Author: Anita Poulin

What Am I Doing
At Kids OT Inc.
My Muscles & Senses

I came to Kids OT Inc. to
Find Out How My Body Works.
The Occupational Therapists Will
Play a Bunch of Different Games,
Making Sure all my Muscles are Working.
I will Do things that Show how Strong and Fast
My Big and Little Muscles Work.

This is my Brain.
It lives inside
my Head.

Inside My Head is My Brain.
It is were My Body
Puts Together All The
Information From My Nerves.

If my Nerves are Not
Sending Messages
To and From My Brain Easily.
I can Have Trouble Having a Quiet Body.
When my Nerves are Sending Messages
To and From My Brain Easily,
I can Think and Feel Better.

Inside My Body are Nerves
My Nerves Spread all over My Body
Like Tiny Spider Webs.
My Nerves Live in My
Muscles and Under My Skin.
The Job of My
Nerves is to
Send Messages
To and From
My Brain.
This is How My Body Can Move, Talk,
Dress and Behave.
My Nerves Get All the Information From My Senses and Helps Me to Be
Safe, Calm and Relaxed.

The little endings are how My Nerves Talk to Other Nerves.

This is What One of My Nerves
Looks like Super Big.

My body uses the Water I
drink to help make my
Neuro-Transmitters.
I need My Neuro-Transmitters
They are very, very, very important
because they help Me have a
Quiet Body and Good Attention to Learn.
I Need To Take Sips of Water Often During
The Day so My Neuro-Transmitters
Help My Nerves Talk to Other Nerves
My Nerves are Always Talking To
My Body & Brain From Every Sense.
And My Body is Always Trying to
Remain Calm and Focused
This Way I Am
Able to Learn.
If Not,
Then My body Responds with My
“Fight or Response Flight”

My “Fight of Flight” Response Happens
When My Adrenaline Increases.
Adrenaline is one of My Neuro-transmitters
Which Helps my body Protect Itself
And it Can Make Me Feel Different.
If I trip and Fall,
My Adrenalin Makes
My Arms Reach Out
To Protect My Body
Or,
My Brain Sends Messages
to My Muscles so I Can
Play, Dress, Eat, Toilet
Or,
I Can Have Different Emotions
and Not Feel Good.

My “Fight of Flight” Response Also Can Make Me Feel

A
n
g
R
y

My Nerves are Always Working Inside Me
And I don’t Even Have to Think About It.
Now HOW Do My Nerves Help My Body Work ?
FIRST,
My Body Always Gets
Information
From My Senses.
This is Called
MY INPUT SYSTEM
My Nerves Collect
Information From My Senses.
Then My Nerves,
Send the INPUT To My Brain
This is Where I Can Figure Out
What To Do With the Input.
This is
MY THROUGHPUT SYSTEM
Then,
My Brain Tell My Nerves to Talk to My Whole Body and
I Do Something Like
Move, or Behave or Feel
This is Called
MY OUTPUT SYSTEM

My
Sense of Sight
Or
My Visual System

My Visual INPUT Helps Me Learn
About the World With My Eyes
Through My Eyes.

This is What the Inside of My Eye
Looks Like.
It Has A
Big Nerve that
Talks to My Brain and Helps Me Learn Through My Eyes

If the Shape of My Eye is Short
Then I Will Be Far Sighted

If the Shape of My Eye is Long
Then I Will Be Near Sighted

If I Am Near Sighted
or Far Sighted,
I Will Have to Wear Glasses
So I Can See Correctly

My Visual Sense Help Me See Colors & Shapes,

Red Orange Green Blue Yellow Purple

Square Circle Triangle Oval Rectangle Star

I See In the Day & Night. Or with Lights in My home.

My Eyes Wink & Blink
to Handle the Wind or Make You Smile.

My eyes stay closed When
My Body Needs Rest

When My Eyes Do Not
Process or Work Well Then,
My Body Can Have Trouble With
Visual or Ocular Motor Skills like,
.Catching a Ball * Throwing a Ball
Writing & Drawing * Reading
Visual Processing Skills like,
Looking at Faces * Being in Shopping Malls
Being in Stores * Being in Hospitals
Being in Schools

My OT Helps My Visual Senses
We Work on Play Like:

Throw

Mazes

Catch

Hidden Pictures

Dot to Dot Games

My
Hearing Sense
Or
My Auditory
System

My Auditory INPUT or
My Sense of Hearing
Helps Me Learn About the World Through Sound & Movement.

When the Doctor Looks way Inside My Ear There are Many Small Bones.
These Help My Brain Hear & Sense Sound.

Some Parts of My Ears Help Me
Hear & Understand Language

This Means I May Have
Auditory Processing Difficulty

Sometime I Hear
People Say
“Come Over Hear”

And I Heard
“Sit In The Chair”

If I Can’t Hear Any Sound, I am A Person
That is Deaf.
I Learn to Talk with My Hands,
Called Sign Language.
Here Is the Alphabet and a Few Words.

Thank You
Your Welcome

Sometimes I Might Not Hear Some Sounds and I Might Use A Hearing Aide so I Can Hear Better

Sometimes Sound Hurts My Ears.
I Am Sound
Hyper-sensitive.

Sometimes Sound
Helps Me Feel Better.

Inside My Ears are 3 Loops.
Each Loop is Lined With Tiny Nerves and The Loops are Filled With Liquid.
The Loops are Called
My Semi-Circular Canals.
When I Move, The Liquid Moves and This Helps My Brain
Understand
Where I Am in Space

My Vestibular System
Helps Me:
Keep My Head Upright
Protect Myself with my Arms
Helps my Brain Remain Calm
Makes My Brain Dizzy if I Spin
Helps Me Not Bump Into Things Around Me.
Helps Me Not to Trip and Fall
Helps Me Balance

My OT Helps My Auditory Senses To Improve.
We Work on Play that Helps
My Sense of Hearing Improve Like:
Like

My OT May Use the TLP Program. This will Help My Ears Not Hurt When I Hear Some Sounds.

My OT May Use Hemi-Sync Music in the Background So I Can Attend Better.

My OT Might Use Rhythm To Help Me Be More
Coordinated.

My OT May Use Sounds For
Me To Learn What They Are.

My
Sense of Smell
Or
My Olfactory
System

My INPUT or My Sense of Smell
Comes from My Nose and
Helps Me Learn Good and Bad Smells
to Keep Me Safe.

The Hair Inside My Nose
Helps Clean the Air I Breathe by
Keeping Dust and Dirt Out.
This is Why I Sneeze.

Inside My Nose I have
Specialized Sensory Cells that
Help My Brain to Detect Smells.

Sometimes Things
Smell Bad.

Sometimes
Things
Smell Good.

My OT Helps My Olfactory Senses To Improve.
We Work on Play that Helps My Senses Improve.

The Stronger the Smell, The More Alert I Become.

Spearmint

Lemon

Peppermint

The Softer the Smell, The More Calm I Become.

Lavender

Rose

Things My OT and I Play are Games Like:
Scented Stickers or Scented Playdough or
Scented Bubbles or Scented Markers or
Scented Ink-Pads
Or Cooking with Many Foods
Or Smelly Games

My OT is Very Careful NOT to Use
Really Strong Oder's.
My OT knows that Inhaling strong smells can
Damage the cells in my nose.

My
Sense of Taste
Or
My Gustatory
System

My INPUT or Sense of Taste
Comes from My Tongue
and Helps Me Know
Good Things to Eat or
Bad Things to Eat.

My Tongue has
50–100
Taste cells
that help Me taste
My Tongue Also Helps Me Know when Food is Hot or Cold.

A Stimulated Taste Nerve Cell Sends
Taste & Temperature Back to My Brain.

My Body Needs To Eat Healthy Foods
So My Brain Works Best.

These are All the Healthy Foods
I Need to Eat Every Day.

Sometimes I’m called a picky eater because
I only Like Certain Foods and
Sometimes I Look at Food and
It makes My tummy feel sick then I gag.
This Happens To Me When:
I Try Mixed textures or,
2. I Limit Food to tastes, textures, or temperatures.
3. I Only Eat Food near room temperature and bland.
I Only Eat Food very hot or very cold.
5. I Only Eat Food heavily seasoned foods or condiments.
When My Gustatory Sense Isn’t Working Well
I Will Also Have Difficulty:
Brushing My Teeth, I don’t like toothpaste.
2. I Have a Strong Fear of the Dentist.
3. or I Love going to the dentist
I Frequently drool.
5. I Lick, Chew, or Mouth inedible objects frequently, such as clothing, hands, toys, pencils, or small objects I find on the ground.
6. or I Love Using Strong Toothpaste flavors.
7. I Also love to use vibrating toothbrushes.
If I Don’t Eat Healthy then
My Body Can Get Sick and
I can Have Lots of Problems With My Tummy or Sometimes I
Can Have Problems Pooping.

My OT Helps My Gustatory Sense Improve.
We Work on Play that Helps My Senses Improve.

Here are some Ideas to Help My Gustatory Sense:
1. I Could Use a Chewy Tool like a chew tube, chewlery,
a chewy pencil topper, or more appropriate chew toy.
2. I Could Have Snacks throughout My day that are
crunchy, chewy, or otherwise resistive like granola,
pretzels, carrots, taffy, jerky, gum, or drinking
thick liquids such as smoothies, yogurt, or applesauce through a straw.
3. I Could Regularly use a water bottle with a straw throughout the day.
4. I Can Use toys or play mouth games that require Me to forcefully blow air out of My Mouth like whistles or kazoos, blowing bubbles, blowing up balloons, using a straw to blow a cotton ball across the table, using a straw to blow bubbles into a drink, or making art with Blo-pens.
5. I Can try gum or hard candies with strong sweet or sour flavors. Sucking on popsicles or lollipops is a great strategy too.

My INPUT
or
Sense of Touch
Is Called
My Tactile System.

My Tactile System
Gets The Information I Need
from My Skin and Muscles.

My Brain Learns When I Touch Things and
When Things Touch Me.

The Nerve Endings
in My Skin
Help Me
Stay Safe
By Telling
My Brain
What is

Cold

Hot

Hard

Soft

Dry

Wet

When My Nerves Sense A Threat.
This Means I Am Tactilely Hyper-sensitive

This Happens When I;
I Do Not Like to Brush My Teeth
2. I Do Not Like to Wash &
Comb My Hair
3. I Do Not Like My Nails Cut.
4. I Do Not Like My Hair Combed, Brushed or Cut.
5. I Do Not Like Tags in My Cloths.
6. I Only Like Certain Kinds of Clothing Material.
7. I Do Not Like Bathing.
8. I Do Not Like Wet Cloths.

My Tactile Sense Helps My Body
Stay Safe By Giving Me My Personal Space.
This is Called My Bubble.
My Bubble Tells My Brain Where
Things are Around Me, like
Tables, Chairs, Buildings and Stairs
and People.
If I Have Difficulty with My
Personal Space
My Fight or Flight Will Trigger
WHEN . . .
Things Change Around Me.
People Come Near Me.
I Do Anything New or Different.
I Am Unfamiliar with a New Toy or Sound.
I Am Resistant to Change.
I don’t Like Movies, Fairs, New Places

soOThing PROGRAM
This is What My OT Will Teach Me It Will Help My Tactile Hyper-Sensitivity

STEPS:
1.Using Long Strokes moving Brush mostly towards the heart.
2. Brush Cheeks and Around the Mouth.
3. Brush Palms and Tops of the Hands Brush
Arms From Wrist to Shoulder.
4. Brush Back Using Long Strokes on Right, left
and Center.
5. Brush Legs From Ankle to Hips on Both Sides
of the Leg.
6. Brush Soles and Tops of the Feet.
7. Follow Immediately with a Firm Massage to
each area Brushed.
8. Apply Joint Compression to Each Joint.
Do Not Forget Fingers & Toes.
RECOMMENDATIONS
This can be done during bath time, using any of the following items:
a surgical brush b. a loofa c. bath brush d. bath scrub e. face cloth dried
The brushing is done to awaken the nerve endings.
Use firm pressure when brushing. If the child’s skin turns pink or becomes
irritated, begin by using softer or gentle pressure gradually building up skin
tolerance. NO MARKING of the KIN should be noted at any time.
Consult therapist if difficulty of this nature occurs.
The massage must be done following bath using baby lotion or whatever lotion
is tolerable to the child’s skin. This is essential to assist the nervous system
to re-organize. Joint compression is done to joints of the hands, arms and
legs and along the spine, following demonstration by therapist providing
instructions.

My INPUT
or
Proprioceptive Sense
Comes from
My Muscles and Joints

My Proprioceptive Sense Helps My Muscles
Understand How Much
Power and Speed I Need
To Use for Each Thing I DO.

My Large Muscles are Found in
My Stomach, My Back,
My Shoulders and My Hips.

My Small Muscles are
My Fingers,
My Eyes and
My Mouth.

If My INPUT or Sense of Movement
Is Having Difficulty
My Body Will Have Trouble With:

"motor planning"
conceptualizing and figuring out what each part of My body needs to do
In order to move a certain way or complete a task
(what is an unconscious sense to you, becomes an active,
conscious, frustrating sense to me)
2. Executing planned movements
"motor control" when My brain may know what to do,
but it can't figure out how to make My body do it)
3. “grading movement"
knowing how much pressure is needed to complete a task
Like holding a cup of water, holding and writing with a pencil,
Turning the page of a book, hitting a golf ball into the hole, etc.
4. "postural stability";
the ability to hold and maintain My postural muscles and
responses, giving Me a sense of security and safety so
I can use My Small Muscles for movement.
Stability Equals Mobility
As a result, If My Proprioception System is impaired Then,
I Can Experience "Emotional In-Security" .
I Can Become Easily Frustrated, Give Up, and
Lose My Self-Confidence.

It is truly difficult for Me to try SO HARD
and not be able to do what I want to do and
My Brain quickly notices some of the following...

If I am under responsive to proprioceptive input then I Will Become a Sensory Seeker and I will...

walk to hard, push too hard, bang too hard write too hard, play with objects too hard, etc.
be the loud one, rough one, crasher, mover, shaker, runner, jumper and bouncer or have an insatiable bundle of energy!
shake my legs or constantly bang the back of my foot on the floor/chair while sitting in class
play too rough (often hurting myself or others), jump off of or crash into ANYTHING I can
crack my knuckles, chew on my fingers, bite my nails until they bleed, chew on pens, gum, pencils, clothing collars, sleeves, or strings, or inedible objects like paper clips, pieces of toys etc.
enjoy TIGHT clothes (i.e. turtlenecks, tight belts, hoods, hats, jackets zipped ALL the way up, tight pajamas etc.)

Signs of postural instability will include...
slumping at desk, dinner table etc.
2. appear to be "limp" and lethargic all the time
3. needing to rest his head on his hands or lay his head down on his arm on the desk/table while working
4. having poor posture during motor tasks being unable to stand on one foot and have difficulty with any balancing tasks

If I have poor motor planning, body awareness, or
motor control, I will...

have difficulty climbing, running, riding a bike, doing
jumping jacks hitting a ball, roller skating, etc.
have difficulty tying shoes or knowing how to move
My body when getting dressed/undressed
frequently bump into objects and
people accidentally
4. trip and fall often
5. have difficulty learning to go up and
down stairs, and
may be frightened by them (escalators too)

These are All the Reasons I Love To Come and Play at Kids OT Inc.

Kids OT Inc. Publishing
Copyright @ 2016

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