Occupational Therapy

7 Sep 2012

Occupational therapy self-reflection/rambling/thinking out loud

I can't even begin to tell you guys how many general education teachers come up to me these days, even those I've never had, to ask me questions, talk to me, tell me what they are doing, mention another teacher showed them something, etc etc. I love it. It makes me super happy. Having general education teachers aware of issues and working on preventing them/catching them early makes OT lives – and the lives of the kids – so much better in the long run. One kinder teacher told me she had all her kids cut straws the other day and how quiet they all were and how much they loved it. Another kinder teacher told me she was doing her fine motor centers – which she implemented after our inservice – and the assistant superintendant came in during some school rounds and was quite intrigued and asked her a lot of questions and she told him about the OT inservice. Another 1st gr teacher at another school told me about how they went out and bought a bunch of (cheap) items after the inservice to use in their room, another 1st gr teacher told me how she has her class do the finger exercises (things like touching each finger to their thumb)….On and on and on. 
I've been asked what we did. Basically we just did three or four stations, lets say each table holds 10 teachers. (A combination of gen ed, special ed, psychologists, APE, speech therapists, etc). Each station was 15 minutes. One was fine motor, one was handwriting, one was sensory motor and/or self-regulation/movement in the classroom depending on if there were 3 or 4 of us OTs. We did this same inservice for our special ed instructional assistants and they all talked about how it was by far their favorite session of the YEAR. None of us had Powerpoints or a set presentation, rather we each had a few hand-outs at best and then talked through them, demonstrating with hands-on. I had my teachers beading straws on pipe cleaners, sticking golf tees in styrofoam, “squirreling” coins, using clothespins and cotton balls and how to use them in math centers, etc etc. All of us focused on fast, quick, easy, cheap, efficient, INSTANT things to do in the classroom, no thought process needed. They all left ready to incorporate things they had learned at each of our tables, the next day. I know in my case I had about 45 minutes of stuff to show in a 15 minute session, so I warned them at the beginning that we were going to go super fast because it was all such straight-forward ideas.  A lot of them had their own great ideas they had learned/implemented.  If you have access to a great polished Powerpoint that's interesting, great, use it, be merry. But if you're just an OT or two on your own and struggling…Be casual. Invite a bunch of staff on a good afternoon to meet you in a conference room, bring a crapload of stuff to touch or look at, and a handout or two, and just give them some easy tricks you use every day that many of them just don't know. Don't let it stress you out. And the more gen-ed staff you “touch” now, the easier your life will be when you have kids in those classes in the future as they already know and trust you. 
I have definitely noticed there tends to be a special ed – SPED – group and gen-ed group….And always a few teachers/staff that are bridges, but typically the groups mostly segregate. I love both groups and love how many gen ed teachers consider me their friend. Makes my job so much easier in the long run. (Yeah yeah, boundaries are important too…) 🙂 But a lot of gen ed teachers get nervous when you push-in or come observe, when you are just a random staff person…When they know and trust you, they relax and let you into their environment much easier. 
Other things. The other day I was in an IEP meeting and we discussed how a hallmark of neurological dysfunction is being inconsistent. Pretty sure I'm basically quoting that but I forget from what book, maybe Out of Sync Child. Sorry. Anyway, one of the special ed staff stopped and looked at me and at the end, she wanted to talk about her aging mother and her inconsistency. We talked a lot about beginning dementia, neurology, aging in place, validation theory, etc, from the OT standpoint and how to explain things to her siblings. Today, she stopped me to let me know how helpful that discussion was, and how it was so amazing to realize how much more I knew as an OT than just what she normally saw in the schools. IE, she thinks of me as an OT, but thinks of me as a school OT, therefore knowing about things like fine motor skills. She hadn't realized the extent of my knowledge base as an OT and it made her also realize that as a school team we often don't realize how far-reaching and extensive ALL of our knowledge bases are in topics not related to school! I was very pleased it meant so much to her and it made me happy too, dusting off rusty neurons from my OT geriatric days…..
Moving onto a randomosity: 
My favorite conversation of the day. 
Scene: Phone call, my school's director of special ed has just called me back. 
Me: Hi! Have you missed me?!! 
Her: Do you really want me to answer that? 
Me: Only if you lie…

=====
So today, I went into a school and saw a group of my little kiddos from last year, who always referenced me as “Miss Awesomeness”. We had a new kiddo to the group who has been hearing about me from the other little boys for the last few weeks who have been asking about me (I start two weeks into the school year because of scheduling, getting kids routines established, etc). So he finally meets me today – the kids come in to their learning center as always and are shocked to finally see me standing there, and they surrounded me with hugs and cries of Miss Awesomeness. The new little boy looked at me with wide eyes and practically whispered, “Are you Miss Awesomeness?”. It was so adorable. I knowww that had I just been “Miss Karen” it wouldn't have been nearly as exciting. I LOVE these little ones! The main kids I use Miss Awesomeness with are the ones who have trouble remembering names. They need something outlandish to help them remember. One of my little spunky girls recently told me, “You can call me Miss Awesom
eness too”. I was happy to do so. 🙂

So for anyone new to this blog, I'm an elementary school OT and *some* – not all – of my kids call me that but it's meant to be silly and light-hearted, I in no way am arrogant enough to truly think that. I think I'm a good OT – most of the time – but I have my moments just like EVERYONE. We all have sessions that miserably fail, whether due to environment, the kid's mood, the therapist's mood, whatever. That's okay…We learn from our mistakes and move on. 
I have SOOOOO much to learn from more experienced therapists. I get so jealous of therapists with lots of experience, you have no idea. I wish I could copy all their neurons, make neuron pancakes, eat them, and be instantly as smart as them. However sometimes inexperienced therapists have the benefit of flexibility in their thought process. Like when I used to do fencing. Sometimes fencing a brand new fencer, even as an experienced fencer, was hard, because the inexperienced fencer was so unpredictable and bizarre in their actions. I recently read a story about a guy who came into his statistics class late in college, wrote down the problems on the board, and solved them as homework. He hadn't been there for the first part of class where they were described as impossible, never before solved problems. Not knowing this was the reason he could approach it so freshly. 

I feel kind of hypomanic – in case you couldn't tell from this pressured writing, haha – just because I'm feeling really overwhelmed with work right now and it's only the third week. So today I stayed at work until EIGHT PM. Just me and the custodian, lol. I knew if I went home I wouldn't work at night. Tomorrow is Friday and I'm going to a show at 6pm in that area, so I plan to stay at work late. I really want to get caught up NOW so that my basic “Start of my 2nd year of school OT” goals could be met. 

Yesterday as part of my new goals for the year, I was asking a child what he thought I did for a job. He thought earnestly for a minute and then brightened, “Make people have fun?”. Yes. That's exactly it. 🙂 LOL. 
The description I used for him is that I wanted to help his eyeballs and fingers work a little easier and quicker so school could be more fun. 

Seriously. ALL OF YOU THERAPISTS. ASK YOUR KIDS IF THEY KNOW YOUR NAME. AND ASK THEM IF THEY KNOW WHAT YOU DO OR WHY THEY ARE SEEING YOU. Their answers will probably shock you. Do not assume. 

So……Every day I have so many moments that pass by that I want to share on the blog. I love my job, but at the same time I wish I could also be a full-time blogger, full time general education and toy store consultant, full-time product inventor, full-time writer, etc etc. A wise person recently commented on FB that a career is not a sprint but an Ironman triathlon…Guess I have a ways to go on some of my ideas. 

Tonight, this incredibly long post is mostly for personal therapeutic value. It helps me to rid my brain of the thoughts swirling around, and to have mementos/memories that I can look back on some day since my memory is horrific, and to remind myself of the good accomplishments for the many, many days I feel lost or fearful as an OT. I can't write SO much about those moments on this blog since uh, I'd like to stay in the good graces of my bosses and schools, but it's nothing crazy, just typical professional angst, lol. I can write more about PAST moments. I do still have a lot of intentions of writing about non-school based topics. Especially considering my love for schools only started when I got this job about 17 months ago. 

Random note – love the new Wet Dry Try Handwriting App – but don't recommend it quite yet as they are working on reducing sensitivity – right now even I can't always trace a letter correctly which is ridiculous. But the new update should be out soon with reduced sensitivity and I'm pretty sure I will highly recommend it at that time. 🙂 
Random other note – I have tons of pictures I need to post including some rather, um, creative uses of things like the Theraband hand strengthener..
Random other note – make sure to find my magic weighted blanket give-away a few posts down, chances of winning are super incredibly high.
Random other note – I rarely edit these or reread them, I just let my brain vomit, so …..Sorry. 
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
6 Sep 2012

A tu ti ta…Tooty Ta? Song…An amazing motor planning/sequencing song for OT kids

I was recently in a K dual language immersion classroom checking in on a little guy when the teacher was having all her kids do “A tu ti ta” (this was all in Spanish). It was SO FREAKING cool and hilarious. I have NEVER heard of this. It was cracking me up, the kids loved it, and it was SUCH great sequencing, motor planning, following directions, etc.

Essentially it’s a very rhythmic song that has the children following basic directions and it builds upon itself. They start with thumbs up, then move to elbows back, feet apart, knees touching, tongue out, etc. I love all things occupational therapy related and kids related and I am utterly astounded that this is the first time I have come across this. Teachers, parents, therapists…Please. Get this song and do it with your class/kids/students. 🙂

This is a random clip I found of some young children doing it. It’s only about two minutes long – slow going at first but picks up near the end and gets really silly, really quick. LOVE IT! 

Thumbs out
Elbows back
Feet apart
Knees together
Bottoms out
Tongues out
Eyes Shut
Turn Around!
As always…Check the posts a few below for a magic weighted blanket give a way 🙂 
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 2
5 Sep 2012

Menacing avocados…I mean advocates :)

this did help me feel a little better. 

My best friend wrote this to me after I wrote her I was in the midst of educational advocate drama.
“I see all your problems with advocates. Maybe this will help—every time you say “advocate” I think of “avocado” and it is very hard for me to take such a threat seriously. How can an avocado be menacing? :P”

I don't know about you all, but I have met a menacing avocado or two….lol

Look below for magic weighted blanket give-away 🙂 
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
4 Sep 2012

New entries on occupational therapy…

See blog post below or click this link for Magic Blanket give-away, you still have time to enter. http://blog.missawesomeness.com/2012/08/magic-weighted-blanket-give-away-enter.html

Blogger friends: I want to be able to keep posting to my blog new things while still keeping up this give-away till it ends. Do you think my best bet is to post new things but have a give-away link at top of every few posts, or is there like a widget thing I can use to put it in a blatant spot on my sidebar, or what?
I go through ups and downs with my “efficiency” in activities of daily living, and I have to say I'm in a slump, my room and paperwork and life is all messy right now, and every day I think it's a new day where I'll get caught up on everything. And every day I am wrong…ahahhaa
Tomorrow I start officially seeing kids, my cat is purring on me, and it's 10:42pm and I've been at multiple parties today, and I did NOTHING – NOTHING – of use this weekend in terms of helping me out for work. Boo. I'm going to try to go to sleep now, and hope tomorrow is an efficient day and I get a lot of work done. 🙂
Karen 

Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
31 Aug 2012

Magic Weighted Blanket Give-Away: Enter Now

Update: Lesley Parker in Tennessee is the winner! 🙂 Congratulations Lesley! I will pass on your information to the Magic Weighted Blanket people. 🙂

I was recently e-mailed by Keith, who told me about his magic weighted blanket company, saying “We’ve been in business since 1998.  We first called our blanket the “Bean Blanket,” but people were assuming it was filled with beans.  So we changed the name to The Magic Blanket, after one of our customers told us her daughter called it her “magic blanket.”  We’ve recently created a new web site called www.magicweightedblanket.com“

His signature line is “The Magic Blanket — The blanket that hugs you back” – LOL, I like that 🙂
The blankets are cotton or fleece, and are machine washable and dryable. (Apparently I made that word up). The give-away blanket can be anything you want if you win, up to their $164 twin size chenille blanket, and they will pay the shipping costs, U.S. residents only. 🙂 
They are in the process of sending me a blanket to review. It’s a 36×60-inch, 10 pound Billowing Clouds Cotton Magic Weighted Blanket. I am excited to give it to one of my schools to use this year in their learning resource center and will be reviewing it once I get it (my honest review!). 

Sooo…..this contest is open until 11:59pm of September 14th, 2012. Just leave a comment on THIS entry saying you are interested in the give-away (anyone can enter, OT or not). I will use a random number generator to choose the winner. I don’t typically get that many comments, so chances of winning are exceptionally high, I think.

Of course I’ll like you more if you leave a comment of value, but you can win regardless by any comment. Make sure if you leave a comment that there is a method to get ahold of you, or to check back in a few weeks after the contest ends. Please only leave one comment. 
******I HAVE TO MODERATE COMMENTS DUE TO EXCESSIVE SPAM, SO DON’T FREAK OUT IF IT DOESN’T SHOW UP RIGHT AWAY. CHECK BACK THE NEXT DAY****

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!! 
Karen
PS: This is my first formal give-away so please inform me if I’m missing any vital information. 

Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 42
30 Aug 2012

Rambling occupational therapy school OT thoughts…

It's past midnight, I didn't hardly get any sleep last night thanks to advocate concerns. As I earlier mentioned on Facebook…I don't care if I am the most perfect person and OT in the ENTIRE WORLD….if an intimidating educational advocate gets on board, I'm going to doubt myself. I could have written a fifty thousand page book on X, but if the advocate questions me I, inside of my head I am like WHAT IS X I FORGET AUGHHHHHHHHH and then I tear out my hair and run screaming from the room. 🙂 Just kidding. But seriously. Wow. I understand why parents hire educational advocates, but some feel like a great part of the team while others seem to exist solely for torture. Parents…if you're in a reasonably good district with good workers and a good reputation and you want an advocate….PLEASE consider hiring someone who is known for their teamwork/collaborative process with the team. The vast majority of IEP teams have good intentions and want to help your child as much as you want your child helped. A good advocate aids this process of collaboration and recognizes a good team. I, of course, am biased, but I think my district does an amazing job. I have quite a few schools and I am impressed with each team, even though they all have different personality dynamics, so it's neat to see the interactions between teams, parents, advocates, students, etc. 🙂 

My current favorite toy is http://www.amazon.com/Play-Visions-Stretchy-Mice-Cheese/dp/B0018KJTBC   I stumbled across it on Amazon and bought it and it's so worth it. The children try to stick the mouse through the cheese, and/or get it out, and it's got a mooshy rubbery texture and the kids really like it so far. Plus, then I pull out lots of tiny animals and bugs from my own collectionand then the MONSTER CHEESE EATS THEM AUGHHHHHHH….they love hiding the stuff in the monster cheese and then re-finding it and pulling it out. It's a nice NOVEL fine motor task that requires bilateral hand coordination and motor planning. It's not that expensive and I can definitely see a LOT of use coming out of that toy. I just realized it came with two mice? I only seem to have one now. I wonder where the other one went. Hmmm. Oh well, I actually prefer my version of “monster” cheese so that's okay.
This is another one I like. I also just stumbled across this on Amazon one crazy night when I bought like a hundred dollars worth of OT toys for no good reason besides desire. Stupid reason. 🙂 I JUST got this one and while it's really geared towards younger kids (like 3ish), I used it with a preschooler recently and we both enjoyed it. The tweezers are a little hard in that it takes a lot of pressure, but it was great for imaginative play. Especially because we used tweezers to put a bunch of bugs into the pie, and then I used file-drawer things stacked on top of each other to make an “oven” and then we baked the pie. While finding material to make the oven I found a tiny stretchy elephant and I showed the child and asked if we should include the elephant in the pie that we had placed in our oven. Apparently “No, that is too mean” is the proper response. We then presented the pie to people to eat and we enjoyed their “shock” at discovering bugs in our pie! It would be a great speech toy as well. We carried it with us to the speech therapy room so they could continue to chat about the awesome pie and all its many contents…fruit, bugs, animals, sections, colors, shapes, categories, whatever, you name it. 🙂
I've also been trying to do more creative letter stories…for example, a little person lives in “O” and if you don't close the O, the rain can leak in and get the person wet…yikes!! And that when 7 is the first in line, 7 is selfish and has a big hat and won't let anybody get under it… (working on not reversing the 7)…or things like the g has a curve so someone can sit in the swing. Turning the letters into little people. 🙂 
And that letters FALL FROM THE SKY, they don't grow from the ground. I make a big fuss with my beginning kids when they do letters bottom-up….do you think letters grow out of the ground?!! They're not vegetables. We don't want to eat our letters!!!” etc…Nooo they fall from the sky! 
I'm also trying to improve my IEP goals….they always focus on function, but sometimes I think the measurable piece ends up getting ridiculous depending on how written, and/or has too many elements within a single goal. I know Christopher Alterio of ABC Therapeutics's blog once wrote a post about how some OT school goals he has seen has like, eight elements in it. Ridiculous, yep. But almost all of us are guilty of it sometimes. So when I have a kid who needs work on EVERYTHING – letter formation, sizing, spacing, etc, instead of talking about accuracy within EACH arena, I am focusing on basic legibility without context. For example, if I am writing “My name is Karen” and I have a few messy letters but you are reading the sentence, you may figure it out. But if  you mask EACH letter individually, no context, then each letter by itself needs to meet basic criteria, so I'm focusing on the big picture of legibility which will INCLUDE working on each of those sub-areas. If the child only needs to work on a particular area then yes, goal, but I think legibility is a better goal when working on all sub-areas. And for typing…now with so many touch tablets and different sized keyboards, home row-key touch typing is less important. However, finding a key instantly is important. The keys don't move…a D is always where a D is. So my goals focus on a child being able to find each key within ONE SECOND, instantly zeroing in on a key rather than continuously scanning. A huge pet peeve of mine is people who have to scan their keyboard for letters. You've stared at them your entire life. They've never moved. Memorize them and save yourself SO MUCH TIME in the long run. Of course it can be graded, ie hints such as it's on the top row…etc. Another great typing goal can include just being able to input usernames and passwords from an index card or list, within a certain reasonable amount of time. Even our first graders these days are being asked to do that, and that can get frustrating. 
It's funny how as we learn, we focus on different things…so right now I'm focusing on certain types of goals, certain functionalities…I'm sure as I evolve (this is the start of only my second school year as an OT in schools), I will constantly be finding new things to look at in new ways..and all OTs see things a little differently. Like pencil grips….opinions vary dramatically. Of course ultimately you would ideally focus on the evidence-based research. 
Speaking of evidence-based research….Christopher Alterio of ABC Therapeutics once again, has commented on the scarcity of good evidence in regards to sensory strategies/accomodations in the literature. ONE DAY I WILL BE ABLE TO SPELL ACCOMODATIONS WITHOUT LOOKING! I *JUST* learned how to spell tomorrow properly…by thinking of it as the name “Tom Sorrow” to remind myself its one M and two Rs….) moving on….So, sorry that the evidence doesn't show X. But if I am seeing with my own eyes that X works for certain kids, and it's not harmful, then X will be used. Maybe I SHOULD get my PhD so I can do research in the school systems. 🙂 I hate stats but I
can just hire my OT friend Bill for that because he loves stats! 
Sorry this is the most rambling post ever. I know I'm not supposed to write so much random stuff at one point. BUT HAHA I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT MUAHAHAHAHA THE POWER IS RUSHING TO MY HEAD!!!   Just kidding. But it is almost 1am. And I had chocolate.
Speaking of which….I know anybody who has read my occupational therapy blog for any length of time but doesn't know me in person, may have a warped sense of what I am like in real life. I'm calmer in real life, I swear. Way easier to be hyper online. I've recently met a few people in real life that only knew me online, and they all commented I seemed much more normal than they were expecting. This made me laugh. 🙂 Like I've been sharing my possum chronicles lately on Facebook as I've recently had a possum in my bedroom more than once. Apparently that story sounds hideous online only, but when I share it in real life, it “sounds almost normal.” I'm telling y'all right now, my entire life is one big possum chronicle of ludicrosity (word inventions), but it sounds less weird in real life. I think. Maybe. Sometimes. 
Okay I'm giving up and going to bed. Anybody who read this far gets my love forever. I have a lot of love to give. I haven't forgotten about my magic weighted blanket giveaway. I got side-tracked by advocate drama and – wait for it – BABY CUDDLING! Yes, I am officially a volunteer baby cuddler at a local hospital after being on a wait list for over two years. I used to do it in Memphis and am now resuming it here in California. Yay! 
The magic weighted blanket give away is for US residents only, can be for a weighted blanket up to $164 dollars, and they will make it/ship it to you. They are making me a lovely blanket to try out at my schools and I am very excited about it. You can enter just by submitting a comment, ideally one that says something they like about OT or weighted blankets. The winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator (and by the way, I don't typically get many comments, so the chances of winning are likely really, really high). DO NOT comment about it on this post, but my next post should be the formal give-away. 
Thanks,
Karen 
PS: I know many of my readers want to read more about NON peds or school OT….I do have quite a lot to share/write in those arenas, it's just lower priority to my current life, but I will try to sprinkle them in more often. 

Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 3
28 Aug 2012

Facebook OT

I have so much I want to write about that I've been e-mailing myself lists of things I want to write about which doesn't even include the INCREDIBLY huge bag of blog stuff I have next to me. But alas, it's bedtime, so I will copy paste this status update I wrote on Facebook…

I had MULTIPLE general education teachers at multiple schools tell me today how excited they were about the things they learned in Friday's OT presentations and how they went out and found old phone books, clothespins, made centers, have been having their kids do finger exercises, etc!! One super awesome gen ed teacher sent me a text with a picture of her new “OT” centers she set up for her kindergarten. That makes me SUPER happy!!! Yay for OTs!! (cheers for my OT co-workers)

Tomorrow night's one and only blog goal: Put up the magic weighted blanket give-away 🙂 

Karen 
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 2
23 Aug 2012

"Quiet hands"

I've worked with children who flap their hands with excitement. Their joy is so great they can't contain themselves in those moments. Even when playing an iPad game where the game requires constant touch, those hands fly up on their own to flap in excitement. Those gestures “stand” out and label the child as different. 

I've also worked with children with autism perfectly absorbed and content in their own world. They could happily throw leaves into the air and watch them drift down for hours on end, or spin things, or do whatever else necessary to make their world bearable. 
Then I'm asked to change them. I don't work with moderate/severe populations now, so this is more looking back at some of the play therapy I did in college. 
I'm supposed to draw these children out. I'm supposed to help them blend in with their peers. No more flapping or obvious “stimming”. No letting them sit absorbed in their own world for hours on end. 
Part of me sees the point of “changing” them. After all, it's easiest if kids fit in, right? And people on this Earth are social beings, so they should interact, right?
The other, bigger part of me, agonizes. Why does it really matter if a child flaps his little hands in excitement? Why should I take a child content in his own little world, and make them live in ours? Who am I helping? The child? The parents? Society? I know the parents would love to see their child look at them and engage with them, instead of ignoring them while spinning toy cars. But what about the child? What if the child's neural world is so disorganized that our “neuro-typical” world is too disorganizing and challenging? What if the child uses his flapping hands as his greatest expression of joy? Who are we to say that our world is superior? 
I always struggled with these thoughts when working with those children, and while most of my current OT children are much higher-functioning, it does sometimes still come up. For example, a child with a diagnosis of autism who likes to wander around the playground at recess, not interacting with others. Is this a huge deal? If the child wants to interact and doesn't know how, and we can help the child, then sure, great. But if this child with autism is bombarded all day every day with stimulation and needs recess to decompress and wander around alone and is perfectly content, should we take this opportunity away from the child and force social time? I say no, but many others would disagree with me. And I can see their point. But I can also see mine. 
These midnight thoughts come from reading a poignant journal entry, which I saw thanks to Bill on Facebook… http://juststimming.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/quiet-hands/
*Obviously I work with students with special needs, and I try to always keep their best interests at heart…I work with an interdisciplinary team and we work very, very hard to help our students reach their goals and participate in the educational curriculum to the best of their abilities. We work to improve their areas of weakness while remembering to celebrate their strengths and unique abilities! 
**Keep your eyes open…the magic weighted blanket give-away will come sometime this week and be up for several weeks…winner chosen randomly….U.S. residents only (sorry Emma)…:) 
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 3
22 Aug 2012

An OT Pinterest kind of night…

Playing on Pinterest tonight…..found this site with a really really cool sensory lab she did

Check out my OT ideas here 🙂 
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
21 Aug 2012

Buttermilk the baby dwarf goat is a little rambunctious with her friends :)

Let’s see if this works! 
If it doesn’t, google Buttermilk the dwarf goat friends, and you will get something that should leave you laughing out loud. It’s only one minute long. 🙂
Essentially it’s this tiny goat who is MUCH more active – hyperactive – than her little goat peers. She occasionally uses their bodies as props to jump off of, knocking them down. You see them patiently get back up as she scampers away, oblivious.
This little goat is absolutely adorably rambunctious and fun. She APPEARS (trying not to anthropomorphize or whatever the word is, too much here) to be filled with joy. Can you imagine trying to make this little goat stand quietly like the other goats? No. This goat’s engine is running high, and she needs to find a way to use her energy. Granted, knocking over the other goats isn’t the best method, but it’s clear this little goat is different.
I see this adorable “goat” often, because children with hyperactivity stand out from their peers in a school setting. Rather than sitting still or quietly milling about, we see many of these children running around, clearly with their engine running at a different speed. Some of them DO bump into other children (who are hopefully patient) because they are less aware of their bodies and proximity to others and/or have a higher threshold for bumps tolerance! Can we just tell these kids to sit down and be quiet? No. The challenge is finding ways to calm them down in a healthy way so they can focus on learning, while understanding their engine levels naturally run higher than the others, AND while ensuring we don’t break their wonderfully rambunctious spirit. I’m sure grammaticians (new word?) are rolling in their graves at this awkward paragraph. AHAHAHA
Anyway…I in NO WAY, shape or form, mean any offense…I just LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this little goat and her antics, it made me laugh out loud which, contrary to popular belief, is rather hard to do via Internet. 🙂 And it filled me with fondness for my OT kids! School started back TODAY! So I’m back at work. With a huge bag of “blog stuff”, quite literally, begging to be dealt with…Day by day. 
Hope you watch Buttermilk and laugh. 🙂 She made my week! 
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 1
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