Our new climbing wall in Vancouver!!

Heavy work was never so much fun.

Welcome to the Vancouver APT’s very own climbing wall!  We are encouraging kids, therapists and families to get vertical with our newly installed climbing wall.  As many of you already know, our therapy relies heavily on the value of heavy work to build muscles, improve concentration, calm a nervous system and prepare for more focused work.

What is “heavy work” anyway?  It is the resistive input through our muscles and joints which makes us aware of where our body is in space.   Heavy work gives our proprioceptive sense information about our position in space.  Some kids have difficulty interpreting proprioception and so may seek excessive forms of it.  They crash, jump, move and shake in an attempt to gain more information about the interaction between their bodies and the world around them.  This can show itself in kids who have problems grading movements. A child may appear clumsy or uncoordinated and break things often. They may often run into you to the point of driving you crazy!  Lack of sufficient heavy work can lead to difficulty sleeping, paying attention and being able to calm down when upset.

Some heavy work activities include:

Carrying a heavy backpack or wearing a weighted vest

Pushing a full laundry basket

Lifting and pouring buckets of water

Giving a sibling a piggy-back ride

Shoveling dirt or snow

Pushing a vacuum cleaner

The list really is endless, the creativity is up to you.  For more information on the type and duration of heavy work, best when used within a comprehensive sensory diet, please talk to your therapist.

Until then, visit our climbing wall.  We don’t allow kids unsupervised on the wall, and some families are surprised at yet another obstacle to the restroom, but we are happy to provide another fun movement experience for the kids at APT.

The climbing wall is designed to provide a safe, fun and challenging anti-gravity activity.

Safety first!

If anyone at home has an extra bell lying around, we have had a request from a few kids to place one at the top for motivation.  Thanks and have a great week.

Welcome to the Advanced Pediatric Therapies blog!

Welcome to the new Advanced Pediatric Therapies blog!  Please refer to our website for information on our clinic including our staff, location and how to find out if APT is right for your child.  Our goal is to provide a forum that not only tells who we are and what we do, but also allows for fun, community and active engagement.  Please let us know if there is a topic you would like covered in the blog.  We want you to be part of it’s development.

So let’s get started!

We thought we’d tell you about the phenomenal weekend we spent with Patty Oetter.  Patty comes to us from a private consulting practice in California and is well known to OT’s as the founder of the MORE (acronym for motor components, oral organization, respiratory demands and elements of toys that can be used to promote all of them) program.  She has an easy and natural way with kids that makes them feel instantly comfortable.  It may seem unusual, but Patty tells us that the mouth is the starting point of development throughout the rest of the body.  We spent the weekend with not only all of us at APT but other local OT’s who gathered to hear Patty’s pearls of wisdom.  We all came out rejuvenated and ready to share our knowledge with all of you!  We want to thank the families who brought their children in to us for Patty to treat and also all our OT friends who came and helped make the weekend such a fun and educational one.

Patty helps EJ jump from the platform for the very first time!

The OT’s are the ones watching for a change…

Patty is the author of “M.O.R.E. Integrating the Mouth with Sensory and Postural Functions” which has a companion DVD.  At the course, we learned techniques for use of oral motor intervention strategies, respiratory strategies and postural development.  We also were reminded about the healing power of touch and the importance of the energy we feel from each other in the therapeutic process.   Ask your therapist for more information.  The most important thing we learned from Patty is that you have to work from where you are and not try to jump ahead too quickly.  That way all kids are able to feel successful.