Meghan Corridan, Pediatric Occupational Therapist

07/27/2026

I wanted to share one of my new favorite toys of the summer. This make your own Lightening McQueen is such a big hit with the kiddos on my caseload and they don't even realize just how many occupational therapy skills they are working on while playing with it. This 28 piece building toy comes with a variety of car parts that can be mixed and matched using the provided tools (screwdriver, wrench and pliers). This toy is great for working on improving grasping and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills, encourages motor planning and organizational skills and so much more.

07/15/2026

This is a wildly popular game/toy at Heads Up Therapy and is probably used at least a dozen times a week between all of us therapists. Disney Princess Enchanted Cupcake Party s a fast-paced, cooperative board game for 2–5 players ages 3 and up. Players race to build as many interchangeable, 3D Disney Princess cupcakes as they can using recipe cards and puzzle pieces before a clock/villain tile completes the party. However, we don't play the game and use it as a toy to build cupcakes as it works on so many occupational therapy goals. To name a few, building the cupcakes works on improving fine motor skills, improves grasping and manipulation skills, increases grasp strength, works on building visual motor and hand-eye coordination skills and improves executive functioning skills such as focus and attention, motor planning and organizational skills. We will have kids complete the cupcakes while sitting on the square swing to work on improving balance and core strength or add to an obstacle course to incorporate gross motor skills. These are great for keeping kids entertained while traveling or out to dinner. I will share the link in the comments.

07/14/2026

Parents are always asking me for ways to work on things at home and it's important to me that when I provide them with suggestions and activities, that it comes across as fun and not "work". Games that have grabbers or chopsticks included are a great way for families to work on improving grasp strength, manipulation skills and hand-eye coordination. In a blog post from last year, I share some of my favorites of these types of games and talk about the therapeutic benefits.

As an occupational therapist, I am a complete sucker for any game that uses chopsticks, grabbers or tweezers. There are so many benefits of games that use some kind of grabber. I will sometimes even use the grabbers from games for other games that have a lot of pieces. The most obvious benefit of gr...

07/13/2026

People know what speech and physical therapy is all about but there tends to be a lot of confusion about what occupational therapy is. Pediatric occupational therapy helps children develop the cognitive, physical, sensory, and motor skills needed to function independently at home and school. By using engaging, play-based activities, therapists help children master everyday tasks like dressing, feeding, writing, and playing. I love this graphic from Pebble Therapy Center that so beautifully describes the many things that pediatric occupational therapists do to support a child's development.

07/08/2026

Summer means lots more outdoor adventures which is great for kids. Tree climbing is a fantastic form of "risky play" that builds essential life skills in children. It promotes crucial physical development (strength, balance, coordination, motor planning), sharpens cognitive skills (problem-solving, spatial awareness), and fosters emotional resilience by teaching kids to naturally assess risks and manage fear. One of the greatest things about tree climbing is that kids build confidence and self-esteem as they successfully make it to the top. I am loving this from TimberNook that shares all the benefits of tree climbing and why you should be encouraging your littles to take the risk and climb trees with supervision.

07/07/2026

Hopefully starting my social media back up again will be like riding a bike! It's been a while but I love using the summer to get back into the swing of things with blogging and posting on my professional Facebook/Instagram page.
We are doing some major cleaning and re-organizing at Heads Up Therapy which has lead me to re-discover some of my favorite toys. I dug this mini Lite Brite out and have been using it with my kiddos and I love just how many occupational therapy skills can be worked on using it. It's such a perfect tool for working on improving grasping, manipulation and fine motor skills and the pegs are the perfect size to encourage a fine pincer grasp. For kids who are working on letter identification, having to match the pegs to the correct letter is a great way to generalize letter identification. One of my favorite things about this mini Lite Brite is that it is tiny, compact and easy to take on the go as you travel during the summer months.

12/10/2025

Working on my final gift guide which contains a bit of everything that I thought about after I finished the others and felt inclined to share this fast-paced board game for school-aged and older kids: Sushi Go-Spin Some for Dim Sum by Gamewright. I have found myself with a handful of super smart 1st to 3rd graders who who have been recently diagnosed with ADHD and really need to work on executive functioning skills, particularly problem solving, organizational and planning skills. I have been so impressed with how long these kiddos can sit and focus on this game and how motivated they are to figure out the best dim sum items they need in order to get the most points. Players who build the most valuable menu after 12 rounds win. Use strategy, and a little luck, to get the most valuable items on the menu. There are so many benefits to this game but I think my favorite thing is seeing how good they feel as they count up their points and realize that if they slow down and really focus, they will have way more success.
Be sure to check back in a day or two to see my final gift guide. In the meantime, if you are looking for some gift ideas that work on a variety of occupational, physical and speech and language therapy skills, be sure to check out all my guides:
https://macandtoys.com/blog-2/

12/04/2025

Up next in this year's gift guides.....the 2025 Building and Stem Toys Gift Guide.

When I was a kid, I can remember spending so much time playing with our wooden blocks and Lincoln Logs with my sisters. So many memories were made playing with these toys and I can still remember the wicker basket that my mother stored those wooden blocks in! There is a reason that every preschool classroom has a large selection of blocks and other building toys available to the kids. Open-ended building toys offer so many benefits to younger children and help them develop skills that will help them develop problem solving and critical thinking skills that will help them both academically and socially when they are older. I tried to include a few more options for older kids this year that work on developing higher level executive functioning skills such as focus and sustained attention, following directions and improving frustration tolerance. Building and construction toys are great for working on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills, encourages hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills and works on improving focus, attention, problem solving and organizational skills. Building toys also offer a number of social benefits for kids including the development of important skills such as cooperation, communication, conflict resolution and being able to successfully negotiate and take ideas from others. What I have suggested below is just a small sampling of building and STEM toys that I love. If you don’t see something just right for your kiddo, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected] for other suggestions. I am always happy to help people find the perfect gifts for their little ones.

https://macandtoys.com/2025-building-and-stem-toys-gift-guide/

12/03/2025

Todays gift suggestion is from my 2025 Tween and Teen Small Gift and Stocking Stuffers gift guide.

I am obsessed with these sticker scenes from Pipsticks and have actually done a few of them when I am feeling stressed out or anxious. Tinytown Sticker sets are a series of isometric sticker scene kits that encourage kids to build their own sticker worlds using the cutest stickers. Each kit comes with with two scenes and a ton of adorable stickers to create your scene. You can follow the design on the packaging or design your own scene. These sticker scenes are great for working on grasping and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye coordination, works on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills and great for working on executive functioning skills such as planning, focus and attention.

If you are looking for more tween or teen gift ideas, be sure to take a look at the link below:

https://macandtoys.com/2025-tween-and-teen-small-gifts-and-stocking-stuffers-gift-guide/

12/02/2025

I'll be sharing a couple more gift guides over the next week or so but will be sharing some of my favorite finds that made it in this year's gift guides every day. First up is this adorable circuit busy board that is featured in this years Toddler and Preschool Small Gifts and Stocking Stuffers Gift Guide.

I was on a family vacation this past summer and whenever I go to a new place, I must check out any of the local toy stores to see if I discover anything amazing. This year it wasn’t at a toy store that I discovered one of my favorite new gift guide additions this year but instead when I was out to dinner and saw the family at the table next to me whose toddler was totally sucked into this circuit busy board. This screen-free busy board features a wooden board with a variety of interactive components such as light switches, buttons, keys, gears and so much more. It’s a great tool to work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, works on hand-eye coordination and encourages problem solving, motor planning and coordination skills. There are SO many to choose from if you type in Circuit Busy Board on Amazon so finding the one that is most appropriate for your child and where they are developmentally. And as I have already mentioned, this is a great way to keep kids entertained while traveling, out at restaurants or when you need some time to yourself to get stuff done at home. While this is intended for younger kids, kids of all ages are entertaining themselves at Heads Up Therapy playing with the couple we have.

If you are looking for more ideas for toddlers and preschoolers, be sure to check out this years gift guide:

https://macandtoys.com/2025-toddler-small-gifts-and-stocking-stuffers-gift-guide/