These moves are great for using right and left sides together (homologous movements) and using them separately (homolateral movements.) 
Lateral side bending/flexion Homologous movements and homolateral (one sided) movements Full extension and flexion of the body Bilateral Coordination Motor Planning and Imitation Rhythmicity and movement timing (especially when dancing to music! Grab Your Free Copy …
Valentines is a around the corner and here at The Big Picture Therapy we have some activities for the kids in your life to help them with development and visual motor skills. STNR-Inspired Valentines Reaches These are great one to use if a child has difficulty: -Sitting still-Maintaining good upright seated posture-Copying from a board …
Valentines Reflex Inspired Activities and Heart Chart Download Read More »
What do you do before drawing letters? Lots of vertical and horizontal lines building into intersecting lines! Make sure to get your download at the end of this blog. These printouts can be traced and have fading visual supports. I just used them with a 6 year-old kid with Down Syndrome who is just learning …
Leaves and Pumpkins Fall Activities
Mini-Pumpkin Motor Activities Mini pumpkins you can find at your grocery store offer lots of opportunities for kids to practice balance, core strength and force modulation to stack them. Check out a few ideas in this little video. 
Fall Leaf Clothespin Activities Got kids that are working on body awareness, washing their bodies thoroughly, …
Imagine that you hear a very loud noise and you have a split second to decide to run or hide. The Tendon Guard Reflex (TGR) helps you prepare your body for either choice. In short a reflex is “a neurological arc that has both a specific stimulus and a predictable response or responses” (Brandes, 2015). …
Foot Tendon Guard: One reflex behind the flee or freeze response in children Blog #14 Read More »
I have always been jumpy to loud noises and have even been startled by the movement of my own shadow in my peripheral vision. I remember gasping, jumping and the feeling of tingling in my fingertips. This could be triggered by seeing the shadow of my own car as it moved slowly. I asked my …
This activity includes heavy work or deep pressure input for body awareness, upper body strength and cross midline patterns. To grade up you can do small sets of these push ups and build up to more sequences such as repetitions of 3. Add a metronome and you are working the cerebellum –the part of the …
The Spring Chicken Workout is here! (For everyone new here I make these dice games with 6 exercises and I use them in person and tele-therapy sessions- you can roll a dice to play or just do the moves as you can!). Just a few benefits of these moves: -Chest openers for posture and breath …
Just this last month I got the sweetest Valentine’s card from a girl in the 4th grade. Let’s call her Liz. She had just graduated from occupational therapy. When we started working together, Liz had already done the Astronaut program (a vestibular program) with another therapist. The quarantine had just started and she was moving …
Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR): academic skills and eye-hand coordination Blog#6 Read More »
Reflexes, Muscle Tone and Learning: Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex Let me tell you the story of Billy. He was a sweet boy and was referred to therapy because he hid under the desk at school and struggled with academics, especially writing. He had a history of melting down, crying or refusing to write at school. His …
Reflexes, Muscle Tone and Learning: Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex- Blog #5 Read More »
