Jan 28, 2019 | Parenting Tips, Services
Early Intervention Services Enhance Brain Development
An infant’s experiences have long-lasting effects on their ability to learn, regulate their emotions, connect socially, and sequentially develop for optimal neurological function. When there is an absence of appropriate experiences and learning opportunities in a child’s environment, the brain’s development can be stunted.
However, if ample learning opportunities are provided, brain development is facilitated and enhanced. Once born, a child’s brain develops through safe attachment, rich sensory experiences and the formation of implicit memories. The earlier and the more often “correct” learning experiences occur, the stronger those behaviors and skills are secured in a child’s brain.
The Earlier The Intervention, The Better
Studies in early childhood development have shown that young brains have an incredible potential for change. Children with developmental delays often experience the wiring of neurons together in a manner that is “unhelpful,” causing them to struggle with communication, social skills and other activities essential for daily life. These “unhelpful” connections need to be corrected and changed.
Amazingly, with intensive stimulation, the brain has the capacity to forge new pathways and build circuits that are more helpful and functional, but timing is crucial. The earlier the brain is exposed to “helpful” experiences, the better those connections will be, and the stronger and more available those behaviors will be to the child. Research indicates that helping children with special needs in early developmental stages improves their outcomes and future life skills yielding a tremendous amount of progress in children by the time they enter kindergarten. This often reduces the need for intensive supports and decreases healthcare expense later in life.
Three Ways Early Intervention Can Help
Early Intervention services improve and enhance the neurological
development of a child with delays, special needs, or developmental concerns. Early therapeutic interventions have shown to
be beneficial well beyond their developmental years and helps keep these
children on a path to making the most of their abilities to develop skills they
will need to function to their fullest potential.
Early Intervention helps build a nurturing and supportive environment for the entire family. It provides professional assistance and support for parents and siblings of children with special needs, decreasing frustration, stress, disappointment, helplessness, and caregiver burnout.
Early Intervention also helps to set a firm foundation for key developmental progression that will set the pace for later skills, offer greater opportunities for the child, and aid in later academic success. If we correctly understand a child’s skill deficits and design a program that appropriately stimulates neural circuits and targeted areas of their development, we can exercise and strengthen key areas of the brain to develop language, social skills etc.
“We can say without a doubt Yrma has changed the trajectory of our son’s life. After starting the reflex integration work we are seeing concrete, visible changes in our son’s hand eye coordination, ability to cross midline, success in crawling, catching a ball & much more. But more importantly, the filling of these gaps in his development has given our son the confidence & mental ability to regulate his body, make friends, & thrive at school. Thank you Yrma.”
– Sara P., Boulder, CO
Skills 4 Life Now Offers Early Intervention Services
Skills 4 Life now offers early intervention services with Yrma Perdomo, MS OTR/L. Yrma is a gifted therapist who specializes in neurodevelopmental intervention strategies for children from birth to 4 years old.
Yrma provides the following specific services at Skills 4 Life:
- Tummy Time Method Certified
- Sensory Integration Trained
- SSP + iLS Certified (sound intervention therapy)
- Reflex integration (INPP, Masgutova)
- Hand In Hand Parenting Advocate
Contact our office at 303.351.1828 or karina@skills4lifeot.com to learn more today!
About Yrma Perdomo:
Yrma Perdomo is a registered & licensed Occupational Therapist (MS OTR/L) with a specialty in neurodevelopmental intervention strategies for children from birth to 4 years old. Her mission is to educate parents in the use & application of an easy eight-phase process of Tummy Time as a preventive treatment intervention & give parents evidence-based tools that further support their child’s neurological development through their lifespan.
About Skills 4 Life:
Skills 4 Life Pediatric Occupational Therapy offers a broad range of pediatric occupational therapy services in the Boulder & Denver area to help your child master age-appropriate developmental skills, become more independent, increase academic success & develop confidence. The experts at Skills 4 Life specialize in handwriting, keyboarding & executive function coaching, but also work with children on social & emotional learning, motor skills, self-regulation strategies & activities of daily living. Skills 4 Life Pediatric Occupational Therapy offers your child a safe, compassionate environment to learn the critical skills they need to be successful. Learn more about our team & services at www.skills4lifeot.com, or you can contact our office by email at karina@skills4lifeot.com or by phone at 303.351.1828.
Jun 30, 2017 | Keyboarding
For students who struggle with handwriting and getting their thoughts on paper efficiently, becoming proficient with keyboarding can be a life-changing skill. It’s also a critical skill 4 life for students with typical learning profiles.
After helping dozens of students learn to touch type this summer during my keyboarding intensives, parents inevitably ask what their child can do to keep improving their skills. Here is a short list of fun ways to practice: (more…)
Jun 13, 2017 | Executive Function Skills, Parenting Tips
Time management is a challenge for everyone; especially for middle and high school students. Between homework, school, after-school activities, family, friends, jobs and more, their time is truly NOT their own. And in this fast-paced culture, effective time-management skills are essential.
How can you help your student master basic time management strategies? Here are some helpful tools and tips.
1. Use an academic planner to help your student plan and stay on track. Whether they use a paper planner (I recommend Order Out of Chaos’ “Academic Planner: A Tool for Time Management” ) or electronic calendar, make sure their planner is set up as a grid system so they can see their week at a glance. Record all their class assignments, after-school activities, work commitments, even plans with friends. This will allow them to know what they need to do AND when they have time to PLAN to get things done. (more…)
Mar 3, 2017 | Executive Function Skills, Tips & Tools for Students
Does your child incorporate proofreading as part of their written work? Most of my students think that as soon as they put their final ending punctuation mark on their writing, it’s done!
The ability to assess and correct one’s own performance is a metacognitive skill. When students have a weakness in this area, they may neglect to proofread and check their work. Some students have difficulty staying on topic and veer off in a different direction or go on a tangent, losing sight of their topic or goal. Others make careless errors by rushing through their work or not paying attention to details.
Tips for Successful Proofreading:
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Nov 7, 2016 | Executive Function Skills, Parenting Tips
Kids generally don’t enjoy being told what to do, especially when it comes to doing tasks. According to executive function experts, Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP and Kristen Jacobsen, M.S., CCC/SLP, the key to increasing job performance is to change tasks from a simple behavior to a personal identity label. Doing this transfers the ownership of a task, thereby increasing a child’s sense of self. When we “own” a task, we are much more likely to both complete the task and do it well.
Empower your child with task ownership by making the task into a specific job and assigning it a “job title.” To do this, simply add “er” to the end of the word that describes the desired action, like “Toothbrusher,” “Window Washer,” “Writer,” “Packer,” “Listener,” etc. (more…)
Feb 5, 2016 | ADHD, Executive Function Skills, Parenting Tips, Resources
Does your student struggle to stay focused when completing online homework assignments? Nowadays, most middle school and high school students use the internet to complete homework assignments, which can lead to a good deal of distraction and procrastination- especially with the proliferation of social networking sites.
Help your student minimize online distractions and maximize efficiency using these tools:
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Aug 16, 2015 | Parenting Tips, Self-Regulation
I was recently asked by a parent of a “fiery” 5-year-old whose emotional intensity levels frequently overshadow her burgeoning self-regulatory skills, for some effective self-soothing techniques to teach her. Here’s my response:
Emotional regulation is a learned skill and there are many things you can do to teach your child effective self-soothing techniques. Emotional responses can occur on three different levels- neurophysiological, behavioral, and cognitive. Here are some tools to help with each:
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Nov 18, 2014 | Keyboarding
Ever since Handwriting Without Tears launched their new keyboarding program, Keyboarding Without Tears, I’ve been asked my thoughts about it by colleagues and parents alike. As a certified Handwriting Without Tears specialist, I was excited to learn more about their new program. I recently attended their workshop, From Pencils to Keyboards: Teaching Written Production in the Digital Classroom.
Keyboarding Without Tears is the only keyboarding program that is developmentally based and offers individual curricula for kindergarten to 5th grade. I really appreciate that the more advanced lessons in the program tie into the common core curriculum taught in each grade to support and supplement student learning. (more…)
Sep 26, 2014 | Executive Function Skills
Planners are extremely useful tools to help us manage our daily activities and achieve our goals. I like to think of mine as my external brain.
Here are 12 tips to use your planner more efficiently: (more…)
Dec 5, 2013 | Executive Function Skills, Parenting Tips
Homework can provide a wonderful opportunity to teach students organizational, time management, and problem-solving skills. It can also teach them how to be responsible and to work autonomously. These are all excellent “skills 4 life.”
Even exceptional students who are well organized may have trouble juggling the demands of multiple classes, long-term projects, and extracurricular activities.
Tips to Help Your Child Get Their Homework Done:
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