Well hello there! My name is Christie. I’m a California-based mom and occupational therapist with a background in gymnastics, psychology, and education. I’m so glad you’ve taken a moment to check out this blog!
I became a mama in 2011 and then, three months later, I began my career as a pediatric occupational therapist (OT). Thus, the origins of Mama OT! I have found myself in the unique position of learning how to be both a mom and an OT simultaneously, and the really amazing thing is that each role teaches me how to do a better job in the other.
Being a new mom has given me a very unique perspective as I work with families to further their children’s development, especially when it comes to working with very young ones (as young as 5 months). I can really empathize and connect with the parents of my clients when they ask me about things like sleep deprivation, teething, feeding, or baby toys because I am going through it right along with them!
Conversely, being a part of the OT world has given me such a great pool of knowledge and hands-on experience from which to pull as I interact with and care for my own baby boy. What a blessing! Every time I learn something new as an OT, I think to myself, I wish everyone who worked with kids knew about that!
Hence, this blog.
They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I am learning first-hand that that is absolutely true! No one of us can do this by ourselves. We need other people to support us as we invest ourselves into caring for children of all ages. So whether you are a parent, foster parent, family member, babysitter, nanny, or a friend who’s just helping out, my hope is that I can be a part of your “village”. I will do my best to supply you with helpful tips, tricks, ideas, and resources that will boost your ability to care for the kids in your life.
Although many topics I address on this blog will be the direct result of something I’ve experienced while raising my own baby boy (thus often reflecting ideas beneficial for other children of his similar age), I will aim to cover topics that can be applied to older and younger children as well. Please take a moment to check out the categories covered on this blog by clicking on the “Home” tab at the top of this page and then reading through the list on the right side of the page. My vision is that this blog will be a lighthearted space filled with helpful ideas and information, rather than something to make you feel insecure about how your child is developing relative to generic lists of what kids “should” be doing at various ages. If you are interested in reading about issues related to a particular stage of life or skill level that have not yet been covered, let me know by sending me an email and I will do my best to put together a post that will help you out (though I can’t guarantee it). My contact info can be found on the page titled “Got a question?“.
Although I am a registered and licensed occupational therapist, this is not a place for skilled therapeutic intervention or medical advice. The ideas presented on this blog are for informational purposes only and should not be misconstrued as anything other than that. A kid-oriented website, no matter how useful it may be, can never replace an individualized treatment plan developed as the result of standardized assessment, clinical observation, and collaboration between therapist, caregiver, and (if applicable) child. If you are concerned about the development or functional abilities of a particular child in your life, then that child’s parent should talk with the pediatrician or seek out the services of a developmental pediatrician or a local occupational therapist/therapy clinic.
Thanks so much for allowing me to be a part of your “village”. I hope this blog will be a helpful resource to you and I look forward to the journey that lies ahead!
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I have an 8 year old son who has struggled with handwriting forever. He has done 2 separate OT sessions for about six months each and did not make much improvement. His grip is not tripod, the pencil rests more towards the pinched fingers rather than the web. I also notice his wrist is cocked in a bent manner rather than straight. When I try to get him to hold the pencil correctly or use a slant board he says it hurts way more than doing it what is “natural” for him at this point. He said when the teachers in school would force him to hold the pencil the “correct” way his hand and arm would be all red and hurt for hours. At this point I am trying to figure out what is the most important thing to do. I really do not know if he has dyspraxia or dysgraphia, OT therapists never told me either diagnosis but I have seen it on insurance forms. Even if that is the diagnosis, would that change how and what I worked with him on right now? He has had alot of trauma associated with this in school settings. I have started homeschooling him this year. Do I work towards changing his grip or do I work towards making it work with what he is currently doing, and if so what is the best way to go about that? I would really appreciate your thoughts and input. Thanks so much.
Laura, it sounds like you and your son have both been working really hard to succeed…good for you guys. Sorry to hear it has been such a traumatic experience for him. There is such an emphasis on writing at a young age nowadays that it makes it extremely difficult for those who struggle even a little (as you well know, unfortunately).
Here are a few thoughts:
1) If he has found a pencil grasp that is comfortable and functional for him (or, at least, less uncomfortable than other grasps he’s tried), then I’d let him be. You can scan through the comments section of my pencil grasp post for some more good info on this: http://mamaot.com/2012/07/19/3-tricks-to-help-kids-learn-to-hold-their-pencil-correctly/
2) Because your son is of school-age, a diagnosis of something like dysgraphia could actually be a “helpful” thing because it can help him qualify for additional support and modifications or accommodations in his educational environment so that he can better access his curriculum. This can be done through an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) or a 504 (for students who don’t qualify by diagnosis for an IEP but still demonstrate significant difficulties like you are mentioning). Some examples of support/modification/accommodations include writing intervention from an OT (which it sounds like you have already tried), reduced writing load, increased time to complete written work, permission to use assistive technology (such as typing assignments on computer or iPad, using dictation software such as Dragon), etc. I am not positive, but I believe dysgraphia falls under the umbrella of Specific Learning Disability, which is a category that qualifies students for an IEP and accommodations/services such as those I just mentioned. I don’t have experience relating this all to the homeschool setting, so you’d have to talk with your school/agency to find out how that all works.
3) Check out these 2 articles. The first is called “Able Apps for Dysgraphia” and some of the bullet points they mentioned sound like what you’ve already pointed out in your comment (e.g., illegible writing or writing that is legible but laborious, writing from the wrist instead of the dynamic hand, etc.): http://www.myspecialneedsnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/able-apps-for-dysgraphia. The second article is called “Understanding Dysgraphia” and talks more about diagnosis and school instruction: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/51043/.
I hope these thoughts are helpful to you and that you are able to find the support you need to help your son succeed and start enjoying school again.