It‘s difficult to monitor screen time anytime but especially tough during a pandemic. Online learning, teletherapy, and normal video games and activities all add up to seemingly a lot of screen time. Dr. Mike Brooks, Ph.D. suggests in “Should You Worry About Kids’ Screen Time in This Pandemic?” that as we deal with COVID-19 screen time needn’t...
Telehealth for Pediatric Occupational Therapy AZ+A is committed to supporting families during the COVID19 pandemic. We continue to see clients while following all CDC and Illinois government guidelines. Prior to the recent news of the statewide lockdown due to coronavirus, we had expanded our therapy options for our clientele to include Telehealth. • The exciting...
A system of rewards and consequences is the go-to model many adults use to keep children motivated to behave. It’s natural to want to reinforce positive behavior and let natural outcomes be the result of less than desirable behavior. But is it really the right approach for all children? For some children, this traditional discipline...
Social media. We may love it or loathe it (sometimes both), but it’s here to stay. While it’s great for catching up with what your second cousin’s kids are up to across the country, social media can take up much of our time – and it’s not doing our kids any favors, either. Adolescence is...
Emotional regulation is not an innate skill. None of us are born with the ability to recognize, monitor, and adapt our emotions depending on the situation. The importance of modeling self-regulation is discussed frequently with our families, peer clinicians and the children in our clinic. The earlier regulation work begins, the better but we’ve found...
Dreaming of a stress-free December? So are we! Adults often think the holiday season is stressful but it can be equally as emotionally charged for children. The flurry of activities, changes in routine, forced interactions, uncomfortable “dress-up” clothes, too many sweets or too many new foods, so many tempting toys… This list could be as...
It takes a lot of courage to admit that something is not quite right. As a parent and you feel that about your child’s behavior, it is terrifying. You become overwhelmed with emotions; • Guilt – “Did I/we do something to make him/her this way?” • Sadness – “Will he/she ever live a normal life?”...
It’s never easy reading definitions of terms like “Helicopter Parent” or “Lawnmower Parent” and realize, “Oh, my gosh – that describes me to a tee!” Once the cartoon lightbulbs clear from above your head during one of a million parenting AHA moments yet to come, it’s important not to beat yourself up. Instead, remind yourself...
Twenty years ago when my daughter was in pre-school and kindergarten, her teachers repeatedly told us that her severe shyness was “an issue.” This pattern continued throughout her school years. No teacher, doctor or counselor ever mentioned pediatric occupational therapy, (at which point, I had no idea existed nor would I have known how an...
One of the key components of therapy provided at Amy Zier and Associates is parent-inclusion. We have always believed that the work we do as pediatric occupational therapists must include the caregiver(s) of the child. Throughout our years working with Chicago families, parent involvement continues to yield excellent results. We are fascinated by the results...
