OT Tips - NEXT CHALLENGE

Our Community of Practice - Occupational Therapy

Collated by our therapists, here you will find useful links to external websites, products and services that contain trusted advice in various areas of skill development.

Self Regulation
Play
Developing Hand Skills
Self-care Skills
Mealtimes

Please note that any advice accessed via these links is is general in nature and is not professional advice relating to a child’s specific circumstances. If in doubt, seek professional advice.

Self Regulation

Self Regulation by Stuart Shanker (Parent Guide)
Canadian Self Regulation Initiative (CSRi) (Website)
Self Regulation & Learning Video (TEDx Presentation by Stuart Shanker)
Helping kids to self-regulate (Podcast by Stuart Shanker via Parent Footprint 2017)
Helping kids develop self-regulation (article by parenting expert, Maggie Dent)
Sensory Processing & Spiciness (booklet by Next Challenge)

Self-care skills

Early Skills for Living & Learning Handouts - Developmental Occupational Therapy WA
- Dressing (e.g. buttons, zips, putting on tops and bottoms)
- Grooming (e.g. brushing and washing hair, brushing teeth)
- Routines (e.g. getting ready for bed, packing the school backpack)

Early Living Skills Handouts, child in blue towel robe smiling and holding tooth brush

Early Skills For Living Handouts

Play

Play + Early Learning Handouts

Play ideas, Play Group WA, child holds craft toy

Playdough recipe, Kids hands, multicoloured batches of playdough

Playdough Recipe

Craft Ideas, Craft Materials, Play Group WA

Enhancing Learning Turn On Learning Framework

Turn On Learning Framework

Developing Hand Skills

Finger + hand strength activities, child picking up small items with tongs

Finger + hand strength activities

upper body strength + coordination activities, child climbing on playground

upper body strength + coordination activities

Shoulder stability + control activities, child writing on vertical whiteboard

Shoulder stability + control activities

Learning to cut, child holding scissors

Learning to cut

Tips for cutting, child cutting colourful paper

Tips for cutting

Learning to hold a pencil, child pencil grasp holding blue marker

Learning to hold a pencil

Learning to write, child sits at table writing with pencil

Learning to write

Drawing + Writing in Everyday Activities, child writing letters in sand

Drawing + Writing in Everyday Activities

Tips for Writing, child writing on lined paper

Tips for Writing

Hand strength playdough activities, child making playdough mountain

Hand strength playdough activities

Activities for Upper Body Strength, two children doing wheelbarrow walk

Activities for Upper Body Strength

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Next Challenge wants to thank and pay respects to the Whadjuk people and Elders, past, present, and emerging, of the Noongar Nation, who have preserved and protected the kanana (land) and bilya (rivers, waterways) on which we continue to waabiny (play), djooroobidiny (go along happily / live), kadadjiny (learn), work, and provide services on yey (today).

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