Occupational therapy can play a key role in helping a child meet developmental milestones. There are times when it is appropriate for an occupational therapist to visit a family in their home, or times when a child needs to visit Easter Seals Crossroads to use specific equipment in our sensory and therapy rooms, but some therapy activities can be conducted by a parent during their child’s normal daily routine.

We asked two of our occupational therapists, Teri Maloney and Claire Werner, for a short list of therapy activities that can be done during activities of daily living.

1. Utilize bath time for more than just cleaning. Use bath bubbles or bath crayons to practice letter formation and handwriting in a fun environment. Also during bath time, allow your child to practice hand strengthening by wringing the bath water out of a washcloth.
2. Use tweezers instead of forks during dinner and pretend they are chopsticks! Another great way to practice hand strengthening.
3. Cooking can take a lot of upper body strength, so bring your child into the kitchen and allow them to measure and pour liquids or stir the cookie dough batter (Then reward them with a cookie!).
4. Yoga is a great way to help strengthen the upper body and the core, and can also be very calming for kids with high arousal sensory issues. Practice yoga near bedtime as part of a routine to get ready to sleep.
5. Learning to hold a toothbrush in one hand and squeeze toothpaste with the other helps a child practice bilateral coordination.

How do you integrate therapy into your child’s daily routine? Leave a comment and let us know!

Are you considering occupational therapy for your child, or are you unsure if your child is in need of therapy services? Consider taking the free online Ages & Stages Questionnaire, a tool that will help you see if your child’s developmental progress is on time.

Mistakes Kids Make
By Kelly Zatlin

When I was a teenager, I was the definition of a “goody-too-shoes.” I never got in trouble, I never stayed out past curfew, and I always ate my vegetables (ok, that part is a lie…I slyly shoved them under my plate when my mom wasn’t looking). The point is, I never got into trouble beyond “do your homework!” or “make your bed!” I always wonder, though, if things could have turned out differently for me if I went to a different school or hung around a different group of kids. Maybe I wouldn’t have the same opportunities that I have today.

Though I maintained my mostly reputable behavior throughout my teenage years, I knew a few kids in high school and in college who did end up in the slammer, whether it was because they were truly “bad apples,” or because they were going through some tough times and transitions in life, or because they were teenagers making foolish mistakes because they feel “invincible.” Some of them now have trouble getting quality jobs, maintaining quality relationships with friends and family and living successful lives because of mistakes they made.

So what does this have to do with Easter Seals? Well, Easter Seals is all about early intervention for all kids, whether they have autism, developmental delays or need some intervention services. With these services, children are less likely to be held back a grade, less likely to need special education and more likely to graduate high school. It has been proven that these individuals are less involved in crime and delinquency as well. According to Easter Seals Facts and Figures, “Early care and education for vulnerable young children keeps kids in school and helps them find jobs; it keeps kids in communities out of jail.”

Easter Seals recently learned of a campaign that is trying to change the way kids are dealt with when they make mistakes. According to their website, MistakesKidsMake.org, many are thrown into jail for non-violent crimes, and they don’t necessarily get the intervention or the help that they need. Because of the mistakes they make when they are young, blind to their faults and narcissistic in nature, they end up with tarnished records that make it hard to live successful lives later on.

Mistakes Kids Make is trying to change the way teens are dealt with when they do things like shoplift, vandalize, consume alcohol underage, etc. Their website lists the stat that only 5 percent of kids who are arrested commit violent crimes, while the other 95 percent who don’t, get the same fate of a tarnished record.

While I personally believe kids should pay for the mistakes they make so that they can learn from them, different crimes should be dealt with in different ways. Kids who commit crimes deserve some sort of punishment, but they also deserve a chance to redeem themselves.

Mistakes Kids Make isn’t saying that kids shouldn’t be held responsible, but they want to go about it in a different way. They say on their website: “hold kids accountable? Yes. Teach kids responsibility? Absolutely. Help kids become their better selves? Let’s do it. But not at the cost of their chance for a good education, a good job, and a healthy, productive life as they grow.”

Mistakes Kids Make has the same goals as Easter Seals: to give all kids the chance to live greater lives filled with opportunities to reach their full potential. While Mistakes Kids Make deals with different issues than Easter Seals, they have the same end goal: to make life count for kids early on, so that they can live better lives in the future.

Some insurance policies cover autism therapy; however the majority of children are utilizing Medicaid funding. Here in chilly Wisconsin the wait list is approaching two years. When we let families know their child may not be eligible to receive services for another two years, we feel terrible. After brainstorming ways to support families in another capacity, we’re thrilled to be launching our new Start Early program.

Start Early is targeted for families who recently had a child diagnosed and are unable to start services right away. It’s an intensive, four-week class that gives families the tools to help their child while they are on the wait list for services. Classes focus on the basics of autism, how to target communication, handle maladaptive behaviors, IEPs (Individualized Education Programs), toilet training and other topics that we feel are the main things parents may struggle with at first.

The biggest benefit of the Start Early program is that families will have access to current, research based information on how to begin teaching their child skills! In addition, parents will learn that all behaviors serve a function, making it not only easier for them to manage problem behaviors, but also to understand why they are occurring. During each session, families will attend a 90 minute presentation followed by time to work one on one with a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. During this time, the family will be able to practice the techniques they were taught during the presentation. Families will develop familiarity with the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which will make the transition into receiving services easier for both parent and child.

Parent training is a key piece of Easter Seals Southeast Wisconsin’s in-home ABA program. Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and Senior Interventionists work to train the line interventionists to best implement the programs, but they also work with the parents to explain why ABA is effective, what the programs accomplish, and the functions of all the behaviors a child can display. The families that we serve love to share amazing stories of their children excelling and learning new skills both during and outside of therapy sessions. Start Early will allow families to have that information up front, before they finish the long wait for waiver funding.

With 50 million people with disabilities across the country, the need for Easter Seals life-changing work continues to grow. But we are making progress every day thanks to you. We encourage you to help us call attention to the experience of people with disabilities, and to raise awareness of and advocate for the services they need.

• The president’s budget recommends a much-needed increase for the federal early intervention program. But we need to convince Congress that this program needs to be a high priority. Sign our Make The First Five Count petition. Help us break last year’s record of 40,000 signatures!
• Spread the word about our Ages and Stages Questionnaire. To date, thousands of parents have used this free online developmental milestone tool to track their child’s development.
• It’s Spring and that means thousands of supporters like you are signing up online for Easter Seals Walk With Me events across the country. Find an event near you and join in the fun!

We’ve already had some pretty creative fundraising ideas this year, including:

• a raffle and ticketed networking event
• an accessible Wrigleyville rooftop night at a Cubs game
• a team of runners who raced from Madison, Wisc. across the Midwest to Chicago.

We only established NAB last summer, and the passion each board member has for Easter Seals grows with every interaction. This is National Volunteer Week, so I asked a couple NAB members what they had to say about volunteerism.

Mike Sandy — Chairman of the Easter Seals National Associate Board
Mike said, “It is an incredible honor to be part of the inaugural group for the NAB and I could not be happier to be involved with Easter Seals as an organization.” Mike met Melissa Hohimer from Easter Seals’ Finance Department when he was in graduate school. “I don’t believe I have ever met someone with more passion around their organization and its mission. She continuously spoke about Easter Seals and the type of work they were doing, which lead me to take a deeper look.” Mike has several friends with children who have autism and says the fact that Easter Seals is a leader in providing direct service to children with autism really resonated with him. ”Several of my friends completed tours in either Iraq or Afghanistan, so counseling and reintegration for returning veterans is also near and dear to my heart.”

After graduation, Mike was interested in putting his new found free time to good use. “So it seemed only natural that Easter Seals would be a perfect fit. The fact that the timing coincided with the establishment of the NAB couldn’t have worked out any better.”

Maria Mazza — Vice Chair of the Easter Seals National Associate Board
Maria said she decided to become involved with Easter Seals because of a long standing desire to give back to the community and her interest in working with an organization making a significant impact in the lives of children. “I’ve reached a point in life where I felt I had the time and resources to put my skills, energies and enthusiasm to use for an important cause,” she said. Maria is particularly interested in Easter Seals’ initiatives in the areas of early intervention and therapeutic services. “With such services facing increased demand, Easter Seals is playing an important role in helping children reach their potential. All children deserve in equal opportunity to succeed and Easter Seals is striving to help children in this regard.”

As a board member, not only has Maria had the opportunity to see how children and adults are benefitting from the extensive services provided by Easter Seals, but she has also had the opportunity to personally contribute to one of Easter Seals’ initiatives. “I recorded a PSA in Spanish about Make the First Five Count and the online screening tool created by Easter Seals for the assessment of potential developmental delays. I was truly honored by the opportunity and am excited about the upcoming events the NAB has planned for this year.”

Congress decides the funding level for this program each year, which means we need to sign the Make the First Five Count petition each year. So, if you signed the petition last year, you need to sign it again for it to help this year. Let’s break last year’s record of 40,000 signatures!

It’s very easy. All you have to do is link to our Make the First Five Count page and scroll to the bottom. Hit the “sign the petition” button and fill out your contact information. In less than two minutes, you can make your voice heard. Thank you — your voice really matters!

Your donations at Hair Cuttery in April will go twice as far to help us Make the First Five Count to support Easter Seals services, early identification, early intervention and screening services.

Dennis Ratner, Founder and CEO of Ratner Companies, parent company of Hair Cuttery, pointed out in a press release that many Hair Cuttery associates have young children and know firsthand how important the early years are for their continued success in life. He’s right. The first five years of life really count, yet every year, more than a million young children with unidentified delays and disabilities enter school with learning and health issues that put them far behind their peers.

That’s why Easter Seals created Make the First Five Count®, to engage parents around the importance of early identification — because children only receive services when parents follow their instincts and take action early if something doesn’t feel quite right. And now, with your donations and Hair Cuttery’s support, Easter Seals will continue to help children and adults with disabilities receive important services so they can live, learn, work and play in their communities.

I had the pleasure of participating in the Make the First Five Count Spokespersons Network and Affiliate Marketing Partners Meeting in Chicago a few weeks ago. Thirty-degree temperatures and freezing cold Chicago wind might have pushed the teeth-chattering and ear-numbing limits of this island girl, but the warmth of the personalities, and the very intelligent, altruistic people at Easter Seals and its affiliates got me through.

These individuals tirelessly dedicate themselves to the well being of children and adults with disabilities and special needs, and they’d fit in perfectly with my fellow residents of Hawaii. In Hawaii, we pride ourselves on living through “Aloha,” which means “hello,” “goodbye” and, most importantly, “love.”

Many think of Hawaii as a place of paradise, a never-ending tropical vacation. But the truth is my dear island Oahu is becoming over-populated with a growing crime rate and homelessness. The cost of living is rising and we often come across families that do not have the means to afford proper care for their loved ones.

So if the lives of island locals are not what others perceive them to be, where does the “Aloha” lie? The proof is in the way we interact with each other. Our passion and manner in which we come together to help a struggling member of our tight-knit community is “Aloha.” When I see our therapists, social workers, activity coordinators and caregivers interact with our participants here at Easter Seals Hawaii, I’m reminded that it is people like them that uphold and sustain our island values as well as the mission of Easter Seals.

During the meeting in Chicago, we discussed how many know the Easter Seals name but often forget or are unaware of what we do for others. I am confident in stating, “Easter Seals means Aloha.” The people I met at that Chicago meeting are proof that despite economic hardship and limited resources, “Aloha” will always prevail. We help and guide those with disabilities and special needs to reach their full potential. There is nothing more satisfying than being a stepping stone to make that happen.

And so, if you ever walk past Easter Seals Headquarters office in gusty Chicago, expect to be greeted with one of the most powerful quotes I’ve ever known, “Your life and mine shall be valued not by what we take … but by what we give.” That quote comes from Edgar Allen, the founder of Easter Seals. I’m a true believer.

From now until April 27, you can support Make the First Five Count and Act for Autism, too, by donating $1 at checkout (don’t forget to thank your cashier for helping Make the First Five Count) While you’re at it, why not bring the kids to your local A.C. Moore store on April 20 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. That’s the day of their free “Make and Take” craft event, and the kids can make a Creative Hands® foam name sign to take home.

Since launching the campaign as part of its Crafting a Better World program in 2010, A.C. Moore customers and store team members have raised almost $500,000 for Easter Seals. Today, one in 88 children are diagnosed with autism, and there’s an increasing need for funding, services and support. I encourage everyone, the crafty and non-crafty, to show your support by pinning the image pictured here. You can visit Easter Seals’ Pinterest page to see more, too!

Happy to share my birthday month this year

by Kelly Zatlin

March has always been my favorite month … it’s my birthday month! Come to find out, though, that March is also National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. How cool is that?

I became aware of this when I read a blog called To The Max on Parents.com. To The Max is written by a mother, Ellen Seidman, whose son Max has significant disabilities. Her post called If Your Child Has Developmental Delays: 5 Reasons Not to Freak Out was published during this special month to “help increase your awareness about why you shouldn’t let delays get you down.” She gives great reasons for parents not to “freak out” and also cites studies from Easter Seals. In one post, she brings attention to the work we do at Easter Seals AND helps spread awareness about developmental delays. I think we love this woman!

It’s definitely hard for any parent to hear the news that their child has a disability or is developmentally delayed in some way. Ellen has been through it all and she knows just how difficult it can be, but after going through it herself, she also knows that it doesn’t have to be as tough as you may think. Why? I’ll give you the quick version, but I also encourage you to read her post for even more information. Some reasons not to freak out:

• Because children’s brains are impressionable and malleable
• Because you have resources
• Because there is comfort in numbers
• Because there is no rush to the finish line

In the early stages, Ellen was left with no hope from her doctors when she needed it the most, but eventually, she found that hope for her son and for her family through early intervention services. The harsh reality is that more than one million children who are at risk of developmental delays go undiagnosed every year, which keeps them from receiving services that could help tremendously. Ellen, like Easter Seals, wants people to know that doing something early on can make all the difference in the world and will give their child a better chance at the happiness and independence they deserve.

Our Make the First Five Count campaign here at Easter Seals promotes early intervention and, as the name implies, encourages tracking development in the first five years of a child’s life. Ellen brings up a good point that each child develops at their own pace, but one of the ways Easter Seals helps parents track their own child’s development is through our Ages and Stages Questionnaire, which is a free online screening tool. I’m not even close to being a parent, but I can’t stress enough how important it is for parents to utilize the Ages and Stages Questionnaire to track their child’s developmental milestones, whether or not they think their child may have a disability. Ellen knows what she’s talking about when it comes to early identification, and I’m so glad she wrote this post in honor of my birthday month … I mean, in honor of National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Reading her post was like eating the birthday cake I never got this year, just without the calories!