Hawthorne Rehab and Wellness

05/28/2026

05/17/2026

Why Playing in Dirt is So Good for Kids 🪵🌿

Sometimes the messiest play is the most meaningful. 💛

Digging, scooping, mixing, and exploring mud invites children into rich sensory play experiences that support their development in so many ways. Through outdoor, hands-on play, children connect with nature while building essential skills all while having fun!

When children play in dirt and mud, they:
🌿 Strengthen fine motor skills through digging and scooping
🧠 Explore curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving
💧 Engage their senses through touch, smell, and texture
🏃 Stay active and build coordination
🌱 Connect with nature and the world around them
💛 Express themselves freely through open-ended play

Mud kitchens, garden play, or simply a patch of dirt these everyday moments become powerful opportunities for play-based learning.

Because getting a little messy often leads to the biggest learning moments. 💫

05/08/2026

🌸 Discover the Benefits of CranioSacral Therapy for Women’s Health! 🌸

From easing pelvic floor tension to supporting conception and trauma recovery, CranioSacral Therapy (CST) offers a gentle, non-invasive approach that helps women heal on a deeper level. Read our latest interview with Heather Hinz, MS OTR/L, CST-T, to learn how CST can transform women's health and well-being.

💡 Explore how manual therapy is changing the lives of women struggling with physical and emotional health challenges.

📖 Read this article: https://www.iahe.com/storage/docs/articles/The-Benefits-of-Cranio-Sacral-Therapy-in-Women-s-Health-2.pdf or Upledger.com Searchable Article Database



https://www.iahe.com/storage/docs/articles/The-Benefits-of-Cranio-Sacral-Therapy-in-Women-s-Health-2.pdf

05/04/2026

Why wrist extension is important

05/02/2026

Roughhousing seems like it might wind up the kids at the time of day when you want to start winding down. But, there are benefits to that heavy work…https://www.theottoolbox.com/heavy-work-activities/

Image:

05/02/2026

Over on the website, we have a resource all about preschool midline crossing.
These age-appropriate activities target midline crossing and are great for motor planning, visual motor skills, and brain breaks for the preschool age. https://www.theottoolbox.com/crossing-midline-activities-for-preschoolers/

There are some early warning signs we might see in the preschooler who struggles with crossing their midline. When we see a difficulty with the integrated motor patterns, this can be an indicator for various challenges.

🚩Some of the ways that difficulties with preschool crossing midline will present as:

>>Not developing a dominant hand. Students use the left hand for left sided tasks and the right side for right sided tasks. https://www.theottoolbox.com/hand-dominance-laterality-functional-activities-kids/
>>Showing delays in crawling, or an atypical crawling pattern. Here is a great article on Cross Crawling Activities. https://www.theottoolbox.com/cross-crawl-exercises/
>>Rotating or turning their entire body to retrieve objects on the other side of their body instead of reaching across the body to the other side
>>Having difficulty with age-appropriate self-care tasks like dressing or grooming activities
>>Skipping or doing jumping jacks in an uncoordinated manner. Check out this post on Gross Motor Midline Crossing Exercises​: https://www.theottoolbox.com/crossing-midline-march-gross-motor
>>Difficulty making a horizontal line across a piece of paper (may stop in the middle and switch hands, or pause visually) or forming letters
>>Visual perceptual difficulties: https://www.theottoolbox.com/visual-perceptual-skills/
>>Challenges with age-appropriate literacy skills (identifying letters, following pictures in a story- due to difficulty with visual tracking across the midline. Here is info on visual tracking: https://www.theottoolbox.com/what-is-visual-tracking/

If you see these things in the preschool years, it's ok! Kids develop at different rates. Try adding some play ideas that target these gross motor movements: https://www.theottoolbox.com/crossing-midline-activities-for-preschoolers/

05/01/2026

Container Syndrome is a term you may have heard before. It describes the lack of motor skills in infants who are not allowed ample movement opportunities. We may even see fine motor delays later down the road.

When we hear the words Container Baby Syndrome, this refers to the result of an infant being placed in a container for an excessive amount of time during the day. This extended time leads to structural, movement, and behavioral challenges as a result.
Baby containers include baby equipment and items such as:
👣Restrictive playpens
👣Crib
👣Car seats
👣Strollers
👣Bumbo seats
👣Bouncy seats and swings
👣Rockers
👣Nursing cushions
👣Vibrating chairs
👣Jumpers
👣Exersaucers
👣Positioning pillows
👣Slings
👣Floor seats
👣Infant swings
👣Walkers
👣Jumpers
All of the time spent in these baby containers adds up! When in a positioning device such as the ones listed above, little ones are limited in the motor development that results from stretching, wiggling, turning, reaching, and otherwise moving.
https://www.theottoolbox.com/container-baby-syndrome/

12/21/2025

Hey there, wonderful friends! 👋 Do you have a child living with oral defensiveness?
https://ilslearningcorner.com/2016-03-oral-defensiveness-15-of-the-best-oral-defensiveness-tools-and-resources/