity is there for Thanksgiving and the season of gratitude?

  • Kids can use this Thanksgiving mindfulness activity to wind down after a busy day, cope with sensory overload, and be more aware of things they can express gratitude for.
  • Use the printable turkey exercise as a breathing tool during the chaos of a family dinner.
  • Use this Thanksgiving themed mindfulness tool to address sensory issues such as sensory overload. It’s a great way to add a mini-sensory break into busy days filled with family and festivities. Simply taking a few moments to add deep breathing exercises can help with feelings of overwhelming sensory overload and add the calming moment a child might need.
  • It works for kids of all ages, too…take a few moments with your kiddos to step back, breathe deeply, and express gratitude or awareness.

It’s a great way to introduce mindfulness to children with a visual representation of the deep breathing strategy and awareness of the world around them.

Ok, so how does this work? Let’s try this mindfulness meditation task!

How to Use this Turkey Exercise for Mindfulness

Print off the turkey exercise by entering your email address into the form below. This resource is also available in our OT Toolbox Member’s Club, on the Thanksgiving Therapy Theme page.

  1. Use the visual graphic to follow the arrows as you take deep breaths in and out.
  2. Pair the deep breathing with thoughts of things that you are thankful for with each breath.
  3. For each feather on the turkey, you will concentrate on one thing, person, or aspect that you are thankful for. Maybe it’s a warm house. Maybe you are thankful for the sun shining outside. Maybe it’s a frantic house filled with family and friends. Maybe it’s a job that pays the bills.

Thinking about whatever it is that you are grateful for is a simple way to pair the benefits of slow deep breaths with intentional thoughts.

Use the Thanksgiving mindfulness with kids as a group or individually. You can set this up in several ways. Ask them fist to list out some things they are thankful for. Then, quietly say an item with each breath break.

Use the Turkey Deep Breathing Exercise in a Group

This exercise is a great addition to group gratitude activities.

As a mindfulness group activity, use the turkey graphic and explain that they will be pairing deep breathing with a focus on gratitude. Come up with a list of things the group is thankful for and as you work through he deep breathing exercise, the children in the group can focus on things that they are thankful for personally.

Or, you could invite the child to think in their head about some things they are thankful for and then with each breath in, they intentionally concentrate on that thing/person/idea.

Adding the deep breathing exercise with intentional thoughts makes this a Thanksgiving Mindfulness activity that can be so helpful for kids (and adults) of all ages!

Thanksgiving mindfulness activity for kids

Thanksgiving Exercise for Deep Breathing

When focusing on gratitude and mindfulness during the Thanksgiving holiday, having an exercise with a turkey theme is a fun way to support self-regulation needs.

If you include this Thanksgiving exercise with gratitude and mindful breathing, it’s a great sensory tool, especially when worries or overthinking is happening. Gratitude and mindfulness can be powerful coping tools for anxiety by helping individuals shift their focus from negative thoughts and worries to more positive and present-moment experiences.

Pair this Thanksgiving exercise with gratitude by asking the user to think of things they are thankful for as they complete each breathing exercise.

This can help the user because mindful breathing and gratitude helps us to be present in the moment, promotes relaxation, and supports emotional regulation.

Free Thanksgiving Mindfulness Exercise

You can print off a version of this turkey exercise deep breathing tool. Enter your email address into the form below. The OT Toolbox Member’s Club members can access this resource inside our Member’s Club on the Thanksgiving Therapy Theme page.

Free Thanksgiving Mindfulness Turkey Exercise

    Are you interested in resources on (check all that apply):
    We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.
    Built with ConvertKit

    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.

    Turn Taking

    by
    turn taking

    We all use turn taking on a daily basis. Taking turns in conversation, walking through a doorway, during meals, at appointments, while shopping, and even while driving are just some examples of how turn taking occurs day in and day out. While learning to take turns is a part of social emotional development, this can be a real challenge for some kids. Here, we’re covering all things turn taking: development, how to teach kids to take turns for functional independence and self-care, and turn taking activities.

    turn taking

    Turn Taking

    So what does turn taking mean? Turn taking, or the act of taking turns in a situation, conversation, or even means sharing space and time with another individual. Turn taking can look like many things:

    • Speaking and then listening when others speak in a conversation
    • Taking turns in a game
    • Taking turns in line to get a drink from a water fountain
    • Waiting one’s turn in a food like like in the cafeteria
    • Taking turns in speaking during circle time or sharing time in the classroom
    • Taking turns with a favorite toy
    • Waiting while others have an opportunity to receive services such as a food server in a restaurant
    • Waiting for one’s turn in a scheduled event such as at doctor’s appointments or waiting for one’s number to be called at the deli counter
    • Taking turns in moving situations such as when walking through a door or when turning at a stop sign
    • Sharing a responsibility such as when taking turns taking out the family garbage or caring for a family pet
    • Taking turns to get on or off a school bus, or while waiting in line at the car drop off line
    • Taking turns with a toy in the home or in the classroom
    • Taking turns using equipment like slides, swings

    As you can see, taking turns is part of daily life. There can be limitations to aspects of turn taking in some situations, for those with intellectual or behavioral considerations, particularly in the social circumstance of conversation or sharing a toy.

    Other circumstances that offer a more concrete environment such as waiting for one’s turn in a doctor’s office waiting room can be an opportunity to practice the components that allow for turn taking skills.

    Throughout a preschool day, children are expected to wait often. This could be while they wait for a snack, wait to go to the bathroom, wait during a transition, wait for a toy or wait for a turn in a game. As children become exposed to more opportunities to practice taking turns, they get better at it and more patient. But when they first start out, taking turns can be frustrating for children and teachers alike! This aspect of turn taking incorporates the working memory skill in transitions for children.

    Turn Taking in Conversation

    Turn Taking in Conversation- This component is one that is modeled, and a part of social emotional learning. Interrupting a conversation, speaking out of turn, and interrupting instruction is an important skill to understand.

    Turn taking in conversation is important for social reciprocity, but also safety. This skill requires auditory processing skills and receptive language skills.

    What is social reciprocity?

    Social reciprocity refers to the give and take of social interactions, including conversation, verbal interactions, or physical interactions.

    Social-emotional reciprocity (SER), or the give-and-take of a social interaction is also a part of the turn taking continuum. Social reciprocity refers to an individual’s ability to engage in social interactions between two or more people.

    This ability can be difficult or impossible for some individuals, and may be a consideration especially with some, but not all Autistic individuals.

    Taking turns with others, or social reciprocity, is a social emotional skill that is needed for many areas including learning, play, interacting in the community, conversation, and other areas. Let’s cover social reciprocity and how turn taking games or activities can be used to develop social emotional skills.

    Social reciprocity develops from birth. We see this when babies mimic facial expressions, or eye gaze. This interaction occurs with the parent or caregiver during feeding, but we see this give and take develop very quickly.

    Continued back-and-forth interactions occur through play, vocalizations, and in daily activities like during dressing, wake/sleep time, etc.

    With development of verbal communication, social reciprocity further expands, particularly as verbalizations progress from sounds, to words, to monologue communication, into a conversation.

    When children grow, typically we see a conversation ability expand. This develops as executive functioning, inpuarticular working memory skills, develop.

    We see references to previous conversations or information. We see social interactions in various situations. We see public speaking, or speaking out in a group. All of these are part of social reciprocity and the use of turn taking in social situations.

    For some of the individuals we work with, particularly Autistic individuals, we may see a preference to talk about one particular topic. The give and take of the conversation, or the reciprocity aspect is not there. It might be that they either do not respond to these social initiations because they do not realize that there is a back-and-forth aspect. Or, it could be that the social cues (such as verbal fluctuations, pauses in communication, eye-contact, and other nuances of a conversation or social situation are not addressed.  

    So, as you can see there is a huge social aspect to turn taking.

    Turn Taking Development

    Young children are learning new skills everyday, and even more-so when they are in groups with other children. A child’s environment can include a variety of objects that they would like to use the same time that others are using them.

    Taking turns isn’t a skill children are born knowing how to do. In fact, as babies, we are all very self-serving and aware of only individual needs. This developmentally, serves the infant and baby. Crying out is a survival instinct. There is no “turn taking” in sleeping through the night or wanting to be fed at all hours of the day!

    Turn taking develops as a skill through modeling and observation…and then practice with age.

    There are several developmental components that play a role in turn taking abilities:

    • Awareness of self
    • Awareness of others
    • Executive functioning (working memory, attention, task completion, etc.)
    • Intellectual awareness (first, then concepts)
    • Spatial awareness

    Young children learn how to share through ample opportunities and supported facilitation from adults. When children are in a group with other kids, opportunities to learn how to take turns or comes in a variety of forms, waiting for an object, waiting to participate in an activity and waiting for their turn when they are in a large group of children completing a similar task.

    Below, you will learn some simple ways to support turn taking activities using visuals.

    Turn taking activities

    Turn Taking Activities

    We can support turn taking skills through activities driven by modeling, practice, and play.

    Visual Supports- Visuals support children in understanding what another person wants. Visuals can be utilized with a parent-child relationship, a teacher-child relationship, and even a child – child relationship.

    As children learn more words, they are able to comprehend directions (both new and familiar), but before they learn meanings of words, visuals will help a message be communicated. 

    Other visual supports can include:

    Verbal supports- As an early childhood educator, I like to give children the opportunity to play with an object for as long as they would like without putting a time limit on it. I don’t use timers in my class to signify when a child has to be done with a toy.

    When children are playing with toys, they are using that object for a purpose, and it can be frustrating to hear a timer go off in the middle of their game. This can cause frustration from the child around having to end their play and some friction around the child that will be receiving the toy.

    Instead, we say the phrase “when you are all done, then _________ would like to play.” Typically a child is done using a toy within 15-20 minutes and the next child gladly accepts the toy. 

    Verbal supports can include:

    • Verbal prompts
    • Music or other auditory prompts
    • Modeling
    • Social stories

    activities to promote sharing and turn taking

    In the classroom environment, kids may have their first experience with turn taking and sharing.

    Here are my five favorite ways to teach sharing and turn taking with preschoolers.

    1.Use a turn taking chart. 

    When multiple children are excited about using a toy (such as the tricycle outside), it may take a while for one child to be done playing with that object. When there are multiple children waiting for one item, they tend to become frustrated because they don’t want to loose their spot in line.

    That is where the turn taking chart comes in!

    This chart is simple. It can be made with a chalkboard or white board, hung outside near a highly desired item. When multiple children are requesting an object, the adult can write their name in order on the white board. When one child is done with the object, the teacher can cross that name off and go to the next name on the list.

    This allows children to feel confident they can play with something else while they wait and they won’t be forgotten or skipped. As a bonus, this activity teaches written name recognition to children, as they learn how to read the list and find out when their turn will be.  

    2. Use turn taking cards.

    One of the most common times that “turn taking” becomes an issue in the preschool room, is when a child gets up to go to the bathroom or get a drink, and they come back to find the objects they were using have been swiped up by another child or put away by a teacher cleaning up.

    Turn taking cards are my favorite way to prevent this from happening. This simple 5×7 card has a child’s picture glued to the front and the words “ (child’s name)’s turn!)

    Every child in the classroom has one and they can place it on an object they are using if they need to step away for a minute but want to return to finish what they were doing.

    Children and teachers understand that the child is coming back to continue working and leave the object alone. A wonderful children’s book that has some more examples of turn taking cards is the book (Amazon affiliate link) “Sammy Learns to Share: A Lesson in Turn Taking!”

    3. Teach Large Group Turn Taking. 

    During large and small group activities, such as circle time, centers, specials classes (gym, music, etc.), lunch time, recess, or group activities, children have to wait their turn to participate.

    This could be waiting to share an idea during circle, stir the cookie dough at snack, or wait to be the Goose during Duck Duck Goose!

    There are some fun ways to visually share whose turn it is now and who will be next. If you are going around in a circle (which is often the easiest) the child whose turn it is can hold onto an object. This could be a  “speaking stick” or a “stirring chef’s hat” they are wearing for a cooking project.

    4. My turn Your turn cards- Printable cards that simply say “my turn” and “your turn” could also be used! When children are able to see whose turn it is and who will be next, their patience increases! 

    5. Turn taking routine charts.

    These visual boards are great to use during everyday routines, such as bathroom time, snack time or lunch time. I also add children’s pictures to these visuals, when practicing taking turns during routines.

    Add children’s pictures in a specific order, so the children know who is next to complete the daily task.

    Using visuals communicate to children what is expected of them and when. As they become used to the routine and taking turns, fading out this visual tool may be possible. 

    6. Play turn taking games.

    Turn taking games are fun ways to practice the skill of taking turns. I love giving children plenty of opportunities to practice taking turns with their peers and siblings. When young children have time to practice new skills, including social skills, they will become familiar and attentive to situations where they need to put these skills into practice.

    Luckily, the skill of taking turns and sharing time, space, and physical objects can be practiced with almost every game. This is especially great for toddlers through preschoolers and utilize items that you already have.

    Meltdowns with Taking turns or sharing

    What if after all of these strategies, kids are still frustrated with taking turns? You have probably seen a meltdown or temper tantrum because a child or even teenager or adult is asked or required to take turns or share.

    It’s important to remember with young children or individuals with Autism or other considerations, that turn taking is asking too much of the individual. There is not the ability to cognitively or physically see the reasoning to share or take turns.

    When a meltdown or temper tantrum occurs, what is going on behind the “behavior” or actions that we are seeing? It is likely that the physical or verbal responses to this request is inability to communicate one’s wishes or needs. Or, it could be that the individual simply does not see the reasoning for the turn taking or sharing request.

    Sometimes, children still have a hard time with waiting and taking turns. They could become upset and need a few moments to calm down or be redirected to a new activity.

    Addressing self-regulation tools as a strategy to address emotional regulation needs can help.

    The (Amazon affiliate link) Soothing Sammy Program is a wonderful way to support children in calming down if they become upset or overwhelmed. The sweet story begins with children visiting Sammy, a golden retriever, when they are frustrated, sad or mad. Sammy shares some calm down items with them (such as a drink of water, a squishy ball, a place to jump, etc).

    When the children are calm, Sammy helps them devise a plan so they can decide what happens next. In the back of the book, there are instructions on how to build your own Sammy house for your home, classroom or clinic, for the Sammy plush included in the program. Children can visit Sammy to calm down when they feel overwhelmed. You can find the full Soothing Sammy program here.

    Young children are just learning how to engage in play with peers and their social skills are also developing at a pace that sometimes seems frustrating to adults.

    As children are exposed to more opportunities to take turns, and are given the visuals and extra supports needed to learn how to respond to frustrating situations, they are able to adapt, learn new skills and eventually take turns with minimal interventions.

    Visual supports are a wonderful way to remind children that they are heard and that their turn is coming! Which visual supports are your favorite?

    Jeana Kinne is a veteran preschool teacher and director. She has over 20 years of experience in the Early Childhood Education field. Her Bachelors Degree is in Child Development and her Masters Degree is in Early Childhood Education. She has spent over 10 years as a coach, working with Parents and Preschool Teachers, and another 10 years working with infants and toddlers with special needs. She is also the author of the “Sammy the Golden Dog” series, teaching children important skills through play.

    Executive Function Coaching

    by
    executive function coaching

    In this blog we are covering what you need to know about executive function coaching, and how to use an executive functioning coach to best support cognitive skill needs. Whether as an adult with executive function, or a teen or child struggling with development of specific executive functioning skills, coach strategies can be a tool in the toolbox!

    Executive function coaching

    executive function coaching

    Often when we think of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), a high-energy young boy “bouncing off the walls” is what comes to mind. While some cases present that way, it is far from the whole picture.

    What many individuals with specific cognitive skill challenges are experiencing, including that energetic little boy, is called Executive Function Disorder (EFD).

    Those with EFD characteristics experience difficulties managing activities in their daily life and can benefit significantly from an ADHD executive function coach.   

    HOW CAN AN Executive Function COACH HELP?

    Specifically for attention and focusing considerations, an executive function coach is going to determine how specific challenges related to a diagnoses impacts this individual’s life.

    Coaching executive functioning skills might include:

    • Coming up with executive functioning skill accommodations
    • Supporting complex tasks like organizing, decision-making, and handling stress
    • Promoting development of skills such as attention to detail, working memory, and time management
    • Providing tools to support organization, focus, and reducing distractions
    • Streamlining functional tasks by creating “cheat sheets”, lists, and visual prompts
    • Offering supports such as apps
    • Helping to reduce clutter to limit distractions
    • Coming up with schedules and plans for functional performance in the home, work, school, or community
    • Helping clients create a plan for the day or week
    • Offering tools for emotional support
    • Providing resources on study skills
    • Support the client to break down tasks into steps
    • Supporting the development of mental dexterity in daily tasks

    By being very specific about what is happening in the brain and how that is impacting their life, a coach can recommend tailored accommodations for their clients. 

    An executive function coach recommends great treatment options by being evidence-based. This means that anything they recommend for treatment should be backed by expert knowledge.

    Supporting specific diagnoses with an executive Function Coach

    The thing about our brain is that we need it to do every task, both big and small!

    So, when things like staying on task, doing what you say you will do, meeting deadlines, and essentially functioning…is difficult, we can look at these tasks and see that there are cognitive skills that are needed to accomplish each task.

    When you break it down, executive functions refer to the skills of the brain which allow us to manage ourselves…to get things done. These skills include areas like planning, prioritization, working memory, attention, focus, task complettion, etc.

    However, executive function also refers to the processing of information in our brain and using that information. As a result we see areas such as managing our emotions, behavioral response, managing distractions, self-fixing to recognize when we are off track so wo can recover and accomplish a task at hand.

    These skills allow us to do everyday activities from making a bowl of cereal in the morning to eating the meal, to cleaning up the bowl.

    Without executive functioning skills, we end up hungry, living in a messy house, and in unsafe conditions. This is just a simplified example, but you can see how staying focused, problem solving, task completion, and using what we know (working memory) allows us to live as a functioning individuals.

    One route to determining how it impacts their life is to fully understand their specific diagnosis. A diagnosis such as ADHD will have certain features that impact executive functioning skills and will differ from a diagnosis such as Down Syndrome which also has features that impact executive functioning. Each diagnosis will present differently, but an executive function coach can support these areas.

    Likewise, executive functioning difficulties can present without a diagnosis in place. A coach will support the features of the challenges the individual has, which impact functional performance: school tasks, work tasks, daily life tasks, etc.

    Let’s break down how a specific aspects of a diagnosis can be addressed with an executive function coach, based on an example diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

    There are three subtypes of ADHD, as characterized by the DSM-5:

     1. Predominantly Inattentive

     2. Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive

     3. Combined Inattentive and Hyperactive-Impulsive 

    A good executive function coach is an expert in ADHD and will be able to understand which subtype their client has, and how it can affect their daily activities and relationships.

    Luckily for practitioners, the subject of ADHD has been of high interest to researchers and funding sources, so there is a good amount of evidence to support claims.

    This evidence is sourced from high-quality research articles, information from trusted organizations, and experiences from experts in the field. The best coaches provide for their clients by continuing to adapt as new information becomes available. 

    What does an Executive Function Coach Do?

    Getting specific, executive functioning coaching may support individuals with accommodations, tools, and practice.

    A coach will work with a client on developing and using skills to meet executive functioning needs.

    Let’s discuss what an accommodation is, and why they are so often used for those receiving executive function coaching services:

    There are two main pathways to intervention in therapy: changing the person to better the person OR changing the situation to better the person. Accommodations are used when the situation is being changed. 

    Executive Function coaching strategies include:

    • Environmental Accommodations
      • Adjusting the environment to increase attention and comfort. This may include different lighting scenarios, auditory adjustments (i.e. noise cancelling headphones, music for attention, limited sound distractions), flexible seating options, or location. 
    • Tools as Accommodations
      • Memory and organizational tools such as post-it notes, color-coded items, visual ordering, graphic organizers, etc. (and a coach to initiate and educate on the use these tools)
      • Timers, alarms, and schedules to reduce the symptom of time-blindness 
      • Supports for visual noise
      • Specific apps for functioning and task completion. Here are occupational therapy apps that may work.
    • Adjustments to School/Work Requirements
      • Extra time or a separate location for tests, quizzes or other focused work
      • Flexible work deadlines
      • Movement breaks or “brain breaks”
      • Additional processing time and/or multiple opportunities to learn a task 

    Additionally, an ADHD coach will work with their client to find what works for them in various settings, including: 

    • Attention-specific tools and practices based on what type of inattention is currently inhibited may be trialed for best outcomes. 
    • A Impulse control journal may be educated on and practiced with to reduce impulsive behaviors that are associated with some types of ADHD. 
    • Frequency and types of breaks to promote efficiency and reduce common ADHD burnout. 

    Executive functioning practice and trial- an EF coach will work with a client on trialing various strategies to see what works and what doesn’t. This can include things such as:

    • Practicing use of timers, schedules, checklists, etc.
    • Playing executive function games to develop skills.
    • Trialing use of Alexa apps to support specific needs in timers, alerts, etc.

    WHEN SHOULD I GET An Executive Function COACH?

    Executive functions develop beginning in infancy and continue to develop well into adulthood.

    Through that development, the symptoms of executive function disorder appear in different ways throughout one’s life. As we grow, our brains become more and more capable of completing complex tasks like organizing, decision-making, and handling stress.

    Experts in the field of ADHD believe the same is true for those with executive function disorder – that the brain will continue to naturally develop skills over time, slowly making up for the deficit in functioning. 

    With that in mind, it’s easy to recommend executive function coaching at any age where the individual is symptomatic. However, as with most therapy, the earlier, the better. The sooner that an individual can learn about themselves, their needs, and what accommodations are helpful for them, the better the long-term outcomes. 

    As an executive function coach, much is identifying and analyzing problems, identifying solutions, choosing the best supports, selecting a plan of action, and implementing a solution. Then, look at the next problem or see how the solution did or did not work. This sounds a lot like OT, right??

    Problem solving steps

    occupational therapy as an executive function coach

    You’ve probably noticed throughout this blog post that the many ways that executive function coaching supports daily tasks, performance of functional skills, and environmental considerations. These are all aspects of occupational therapy, making OTs perfect coaches for executive functioning needs!

    Sydney Thorson, OTR/L, is a new occupational therapist working in school-based therapy. Her
    background is in Human Development and Family Studies, and she is passionate about
    providing individualized and meaningful treatment for each child and their family. Sydney is also
    a children’s author and illustrator and is always working on new and exciting projects.

    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.

    Spider Activities

    by
    spider activities

    This time of year, spider activities are a fun way to learn, develop skills through a a weekly occupational therapy theme, and even use in an occupational therapy or classroom Halloween Party ideas! Here, we’ve got you covered on all things spiders…spider crafts, spider fine motor activities, spider gross motor, spider tasks, and even spider themed foods!

    Spider Activities

    Kids love the fall activities and the themes that come with the season. With festivals, trick or treating, and classroom parties, kiddos will soon be into all things fall and Halloween.  In fact, if you are looking for Halloween occupational therapy activities, then these spider activity ideas fit right into the season.

    With this seasonal fun, kids will love engaging in some spider activities galore.

    Whether doing crafts, motor activities, or sensory breaks, children will find these spider activities intriguing and adults will find them exceptionally skill building. So, it’s a win-win for all!  

    We certainly have you covered with all kinds of creepy, crawly activities with this activity round-up. 

    In this post, you’ll find a myriad activity ideas that can help address so many great skills with kids. Do you need fine motor or gross motor activities? We’ve got you covered. Are you looking for skill-building arts and crafts?  We’ve got you covered. Are you needing sensory goodies to work on tactile skills or to provide a sensory break? We’ve got them! Do you want some fun snack ideas for a classroom party?  Check out the ideas below. 

    Spider Fine Motor Activities 

    Use these Spider fine motor activities to build stronger hands, intrinsic hand strength, dexterity to manipulate tools like crayons, glue bottles, scissors, clothespins, and more.

    Spider Gross Motor Activities

    These spider gross motor activities support development of balance, coordination, stability, endurance, position changes, and motor planning with large muscle groups. Include these activities in Halloween obstacle courses and even Halloween parties!

    Spider Crafts

    These spider crafts, spider art activities are fun ways to paint, and craft this time of year. Use the spider crafts to build executive functioning skills, like working memory, organization, direction following, planning, prioritization, and more.

    While making the spider crafts, kids also develop fine motor skills and sensory input through the tactile sense.

    Spider Sensory Activities

    These spider sensory activities are fun ways to challenge the tactile sense, but also add sensory input through the vestibular, proprioceptive sense, and visual sense. Add these activities to a sensory diet this time of year, or use as a brain break with sensory input.

    Spider Snacks

    Kids can help to make these spider snacks as a way to develop executive functioning skills.

    We hope that you have found these ideas perfect to make your October lesson planning a little easier and whole lotta spidery skill-packed fun!

    Spider Activity Clip Cards
    Spider Activity Clip Cards-free download!

    Free Spider Activity Cards

    These spider activity cards are designed to promote additional skills:

    • Bilateral coordination
    • Crossing midline
    • Eye-hand coordination
    • Pinch and grip strength
    • Hand strength
    • Visual perception
    • Scissor skills
    • Coloring skills
    • and more

    Want to get a free set of these spider activity cards? Enter your email address into the form below to access this free download. This printable is also available inside The OT Toolbox Member’s Club. Members can log into their account and access the PDF on our Halloween Therapy Theme page.

    Free Spider Activity Clip Cards

      Are you interested in resources on (check all that apply):
      We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.
      Built with ConvertKit

      More Spider Activities

      With the Halloween Therapy Kit, you’ll find spider activities, but also all kinds of Halloween motor skills, scissor skills tasks, and fine and gross motor activities.

      Halloween Sensory Bin

      Get more Halloween therapy tools including spider activities to support development using the Halloween Therapy Kit!

      Regina Allen

      Regina Parsons-Allen is a school-based certified occupational therapy assistant. She has a pediatrics practice area of emphasis from the NBCOT. She graduated from the OTA program at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute in Hudson, North Carolina with an A.A.S degree in occupational therapy assistant. She has been practicing occupational therapy in the same school district for 20 years. She loves her children, husband, OT, working with children and teaching Sunday school. She is passionate about engaging, empowering, and enabling children to reach their maximum potential in ALL of their occupations as well assuring them that God loves them!

      How to Dye Pumpkin Seeds for Sensory Play

      by
      How to Dye Pumpkin seeds

      If you’ve ever carved a pumpkin and wondered how to dye pumpkin seeds, then you are in luck. The occupational therapists know the sensory benefits of lifting and carving a pumpkin, as well as separating pumpkin seeds from the ooey, gooey pumpkin guts. Here, we’re sharing one Fall Bucket List item must-have…dying pumpkin seeds for pumpkin sensory play, pumpkin seed crafts, and pumpkin seed fine motor tasks! Read on for an easy dyeing method for pumpkin seeds that can be included in occupational therapy Halloween sessions or sent home as a home program for this time of year.

      Once you dye the pumpkin seeds, you can use them for many different activities like we have shown below, AND use them as a sensory base for a pumpkin sensory bin!

      How to dye pumpkin seeds

      Add dyed pumpkin seeds to your list of pumpkin activities!

      How to Dye Pumpkin Seeds

      This post on how to dye pumpkin seeds was one we originally created back in 2014. The thing is that colored pumpkin seeds is still just as much fun for fine motor and sensory play as it was years ago!

      Dying pumpkin seeds isn’t hard. In fact, the kids will love to get in on the mixing action. They will love to use those dyed pumpkin seeds in sensory bins, for fine motor pumpkin seeds activities, or even Fall crafts like this pumpkin seed craft.

      Once you dye the pumpkin seeds, use them for tons of fine motor activities, sensory play activities, and visual motor ideas, like sorting pumpkin seeds. These are fun Fall activities that will stick with kids as a memory!

      I love that this recipe is simple because it is a great way to support development of specific skills when kids are involved in making the dyed pumpkin seeds. By getting kids involved in the process, you can work on several areas:

      • executive functioning skills: planning, prioritization, working memory
      • problem solving
      • direction following
      • bilateral coordination
      • safety awareness
      • spatial awareness
      • kitchen tool use
      • fine motor skills
      • functional fine motor skills: opening containers, opening a plastic bag, scooping with a spoon, closing a plastic bag
      • eye-hand coordination skills
      • proprioception skills and body awareness with shaking a bag to coat the seeds completely

      We cover how using recipes to develop skills is such a powerful therapy tool in our resources on our blog on life skills cooking activities. It’s simple recipes like this one and others in our cooking with kids resources that pack a powerful punch in developing skill areas.

      Be sure to check out this resource on fine motor kitchen activities to better grasp all of the fine motor skills developed through cooking tasks like this pumpkin seed dying task.

      We also talked about about these skill areas in our resource on how to dye sand for sensory play.

      Colorful Pumpkin Seeds

      This post contains affiliate links.

      We wanted to make a batch of colorful pumpkin seeds with vivid colors, so I wasn’t sure how to dye the seeds to make the colors really pop. We decided to test which method would work to really get the best colors on our pumpkin seeds.

      We tested using To make our seeds this year, we used (Amazon affiliate links) liquid food coloring dye and gel food coloring.  In our tests, each type of food coloring worked really well.  

      One thing to note is that if you use food coloring, technically, the pumpkin seeds are still edible. This is important if you have a child playing with the seeds that might put them into their mouth.

      The problem with roasting the seeds after coloring them is that the colors don’t “stick” as well to the seed, making less vivid colors.  If you are going to roast the seeds so that they are edible for these situation, I would suggest first roasting your seeds and THEN dying them for the brightest colors.

      That being said, you don’t NEED to roast the seeds in order to use them for sensory play. As long as the pumpkin seeds are dry, they will absorb the food coloring.

      Use these instructions on how to dye pumpkin seeds to make colored pumpkin seeds for fine motor and sensory play with kids.

      Materials to Dye Pumpkin Seeds:

      To dye pumpkin seeds, you need just a couple of items:

      • raw, clean pumpkin seeds from a fresh pumpkin
      • a plastic bag (sandwich bag or a gallon-sized plastic bag)
      • food coloring
      • paper towels

      That’s all of the items you need to dye pumpkin seeds! This is really a simple recipe, and one that is easy to make with kids.

      Dying PUmpkin Seeds

      To dye the pumpkin seeds, it is very simple:

      1. Put dry pumpkin seeds into a plastic bag.
      2. Add the food coloring.
      3. Seal the bag shut and shake the bag to coat all of the seeds with the food coloring.
      4. Pour the seeds out onto a surface covered with paper towels (A kitchen counter works well).
      5. Let the seeds dry.

      Whether you use liquid food coloring dye or gel food coloring, (affiliate links) add the seeds to plastic baggies and add the food coloring.  Seal up the baggies, mix the seeds around, (or hand them over to the kids and let them go crazy), and get the seeds coated in coloring.  

      For kids that might eat the seeds during play: As we mentioned above, f there are any risks of the child eating a seed during sensory play or crafting, you can first roast the seeds.

      1. Roast the seeds before dying them. Spread the seeds out on aluminum foil spread on a cookie sheet.  
      2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.  Be sure to check on the seeds often to make sure they are not burning.  
      3. Then dye the seeds using food coloring as described above. If you roast them first, the colors will cover any brown spots.
      Wondering how to dye pumpkin seeds and use in sensory play?


      Pumpkin Seed Activities

      Once you dye the pumpkin seeds, you can use them in pumpkin seed crafts and pumpkin seed activities that foster fine motor development.

      Pumpkin Seed Sensory Ideas:

      Pumpkin seeds are a great addition to sensory play experiences. Allowing kids to scoop the seeds directly from the pumpkin is such a tactile sensory experience!

      But for some kids, that pumpkin goop is just too much tactile input. Using dyed pumpkin seeds in sensory play is a “just right” challenge in exposure to carving pumpkins. It’s a first step in the tactile experience.

      Some of our favorite ways to use dyed pumpkin seeds in sensory play:

      • Use them in a sensory bin
      • Use colorful pumpkin seeds in a writing tray
      • Add dyed pumpkin seeds to a discovery bottle
      • Use rainbow pumpkin seeds on a Fall exploration table

      Use the directions listed above to create a set of colored pumpkin seeds. Use the colorful pumpkin seeds in a big pumpkin sensory bin to create a tactile sensory experience. Kids can draw letters in the seeds to work on letter formation. Add this idea to your toolbox of sensory writing tray ideas.

      Add a few Fall themed items such as small pumpkins, acorns, pinecones, scoops, and small bowls to the sensory bin activity. Dyed pumpkin seeds are a great sensory bin medium this time of year when making an easy sensory bin.

      Dyed pumpkin seeds in a sensory bin

      This sensory play activity was very fun.  We couldn’t keep our hands out of the tray as we played and created.

      Use dyed pumpkin seeds for sensory play with kids.
      Use this recipe for how to dye pumpkin seeds with kids.
      Colored pumpkin seeds are great for kids to use in sensory play.

      Pumpkin Seed Crafts

      Pumpkin seeds are a great fine motor tool to use in crafting.

      Try these craft ideas using dyed pumpkin seeds:

      Make a suncatcher craft with pumpkin seeds
      sun catchers with pumpkin seeds
      Fine motor activity with dyed pumpkin seeds

      We used our dyed seeds in art projects first.  Manipulating those seeds is a great way to work on fine motor skills.  Little Sister was SO excited to make art!

      Add additional fine motor work by using a squeezable glue bottle to create a pumpkin seeds craft and pumpkin seed art. Squeezing that glue bottle adds a gross hand grasp and fine motor warm-up before performing fine motor tasks.

      How to dye pumpkin seeds to use in a Fall mandala craft.

      Use dyed pumpkin seeds to make a colorful mandala craft with fine motor benefits. Picking up the pumpkin seeds uses fine motor skills such as in-hand manipulation, separation of the sides of the hand, pincer grasp, open thumb web space, and distal mobility.

      Sort colorful pumpkin seeds
        Use dyed pumpkin seeds to sort colors

      Placing the colored pumpkin seeds into a symmetrical pattern of colors promotes eye-hand coordination and visual perceptual skills such as visual discrimination, figure ground, and other skills.

      Dying pumpkin seeds is a fun Fall activity for kids.

      Little Guy made a gingerbread man.  Because why not??! 😉

      Squeezing the glue bottle into a shape and placing the colored pumpkin seeds along the line is another exercise in visual perception and eye-hand coordination.

      Colored pumpkin seeds can be used in Fall sensory play and fine motor crafts.

      Little Sister made a rainbow with her seeds.

      Use colored pumpkin seeds to make a fine motor craft with kids.

      How to dye pumpkin seeds for sensory play for kids.

      Colored pumpkin seeds are fun for Fall crafts.

      Be sure to use your dyed pumpkin seeds for a few fun ideas like these:

      Pumpkin activity kit
      Pumpkin Fine Motor Kit

      Grab the Pumpkin Fine Motor Kit for more coloring, cutting, and eye-hand coordination activities with a Pumpkin theme! It includes:

      • 7 digital products that can be used any time of year- has a “pumpkins” theme
      • 5 pumpkin scissor skills cutting strips
      • Pumpkin scissor skills shapes- use in sensory bins, math, sorting, pattern activities
      • 2 pumpkin visual perception mazes with writing activity
      • Pumpkin “I Spy” sheet – color in the outline shapes to build pencil control and fine motor strength
      • Pumpkin Lacing cards – print, color, and hole punch to build bilateral coordination skills
      • 2 Pumpkin theme handwriting pages – single and double rule bold lined paper for handwriting practice

      Work on underlying fine motor and visual motor integration skills so you can help students excel in handwriting, learning, and motor skill development.

      You can grab this Pumpkin Fine Motor kit for just $6!

      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.

      Message To My Future Self

      by
      letter for future self

      If you wrote a future me letter (or any message to my future self) while in school, you can understand the value in this assignment. My class wrote one in high school, and thirty years later I still have mine. Each time I find it, I am amazed at how eerily correct I predicted, or knew my future at fifteen. A message to my future self writing prompt can be an amazing growth mindset project to have students write about, at certain parts of their schooling, and archived for later review. 

      Use this as a tool to support breaking down goals. Today’s free download is a template writing prompt for a future me letter.

      Today’s free download is a template writing prompt for a future me letter.

      Letter for future self to develop a growth mindset

      What is a Future Me letter?

      So, what is message for my future self? A message to future me, is just that…a letter for the future version of yourself! It’s a quick glimpse into what you visualize for yourself in your future.

      A future me message can be a picture of yourself at it’s current state as you picture yourself now. A future me letter is a great tool for self-reflection. It’s how you would describe yourself to a future version of yourself.

      A message to your future self can also be a way to plan goals for yourself. You can visualize your future and make goals for down the road. This can be used along with a goal ladder to work on achieving specific goals.

      message to my future self

      What would you include if you were to write a “message to my future self”? 

      Think about how your life looks right now. What would you change about your environment, your career, friends and family, life situations, etc. What wouldn’t you change about those life events and circumstances?

      Can you picture a future life with your optimal circumstances? This is a peek into your future life that you might like to live.

      A message to one’s future self is a letter about how you might see your future. It’s a description of how things are right now in your current situation and how you might like to change certain things or not change other things.

      Much like using the power of yet, a “future me letter” or a “message to your future self” is a growth mindset tactic. Using affirmations and visualizations, a future me sets the stage for setting and accomplishing personal goals.

      This task can be a tool for breaking down goals as well as visualizing a future with those goals already being accomplished.

      A message to one’s future self might include:

      • Predictions about what you think your life goals should be
      • Advice for your future self 
      • Events and feelings you might want to recall later
      • Your wildest dreams, if you could have anything
      • Things you would say to yourself, if you were grown up
      • A future me letter containing highlights of present day to be remembered later

      FUTURE ME LETTER AT DIFFERENT AGES

      Students (and adults) of all ages can write a future me letter.

      Imagine the different letters written by each age student. 

      Kindergarten future me letter- Kindergarteners might write about their future self becoming a princess or firefighter, or their love of Mom and Dad.  They are not able to think beyond what they know, or far outside of their own circle. This can look like a picture or drawing predicting their future selves. It can also be a sentence or two at the end of the kindergarten year.

      Elementary future me letter- Elementary age might have a more realistic view on the world, although still limited in what they are able to write about.  

      Middle school future me letter- The future me letter starts to shine during middle and high school when students are able to think outside of their present self, imagine a future, reflect on past mistakes, and offer advice to themselves. 

      High school future me letter- In the teenage years is where we start to see a real strategy and prediction of the future self. In the high school years, students are moving toward career readiness as they get first jobs and make post-high school plans. A future me letter written during the high school years can be fairly accurate or completely off base, but the actual letter can be a treasure to read back on as an adult, when all of the learning that has happened is literally on the paper.

      In the high school years, self-reflection is important. Covering longer term goals, a future vision of one’s years after high school and the steps to get there can be covered in a future me letter in high school. This is a great addition to occupational therapy for teens.

      Future me letter for adults- Just because schooling has passed, doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for a future me letter. In adulthood, writing about future goals and perspectives can be a stepping point for career changes, life goals, and big changes.

      No matter the age, this opportunity to look at one’s past, present, and future goals is a wonderful self-reflection activity put into action.

      I am a huge fan of the time capsule idea. Collect relevant items from a time period in your learner’s life, and store them away.  Once your learner is old enough to reflect and appreciate the information, share the time capsule with them.  Given “modern” technology, the time capsule, including future me letters, can be physical items, or documents stored on a floppy disk (remember those?) 

      Personally I prefer being able to hold and touch physical items from the past.

      Writing a message to your future self

      Let’s break down the activity analysis of writing a message to your future self.

      Writing a future me letter, whether it is kept in a time capsule, posted on the refrigerator, or tossed in the recycle bin (GASP!), is a beneficial assignment. If you prefer a different writing prompt, this list of interest prompts might help your learners get started.

      One tool to use in writing a message to ones future self is this goal ladder resource. Use that tool to create actionable steps to achieving a “future you”.

      When coming up with a message for your future you to read, it is helpful to reflect on what you would like the future to look like.

      This is where self awareness reflection comes in. One needs to be aware of self, but also reflect on current situations as well.

      This letter is a great way for therapists to address introspection with clients.

      Introspection refers to the examination or observation of one’s own thoughts and feelings. We know that our thoughts and feelings impact daily functioning, executive functioning skills, learning, and social interactions. By taking a look at our thoughts and feelings, we can see where we may want to make some changes for our future self to experience in life.

      One way to foster these skills is by targeting self awareness. Use these self awareness games to get the ball rolling.

      Use these points as a starting point to create a message to your future self.

      Writing a message for your future self in therapy

      Writing a message for your future self is a great activity prompt for therapy sessions, beyond the functional handwriting activity. We can use this functional activity to assess and document skills in the future me letter writing prompt.

      Accurate documentation, although tedious, is a necessary evil in therapy settings. Documenting handwriting to show progress can be challenging without a rubric. 

      Does your note reflect accurate documentation, or contain phrases like good line placement, fair letter formation, or poor spacing?  Think about how you will determine if the spacing has improved with words like poor/fair/good.

      The OT Toolbox has some great resources for handwriting rubrics and testing. Try this Handwriting and Data Collection Kit.  It comes in a school age kit as well as a preschool edition.

      Writing in general is a core skill. It begins with tracing, moves on to copying, then to response writing, or creative flow.  Learners can get stuck at any of these stages.  Look at this printable Handwriting Tips Pack for strategies. Analyze the activity to see where the learner is lacking the skill to move forward.  

      • Kinesthetic awareness – are the messages from the body going to the right receptors? Read more about kinesthetic awareness here.
      • Hand strength and dexterity – staying on the lines builds hand muscles and develops muscle control. Is your learner missing some strength or dexterity? This article on hand strengthening activities explains more.
      • Visual motor skills –Combining what is seen visually and what is written motorically.  This takes coordination to be able to translate information from visual input to motor output. Coloring, drawing, counting, cutting, and tracing are some visual motor skills.  Poor visual motor skills can be a stumbling block to moving past beginning letter formation. Read about visual motor skills in more detail.
      • Social Skills/Executive Function – Following directions, task completion, orienting to details, neatness, multi-tasking, attending to task, and impulse control can be contributing to difficulty completing the future me letter. This resource covers the connection between emotional regulation and executive functioning skills.
      • Handwriting: Letter formation – correctly forming the letters top to bottom. Letter sizing – correctly fitting the letters into the sized lines provided. Spacing, line placement, directionality, and spelling are also needed for success. Read about letter formation for more information and resources.
      • Copying – copying words from a model, transferring the letters from one place to another is a helpful building block to successful writing. Try these copying cards for more work in this area.
      • Fine motor- strengthening, hand development, and grasping pattern when holding the writing utensil and managing the paper. Read more about fine motor skills.
      • Bilateral coordination – remembering to use their “helper hand” to hold the paper while writing.  Our resource on bilateral coordination skills covers more.
      • Strength – core strength, shoulder and wrist stability, head control, balance, and hand strength are all needed for upright sitting posture and writing tasks.

      Using a message to future me letter in occupational therapy

      Documenting skills in the future me letter writing prompt

      Use the message to your future self to identify areas of development:

      Accurate documentation, although tedious, is a necessary evil in therapy settings. Documenting handwriting to show progress can be challenging without a rubric.  Does your note reflect accurate documentation, or contain phrases like good line placement, fair letter formation, or poor spacing? 

      Think about how you will determine if the spacing has improved with words like poor/fair/good. The OT Toolbox has some great resources for handwriting rubrics and testing. Try this Handwriting and Data Collection Kit.  It comes in a school age kit as well as a preschool edition.

      • the percentage of correct letters
      • how many letters are formed correctly/# of reversals/legibility of writing
      • size of letters in relation to the space, # of letters on the line
      • Omissions, additions, punctuation errors, and spacing can also be considered
      • grasping pattern, hand dominance
      • attention to detail, following directions, prompts and reminders needed, level of assistance given
      • Number of times you need to repeat the directions so your learner can follow them
      • Amount of prompts and reminders reminders your learner needs while doing this activity
      • Determine what goals and skills you are addressing. Are you looking strictly at letter formation, line placement, and alphabet recall, or something else entirely such as executive function, thought processing, and behavior?

      This type of documentation may feel foreign at first if this is not what you are used to, however insurance and governing agencies are becoming more strict on accurate documentation practice. 

      When it comes to reviewing progress and gathering information, you will find thorough documentation will be helpful. Check out How to Reach Handwriting Goals.

      Perhaps this future me letter has inspired you to write one to yourself.  What would you say to the future you?  Don’t get married to that guy, take a different job, say no to that piece of cake, have more children, or become a princess after all.

      Free Letter to future self

      Would you like a to print off a template for a letter to future self to use as a writing prompt? This letter can be used in therapy sessions or for personal use. We’ve covered the various ways to use this resource, and now is a great time to start writing to your future you!

      This printable is a resource found inside The OT Toolbox Member’s Club. Members can log in and grab the future me letter under “Handwriting Tools“. Not a member? Enter your email address into the form below to access this printable resource.

      Free Letter to Future Self

        Are you interested in resources on (check all that apply):
        We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.
        Built with ConvertKit

        NOTE*The term, “learner” is used throughout this post for readability and inclusion. This information is relevant for students, patients, clients, preschoolers, kids/children of all ages and stages, or whomever could benefit from these resources. The term “they” is used instead of he/she to be inclusive.

        Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.

        Bat Template Fine Motor Activity

        by
        Bat stencil template

        This bat template is a fine motor activity, perfect for building motor skills with a Halloween twist. Use the bat printable as a stencil to cut out, trace, and then use in fine motor work. Add this to your Halloween occupational therapy activities!

        Bat Template

        Fall is here and that means it’s time to pull out the Halloween crafts! This bat Halloween craft is a favorite in our house, and it’s actually a fun way to celebrate Halloween with kids without spooky decorations.

        We also used this bat template in a Stellaluna activity that also challenged visual processing skills. Be sure to check that activity out for another way to use this printable bat stencil.

        The nice thing about using our bat template is that it becomes an open-ended Halloween craft idea is one that doesn’t need a lot of materials. In fact, it’s a simple craft idea that is big on the fine motor skill development! When kids make this bat craft, they will be boosting skills such as fine motor strength and dexterity in a big way.

        For more Halloween craft ideas, check out some of the ideas at the bottom of this post…it’s the perfect addition if you’re looking for Halloween crafts for toddlers or Halloween crafts for preschool parties.

        Related, check out these spider activities for more spooky but fun ideas.

        Printable bat stencil to use in fine motor crafts for Halloween


        Bat Template Craft

        We made this bat craft with a fun sensory twist.  And, since we have a certain second grader that is cursive handwriting obsessed, we decided to add a cursive handwriting twist to this activity.  This activity could work to help kids with letter formation of upper case letters, lowercase letters, or numbers too. The possibilities are endless. 

        We arranged the bat template so you can print out one bat printable page and then get 3 bats from the one page.

        Or, if you are using the bat templates with a group of kids like in a classroom Halloween party activity, you can easily cut the bat template page into three sections with one bat stencil for each child.

        This post contains affiliate links.

        Cut out bat template and trace onto black paper with yarn

        Bat Printable

        To make your bat craft, you’ll need just a few materials.

        Amazon Affiliate links are included.

        • Bat printable (get your copy below)
        • black cardstock 
        • black yarn 
        • Glue 
        • Scissors (THIS is my favorite brand and the ones that I always recommended as an Occupational Therapist!)
        • Pencil or marker

        This is a great Halloween craft for preschoolers because it’s a fantastic way to work on scissor skills with a Halloween activity.

        Make the Bat Template

        1. First print out the Pat printable onto printer paper.
        2. Cut out the bat templates on the page. Each template has three bats. Students can cut out the bat printable or the adult can do this as preparation work.
        3. Trace the bat template onto cardstock or black construction paper. This is another good task for students to do as tracing the bat template supports development of bilateral coordination skills, eye-hand coordination, crossing midline, and pencil control skills.  
        4. Cut out the bat template.

        Kids can cut out the shape using their Scissors for great scissor skill work.  The bat shape is a complex cutting shape and can be done by Elementary aged students.  

        Cutting the angled wings and curves can be difficult, but by using the cardstock, kids will get a bit fore proprioceptive feedback from the thicker resistance of the paper material.  

        To make the task easier, cut wings without the jagged lines or use thicker cutting lines when you draw the bat shape.  

        Decorate the Bat Cutout

        Once you have the bat, you’ll need to cut pieces of the black yarn.  Have your child cut long or short pieces, it doesn’t really matter what length they wish to cut for their bat’s texture.  

        1. Cut black yarn for the bat cutout.

        Cutting the yarn is a great material to practice appropriate scissor positioning and bilateral hand coordination.  

        If a child is holding the scissors on an angle, cutting the yarn will be more difficult.  (You may see them trying to “saw” at the yarn!) Encourage them to hold the scissors straight up and down and the blades of the scissors at a 90 degree angle to the yarn.  You can find more of our Scissor Skills activities.

        Child dipping black yarn into glue to stick to the bat printable

        2. Next, pour some glue into a shallow dish or plate.  Show your child how to drag the yarn through the glue and get it nice and saturated with the glue.  Use both hands to pinch and “scrape” off excess glue from the piece of yarn.  

        3. Next, drape the black yarn on the bat shape.  You can let your child get as creative as they wish with this part.  Some might like to outline the bat shape and others, just pile it up on the bat.  

        4. Let the glue and yarn harden and you’ll have a textured bat craft to use in Halloween decorations this Fall.  You will have to wait for the glue to dry, probably overnight.

        Use the Bat Printable in Handwriting Practice

        Occupational therapy practitioners know the value of using a single activity or material to develop a variety of skill areas. That is the case with this bat printable…use it to work on handwriting skills too!

        We used those saturated yarn pieces to build cursive letters, but you could build printed letters as well, using our letter construction method.

        This would be an excellent way to practice cursive letter formation in our Creative Cursive handwriting journal activity.

        Make letters with yarn and decorate the bat printable.

        Use this Bat Craft for kids to work on letter formation of any kind. It’s a creative writing activity that they will be sure to remember. Work on forming individual letters, spelling sight words, or making Halloween words.

        Bat template and letters made with black yarn.

        Use the Bat Printable in Learning

        This would work as a very fun…and very sensory…classroom Halloween party idea or learning activity for this time of year, while working on team work skills, and learning components.

        1. Split kids up into teams. Give each team a collection of cut black yarn and a bowl of glue.
        2. Write a spelling word, or a Halloween word on the board or hold up a sign with a Halloween word.
        3. Each team has to work together to use the cut yarn and glue to spell the Halloween word on a piece of paper or cardboard.
        4. Once a team has completed the word, they have to hold up their paper or cardboard. The first team to spell the word with the letters sticking wins! (Too much glue or not enough glue will make this a fun race for Halloween parties for kids of all ages.)
        Use black yarn to decorate the bat printable template and then write words with black yarn.

        Build printed letters with the glue yarn, too.  We had a lot of fun with this Halloween craft and it was a hit with all of my kids…from preschool on up to grade school.

        Check out some of these other Halloween activities and crafts:

        Free Bat Template

        Want a copy of this free bat template printable? Enter your email address into the form below to get a copy of this Halloween printable. This activity is also available inside The OT Toolbox Member’s Club under our Bat Therapy Theme. Members can log in and get the bat template there without entering an email address. Not a member yet? Join us today.

        Free Bat Stencil

          Are you interested in resources on (check all that apply):
          We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.
          Built with ConvertKit

          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.

          Forest Sensory Path

          by
          forest sensory path

          If taking a break is a must, but getting outside is tricky, then this Forest Sensory Path hits the mark! We’ve created another fun printable to our collection of free sensory paths with all of the calming benefits of nature and being in the woods. This printable forest sensory walk is perfect for bringing the calming input of nature into the indoors. Be sure to read this resource on sensory nature walks to read up on those calming and organizing self-regulation benefits of woods and nature.

          Forest sensory path printables

          Forest Sensory Path

          It seems life is getting more chaotic since the pandemic.  This may stem from isolation, lack of exposure, too much electronic use, stressors, or a sudden thrust back into “real life”.  Compounding this is the fact that learners do not know how to combat these environmental stressors, or self regulate.  It seems learners need instruction on how to take a break. That’s where these Forest Themed Sensory Path stations come in, which provide a structured sensory break, to help reorganize thoughts and body.

          Sensory paths and sensory stations became popular with the addition of expensive stickers set up around the school. These are awesome as a self-regulation activity and to address mindfulness with kids!  If you don’t have the budget or space for these custom stickers, try one of the sensory walk stations offered by the OT Toolbox.

          This month the Forest Sensory Path will fit in perfectly with your fall leaves occupational therapy theme.  Add your email below to be sent this FREE download.

          How does the FOrest sensory path work?

          Sensory activities like this Forest Sensory Walk Station offer tasks to promote body and mind regulation.  The initial response to a learner out of sync is to tell them to calm down. 

          What does “calm down” mean to you?  Adults generally have already figured out appropriate strategies to reduce anxiety, inducing a feeling of calm. 

          Children have no idea what “calm” looks like, because they rarely act this way.  They also lack the ability to calm themselves, or know what to do to slow their body/brain down. Having a strategy, movement, or action to stop, self-analyze, breathe for a moment, and take a break from the environmental or internal input, is a literal break for the brain and body. This is where we get the term brain breaks!

          Sensory stations provide the framework for self regulation.

          Printable Sensory Path: Forest Theme

          This Forest Sensory path combines deep breathing and proprioceptive input with eight different activities.  Proprioceptive exercise is a “go to” input for organizing the sensory processing system and regulating the sensory systems.

          It is alerting for those who are experiencing low arousal, and calming for those who seek additional input to get regulated.

          Connected to proprioception and interoception, deep breathing exercises slow the central nervous system, often elevated during periods of fight or flight responses. 

          The ultimate goal of sensory regulation is self-regulation.  Learners need to understand what strategies work for them, and when they are needed.  Sensory strategies are unique to each learner. 

          Just as adults have different routines they use for concentration and focus, children develop varied strategies. 

          Imagine the additional responsibility teachers take on remembering and learning  the sensory needs of each of their students. 

          When a student can advocate for themselves, this not only helps the student, but their caregivers as well.

          How to use the Forest Sensory Paths?

          • Lowest level learners need to be taken through the walk step by step
          • Middle level learners can be supervised while participating
          • Higher level learners will be able to complete this activity when instructed, or advocate for a sensory break
          • Laminate the page for reusability. This saves on resources.  Caregivers or young learners can help decorate these pages before they are laminated. 
          • Make this part of a larger lesson plan including gross motor, sensory, social, executive function, or other fine motor skills
          • Print in black and white, in color, or on colored paper for different levels of difficulty
          • Project this page onto a smart board for students to learn these activities as a group
          • More or less prompting may be needed to grade the activity to make it easier or harder.
          • Learners can explore other ways they could use this activity 
          • Explore different options for setting up this sensory station.  It could be appropriate in a classroom, hallway, gymnasium, outside the school, or walking into the cafeteria, depending on the needs of your learners

          sensory paths for elementary schools

          Some of the big budget sensory paths are thousands of dollars and require permanent installation over laminate floors. In many cases, getting approval for the purchase of a sensory path in an elementary school is just out of the question.

          The good news is that our printable sensory paths are totally free, AND you can print off the pages and switch out the themes according to the season.

          The other benefit that most therapist users see is that the printable pages can be positioned and placed according to the environment. These sensory path pages can be placed in a page protector sleeve and hung in a hallway. Or they can be laminated and placed in a calm down corner. The options are pretty limitless.

          A few other common questions about using the Forest sensory path in elementary schools or in therapy clinics can include:

          • Do sensory paths work for all learners?  No.  Sensory strategies are not one size fits all unfortunately.  Much of the treatment relies on trial and error.  If the forest sensory stations walk does not calm your learner, it is possible the treatment came too late, after the learner was already shut down.  Some learners are not able to self regulate through all parts of the sensory stations, however it is a great and simple activity for those who do.
          • How long should my learner use a sensory path?  There is no defined time frame for any self regulation strategies.  Some learners calm quickly, needing a diversion from their current state in order to regulate.  Other learners may take several minutes to calm after an upset.  Watch for signs of regulation and calming before suggesting your learner stops.  After the Forest Sensory Station Walk, take note of how long your learner is able to stay regulated.
          • How often should I use a sensory path?  Some learners need a boost of sensory regulation every twenty minutes, while others can go several hours before they need a moment to reset.  Watch for signs of disorganization and jump in with strategies before meltdown occurs.
          • Will a sensory path work consistently every time? Probably not. This worked last week, but not this week.  What happened?  Sensory strategies are not an exact science. Have a large “bag of tricks” in your toolbox to be able to offer several different strategies. 
          • How long will the effects of a sensory path last?  Every learner is different.  A very dysregulated learner may need almost constant strategies for self regulation.  A learner who is more organized and has been practicing strategies for a while, might reap the benefits of this sensory stations for two hours.  A great sensory workout can have long lasting effects.
          • Are sensory paths and sensory stations an evidenced based practice?  Because of the nature of sensory dysregulation and the strategies offered, it is very difficult to get consistent data in this area.  Use your clinical judgment and observations to determine how effective this Forest Themed Sensory Stations Walk is.

          Other Resources from the OT Toolbox

          Free Printable Forest Sensory Path

          Want to add a forest themed sensory path to your therapy toolbox? Enter your email address into the form below. This resource is also available inside The OT Toolbox Member’s Club. Members can log into their account and access this resource in the Forest Animals Therapy Theme area. Not a member of The OT Toolbox Member’s Club? Join us!

          Free Forest Printable Sensory Path

            We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.
            Built with ConvertKit

            Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.

            The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook
            The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook

            The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook walks you through sensory processing information, each step of creating a meaningful and motivating sensory diet, that is guided by the individual’s personal interests and preferences.

            The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook is not just about creating a sensory diet to meet sensory processing needs. This handbook is your key to creating an active and thriving lifestyle based on a deep understanding of sensory processing.