On April 4, 2019, the Representative Assembly (RA) of the American Occupational Therapy (AOTA) voted to maintain two points of entry into the field of occupational for individuals looking to become occupational therapists (OTs). Why…
When I first became an occupational therapist, friends, family members, and patients asked me questions to construct their understanding of occupational therapy. Do you help people get jobs? Sometimes. Is OT like PT, but for the…
One of the defining characteristics of the autism diagnosis is a tendency to over-react or under-react to sensory input or to have an unusual pre-occupation with certain sensory aspects of the environment. How individuals with…
Childhood diabetes used to be considered a rare condition, but the incidence of type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents is on the rise. Juggling the responsibilities of school, chores, and extracurricular activities can be…
April is Occupational Therapy Month. In honor of this special month, I thought I’d share 10 things that you might not know about this profession. Julia Lathrop was one of occupational therapy’s foremothers. If you’re a…
Promoting Subjective Well-Being Addressing children’s mental health can be complicated and often requires an integrated approach. The knowledge and expertise of qualified mental health professionals (QMHPs) from different professions can help to assure that all…
In recent years many school districts have adopted multi-tiered approaches, like Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports frameworks, to address the mental health needs of children at school. Multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) are generally organized into…
This past fall the Illinois General Assembly passed a mandate requiring public elementary schools to provide cursive instruction beginning in the 2018-2019 academic year. Some wonder why handwriting, especially given the trend in many school…
Christmas shopping can bring great happiness to both the gift giver and the recipient. Everyone enjoys the feeling of finding and giving the perfect gift. Many of us will be shopping this holiday season…
With the academic year starting in just a few weeks many students, from kindergarten to university, are making their final back to school purchases. Stocking up on school supplies is a great idea. However, when…