Your Kids OT

Your Kids OT Your Kids OT provides direct paediatric therapy services in Sydney, Australia.
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For OT tips read the blog, search the archives or join the free e-newsletter at www.yourkidsot.com Your Kids OT provides paediatric occupational therapy services in Sydney, Australia. We operate as a mobile service to homes, preschools and schools within the Ryde LGA and surrounding suburbs. Your Kids OT is also a popular blog with information for parents, teachers and OTs to help with creative w

ays to make learning fun and support child development. You will find many resources available in the Your Kids OT shop which may be downloaded instantly.

16/06/2026

“My engine and me”

I’m taking a neuroaffirming approach to the Alert Program. These are some visual supports that I’ve created to help the implementation. We look at interoception skills, executive functioning skills and sensory strategies together with the original program.

This resource pack includes a child-friendly speedometer, visual supports, and a social story designed to help children understand their engine speeds and recognise the body clues associated with slow, just right, and fast states.
Using a simple traffic light framework—Stop, Think, Go—children learn to notice their body signals, reflect on what their bodies may need, and choose supportive strategies that work for them. Rather than focusing on behaviour management, this resource promotes self-understanding, autonomy, and participation.Perfect for occupational therapists, educators, and families supporting children to develop regulation skills through a strengths-based, neuroaffirming lens. Get your copy of “My Engine and Me” at the Your Kids OT Shop.

Read more about a neuroaffirming approach to the Alert program on the latest blog. Let me know if you want the direct link. https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog/a-neuroaffirming-approach-to-the-alert-program

15/06/2026

Interception and the Alert Program

The Alert Program® is not about changing children or making them fit a particular expectation. It is about helping them to develop awareness of their own body signals, understand what those signals mean, and discover strategies that support their participation in everyday life. Just as a car needs different speeds for different roads, children need different engine speeds throughout the day depending on the activity, environment, and how they are feeling.

Body scan meditation can help children to develop mindfulness about their current arousal and alert levels. It may highlight body signals such as breathing, heart rate, muscle tension, temperature, emotions and energy.

We are taking the analogy further by making a steering wheel from a paper plate, placing an Alert “speedometer” in the centre and applying my “body scan check” stickers to the plate. Children “drive their engines” by identifying their body signals and noticing what levels of arousal they have. Sometimes this is done retrospectively rather than in the moment to reflect on “how was your body feeling”.

We are combining sensory strategies, interoception and executive functioning skills to bring a neuroaffirming approach to regulation and the Alert Program. I will be sharing more this week, but meanwhile head over to the latest blog article to find out more. Let me know if you would like the link —-> https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog/a-neuroaffirming-approach-to-the-alert-program

13/06/2026

“As a healthcare worker, we are used to looking
out for the health and wellbeing of others. In the
midst of caring for others, we often overlook our
own needs. Sometimes the last person we care
for is ourself.

Self-care is often the first thing that gets
sacrificed when life is busy and stressful. You
may think that taking time for yourself seems
indulgent. But self-care is not just about
soothing activities; it’s about creating a plan
that will help you focus, make decisions and stay
healthy.“ Black Dog Institute

Take this as a sign to take care of yourself. Exercise, breathing, listening to music, reading, connecting with friends or a creative pursuit like me! Make a plan and go do it.

Rest. Reset. Restore.

Ready for the next week!

The “midline” is the imaginary line that divides the left and right side of the body. There are many signs to look out f...
11/06/2026

The “midline” is the imaginary line that divides the left and right side of the body. There are many signs to look out for that indicates if your child is having difficulty “crossing the midline” … that means using their left hand (or foot) on the right side of their body or vice versa.

One way we can see difficulties is with postural adjustments in the classroom. This could be leaning on their chair heavily to one side or shuffling their whole body as they write on the page.

We can incorporate midline crossing activities throughout the day with intentional placement of items, working on trunk rotation, reflex integration and isolating movements with different “planes” of the body.

We love rainbow drawing on large paper and lazy 8s are a common way to work on crossing the midline. What are some of your favourite midline crossing patterns?

10/06/2026

FINE MOTOR SKILLS FUN!

Feed the monsters with sensory snakes. Alternatively pull out their tongues!

I have made a cardboard box with monster pictures and opening for their mouths. Positioning the box on top of another box created a good vertical height for my preschoolers to work on their shoulder stability, elbow and wrist strength. Feeding them “snakes” encourages dynamic finger movements and separation of the two sides of the hand. These are all important fine motor skills preparing for writing, using scissors and managing buttons.

09/06/2026

MAKE AND WRITE

Learning letter formation with magnetic counters and bells. I write and make; then I ask my young friend to make and write.

This process helps children to learn from my modelling (visual, auditory and physical). They can see and hear me “do” which helps them with the motor planning (ie. breaking the task into smaller parts).

At this stage, this young friend can’t look at a letter and automatically copy it. When I lay out my pieces step by step, they are learning the order in which we write (eg. Start at the top and go down). They are learning directional language too.

This is an example of “hands on learning”.To teach formation, we need to be able to follow a sequence.

It’s not the same as leaving a pile of counters and letters for the child to make themselves. This is fine for children who can follow verbal or visual instructions or if your main purpose is fine motor skills.

Over time and with practice we work towards reducing the cues. Reducing physical, visual and verbal cues while promoting success. As the child gains confidence and consistency we then start increasing the task demand (eg. Write a word. Write the whole alphabet.)

Hands up if you like “hands on learning” 🤗

05/06/2026

THERAPEUTIC USE OF SELF and CROCHET FIDGET TOY (from the archives)

There is a place for bringing our own interests and hobbies into the workplace. We can utilise what brings us joy with some precautions.

We should not impose our interests and insist that others enjoy them. We should not keep ourselves as the centre of the therapeutic relationship.

We should be mindful and attune to our clients thoughts, feelings and their occupational performance (and outcomes).

I shared in a workshop this morning how I enjoy making things. It brings me joy to incorporate my hobby of crochet by making things that I can use such as these fidget balls. It doesn’t mean that I use them with every child I see or insist that they enjoy crochet.

In the end, including things that bring us joy into the workplace can help contribute to job satisfaction and is a form of self care.

Do you have a hobby or interest that you could incorporate into your work? It’s winter in Sydney and time to take out my crochet hook again. What shall I make@this time?

I had a big day. I took a potion that turns you into a chicken or puts you to sleep. You wake with a rooster crowing. I ...
04/06/2026

I had a big day.

I took a potion that turns you into a chicken or puts you to sleep. You wake with a rooster crowing.

I also built a tower, played with a parachute, fell down with a-tishoo…

Play is work. Work is play. Children learn through play. They learn about themselves, about other people and about the world around them. Socially, they learn interaction skills like negotiating, sharing and taking turns. They learn caring skills like empathy, understanding someone else’s perspective and being thoughtful.

Through play, they can experience imaginative stories and ideas. Through play, they can try out actions, words and objects.

Play is where children experiment safely, figure out how their bodies move, test social boundaries, recover from mistakes, and build confidence.

As OTs, we love joining child-led play. Child-led play gives us an insight into what the child finds within their comfort zone (or window of tolerance). They bring their interests, strengths, motivation and challenges too. When children are leading the play, they’re not just showing us what they can do but they’re showing us who they are.

What did you play today?

03/06/2026

PLAYDOUGH MARBLE MAZE! (For my recent maze fans- here is one from the YKOT archives).

A super fun activity that has lots of therapeutic benefits.

To make it: Use a tray or lid and some playdough.
✅Develop and sequence a plan.
✅Build visual spatial awareness and visual motor integration.
✅Work on hand strength, manipulation and fine motor skills.

To play: Hold the tray and move the marble through the maze.
✅Use bilateral coordination and graded force to move the marble.
✅ Use visual tracking and ocular motor skills.
✅ Make adjustments to your plan.
✅ Keep wrists and elbows stable and strengthen them.

Add extra fine motor skills by pushing feathers (or matchsticks) into the playdough for higher walls.

Do you know someone who would love this?

02/06/2026

FEED THE MONSTERS!

Practicing cutlery skills to feed the cardboard monster box. If you have been following for a while, you would have seen this box a few times. I recycled a shoe box by printing an image from a google search. I cut holes to create mouths. Nothing new there.

My young friend is practicing the use of a knife and fork. We are working on bilateral coordination skills and in-hand manipulation for both hands. We are working on hand strength, dominance and crossing the midline. The shoe box provides a physical prompt for the playdough to be pulled against, allowing it to come off the fork. Fun times.

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