I don’t know when in my life it became apparent that I wanted to work with children. Entering my profession as an occupational therapist, there were many directions, populations and areas for me to focus my studies and my clinical work. I never remember making the decision to work with differently-abled children. But that is […]
Articles
The Power of Unconditional Love
I recently read an article about the research that is being conducted to better understand the relationship between animals and individuals on the autistic spectrum. In this article, children between the ages of 5-13 where given pet guinea pigs to hold while in the presence of other adults. The findings were quite remarkable. “They found […]
Helping Children Become Independent Using Breath in the Classroom
Last night in my Webinar with Donna Freeman from Yogainmyschool.com: Yoga for Children with ADHD, I talked about breathing techniques that work well with this population, and are easily incorporated into the classroom. Here is another idea that I tried out today and had great success with. I made these bracelets with a group of […]
I AM
One of the most effective ways to help children see the positive sides of themselves is through “I AM” affirmations. I have seen a child go from a blown-out tantrum to attaining a calm state in a matter of 60 seconds. How is this accomplished???? There is nothing magical that I had done. When they […]
Literature Lesson Plan
Kindergarteners are so eager to learn and share their views and ideas. I love getting to bring yoga into their classrooms each week. Although I always plan to bring enriching lessons to their education, I ALWAYS find that I am the one who gains so much inspiration and knowledge from watching and listening to them. […]
Yoga 4 Classrooms: Helping students of ALL abilities learn
As an occupational therapist and a yoga teacher working in schools, I have had the honor of helping children of ALL abilities find comfort within themselves and within the classroom. Both can be a great challenge for any child, let alone a child that has a diagnosis of autism, ADHD, Down’s syndrome, etc. Yoga has […]
