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Homemade Crafts for Kids: Valentine’s Day Card Holder
Keep little hands busy and practice motor skills with this fun Valentine’s card holder! This is a great way for your child to recycle a paper bag and get in the Valentine’s spirit. Homemade crafts for kids are a fun way to practice fine motor and organizing skills. Your child can collect all their Valentine’s … Continued
5 Ideas to Encourage Children to Be Thankful
Did you know research suggests that giving thanks has the power to make people happier? Encourage children to be thankful to foster a life filled with happiness, gratitude, and kindness. When we stop to savor and appreciate our daily lives, we become happier. Creating an attitude of gratitude in children is a challenge that goes … Continued
Saying Thank You
One of the simplest ways to show appreciation and thankfulness, saying “Thank You”. Pathways.org would like to say THANK YOU to our donors and all the people who help us in our mission of providing FREE tools to maximize all children’s development. Thank you to all the parents who help us to create our materials. … Continued
What is Animal Assisted Therapy?
What is Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT)? Animal assisted therapy (AAT) is a form of therapy that uses animals in treatment to improve social, cognitive, motor, and emotional functioning. It can sometimes be referred to as “pet therapy”. What types of animals are used in therapy? Highly trained dogs and cats are most commonly used in … Continued
Great Family Halloween Activities Beyond Trick or Treating
Candy and costumes are great, but there is more than one way to appreciate the Halloween season. Read here to get some ideas about Halloween activities for the entire family. Try these Halloween activities your family can enjoy before and after the one night of trick-or-treating. Pumpkin (or any produce!) Decorating Pumpkin decorating is a … Continued
Why Food Allergies are Becoming More Common
It seems like we hear about a new food allergy or food intolerance every day. Nut allergies and other serious allergic conditions were once rare and infrequently diagnosed. Now they seem prevalent in school lunchrooms everywhere. Are food allergies on the rise? To answer this question simply: yes. The Center for Disease control estimates about … Continued
How to Help Make Halloween Easier for Children with Sensory Issues
Halloween can be a fun time of year for children. They get to dress up, eat candy, and carve pumpkins! But for a child with a sensory issue these experiences can be stressful enough to make them feel uncomfortable or unable to participate. Here are five tips to make Halloween sensory friendly. Halloween Preview Talk to … Continued
Fun Fall Crafts For Kids
Fall crafts are a great way to let kids exercise their creativity while improving fine motor skills. A whole bunch of materials and substances to touch, feel, glue, cut, and play with will engage the senses. Embrace the colors and crisp air of autumn with these easy fall crafts for kids! Press Leaves Go on … Continued
Importance of Play in Children’s Development
The importance of play in children’s development cannot be overstated because it provides time and space for children to explore and gain skills needed for adult life. Children’s playtime has steadily decreased due to limited access to play spaces, changes in the way children are expected to spend their time, parent concerns for safety, and … Continued
How to Help Turn Your Picky Eaters Into Veggie Lovers
When dealing with the combination of feeding problems, food allergies, and picky eaters, it can be tough to get kids to eat anything at all, and you might often wonder how to get kids to eat vegetables. However, research suggests dietary habits are established as early as infancy. The USDA suggests that vegetables should be … Continued
Family Activities for Fall
Are you looking for fun family activities to do this fall? Look no further! Turn off the tv, walk away from your computer, put your phone down, and get your family active with these easy fall activities. Play In the Leaves Okay, so maybe do a bit more than play. Make household chores fun for … Continued
Is Your Child’s Backpack Too Heavy?
It’s that time of year again. Along with fresh pencils, and new, cool lunchboxes, a new backpack, or at least a more lightweight backpack might be in order too! Read this blog to learn about some of the problems related to heavy backpacks and how much your child’s backpack should weigh. Did You Know Your … Continued
Preparing Your Child for Back to School
Classroom performance may come in part from your child’s ability to focus and work through open ended tasks, be organized, stick to a schedule or calendar, manage time, work independently, and control impulses and emotions. Possessing these abilities requires executive functioning skills and are important for your child’s back to school preparation and transition. But … Continued
How Many Extracurricular Activities is Too Many?
Extracurricular activities like sports, music lessons, dance, or band are rewarding for children of all ages. Having a schedule and forming commitments to teams and clubs are wonderful for social development. However, if children are involved in too many extracurricular activities, they might miss the intended benefits of their activities and suffer from unneeded stress. … Continued
Starting a New School? These Tips Can Help
Transitioning to a new school can be difficult for kids. Whether it’s your child’s first day of elementary school, their first day of high school, or you’re moving to a new school district, starting a new school can affect a child’s academic performance, social development, and mental state. Use these tips for starting a new … Continued
Fun Summer Activities that Promote Learning
Looking for summer learning activities for kids to get your child away from TVs, computers, or phones this summer? Half way through the summer everyone struggles to think of new ideas for summer play time. Below are some ideas to cut the cord and decrease screen time. Embrace Their Interests If your kids have a … Continued
Research: Use of Music Therapy to Support Premature Infants’ Initial Development
Shenfield T, Trainor LJ, Nakata T. Maternal singing modulates infant arousal. Psychology of Music. 2003; 31(4): 365–375. This study analyzed saliva samples of infants to reveal that infants with lower baseline levels exhibited modest cortisol increases in response to maternal singing; those with higher baseline levels exhibited modest reductions. These findings are consistent with the view … Continued
Research: Sensory Processing and Cerebral Palsy
Bumin G, Kayihan H.. Effectiveness of two different sensory integration programs for children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2001; 23(9): 394-399. An investigation of approaches to sensory perceptual motor (SPM) training for children with spastic diplegic CP (abnormal leg and possible arm stiffness), this study determines it is effective for group and individual treatment. … Continued
Research: Parent Perspective on Sensory Integration
Ahn RR, Miller LJ, Milberger S, et al. Prevalence of parents’ perceptions of sensory processing disorders among kindergarten children. American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2004; 58(3): 287–293. This article shares results of a parent survey indicating that approximately 5.3% of incoming kindergartners in one suburb’s schools met criteria for sensory processing issues based on parental perceptions – … Continued
Research: Sensory Integration/Processing Effect on Learning
Ayres AJ. Effect of sensory integrative therapy on the coordination of children with choreoathetoid movements. American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 1977; 31(5): 291–293. This study affirms that children with learning issues, SI deficits and choreoathetosis (involuntary movements) who received SI therapy developed better eye to hand coordination. Ayres AJ. Improving academic scores through sensory integration. Journal of Learning … Continued
Research: Effectiveness of Sensory Integration Theory
Addison LR, Piazza CC, Patel MR, Bachmeyer MH, Rivas KM, Milnes SM, Oddo J. A comparison of sensory integrative and behavioral therapies as treatment for pediatric feeding disorders. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 2012; 45(3): 455-71. This study about children with feeding issues concludes that behavioral and SI therapy used together can build the variety and amount … Continued
Research: Early Identification & Intervention for Communication Delays & Disorders
Conner J, Kelly-Vance L, Ryalls B, Friehe M. A play and language intervention for two-year-old children: implications for improving play skills and language. Journal of Research in Childhood Education. 2014; 28(2): 221-37. Results of this study show that typically-developing two-year-old children who received play and language intervention over a four-week period increased pretend play, comprehension skills, and … Continued
Research: Facilitating Language Development in Infants & Children
Bernhardt BM, Kemp N, Werker JF. Early word-object associations and later language development. First Language. 2007; 27(4): 315-328. This study found that word-object association performance at 17 or 20 months, measured by the Switch task, was related to scores on standardized tests of language comprehension and production up to two and a half years later. The … Continued
Research: Language Development in Atypically Developing Infants & Children
Eilers RE, Oller DK. Infant vocalizations and the early diagnosis of severe hearing impairment. J Pediatr. 1994; 124(2): 199-203. Findings from this study indicate that infants with normal hearing produce canonical vocalizations before 11 months of age, while infants with severe to profound hearing loss do not produce these vocalizations until they are 11 months of age … Continued
Research: Infant Motor Development & Tummy Time
Abbott AL, Bartlett DJ. Infant motor development and equipment use in the home. Child: Care Health & Development. 2001; 27: 295–306. This study concluded “parental education with respect to moderate use of equipment and provision with adequate floor time (tummy time) to practice and experiment with motor abilities might be required to enhance motor outcomes of vulnerable … Continued