Parents, are you drinking from a firehouse of information about the “right” therapies, the “best” learning tools, and the “most effective” strategies to help your children? It can be overwhelming. It’s easy to dismiss some approaches as “just playing” – especially when you’re dealing with serious developmental, emotional, or sensory challenges. At Zier Institute (Omaha)...
The leaves have begun to change, and families have settled into the rhythm of the school year. However, sometimes children and their parents experience bumps in the road. After the initial excitement of new classrooms, friends, and routines wears off, underlying social, emotional, behavioral, or developmental issues may start to surface. And those first parent-teacher...
DIR/Floortime-Informed Insights for Parents of Toddlers and Preschoolers by Katy Barnes, OTD, OTR/L Thank you for following along with this summer blog series! My hope is that these posts have helped you find a little more joy, silliness, and laughter in the day-to-day moments of parenting. Now we come to one of the biggest challenges...
DIR/Floortime-Informed Insights for Parents of Babies and Toddlers By Katy Barnes, OTD, OTR/L Why Play? Play is a safe space without demands or expectations. It’s where children can make sense of their experiences, experiment with new ideas, and build the emotional muscles they’ll use for life. How Play Builds Emotional Resilience In a play-based setting,...
DIR/Floortime-Informed Insights for Parents of Babies and Toddlers By Katy Barnes, OTD, OTR/L – What is Sensory Regulation in Toddlers? At this developmental stage, children are processing an incredible amount of sensory information, from sounds and textures to movement and touch, while also learning to interact and communicate. This sensory processing is the foundation of how...
Tiny Hands with Big Jobs: Fine Motor Development in Early Childhood DIR/Floortime-Informed Insights for Parents of Babies and Toddlers By Katy Barnes, OTD, OTR/L What are Fine Motor Skills? You may notice a toddler picking up a crayon, stacking blocks, or struggling to button a sweater. These small actions are signs of fine motor development,...
By Katy Barnes, OTD, OTR/L, Zier Institute, Omaha, NE When your baby reaches for a toy, rolls over, or takes those first wobbly steps, it is building its brain-body connection through experience. Motor milestones, such as crawling, cruising, and walking, are a window into your child’s developmental journey. What are Motor Milestones? They are the...
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, kids can become overwhelmed, reactive, and dysregulated. Despite all the fun activities and people to see, the holidays can be just as chaotic for kids as for adults. Knowing when your child has “had enough” is more important than keeping up with the Clauses. Choose joy...
Building a stronger bond during the challenging teenage years can lead to more meaningful connections during these critical years and into adulthood. Is talking with your teen more like a debate class than an actual conversation? Communication can become challenging, if not uncomfortable, with our children during their teens. Many parents and teens feel frustrated...
How to combat the mental health crisis among teens is a topic the occupational therapists and mental health professionals at Zier Institute and Amy Zier + Associates have discussed for years. Fast forward to COVID-19 and “post” pandemic lives, there is a heightened demand for mental health services for teens and young adults. A quick...
