Today’s episode we’re answering a listener's question about how sensory processing challenges affect learning and higher-level cognitive skills.

We dive into the connection between vestibular processing and cross or mixed dominance. 

We talk about research that has been done in this area as well as what it all means.

Then we jump into strategies that we would recommend for this family, including vestibular-based activities, bilateral integration activities, looking into primitive reflexes, and more!

LINKS

We’d love to answer your questions on the podcast! Fill out this form - https://harkla.typeform.com/to/ItWxQNP3 

All Things Sensory Podcast Instagram 

Harkla YouTube Channel

Harkla Website - Shop Sensory Products!

Harkla Instagram

Mixed (Cross) Dominant

The Pyramid of Learning

SPD Training

When Should Children Establish Hand Dominance?

Vestibular Dysfunction 

5 Bilateral Integration Activities 

Multi-Sensory Processing Activity Course

The Power of Vision Therapy

Advanced Brain Technologies

Safe and Sound Protocol 

Crawling for Brain Development

Shop the Harkla Back to School Sale - Save 15% on physical products and save 20% on digital products through September 8, 2024 

https://harkla.co/pages/back-to-school

Executive function skills are the higher level cognitive skills that are required for every day tasks. These skills begin to develop in toddlerhood and aren’t fully developed until a person is in their 20s! For students in the classroom, executive function skills are required for everything from social interactions, to navigating between classes, to turning homework in on time. In today’s episode, we’re giving you a breakdown on the importance of executive function skill development, how to teach these skills, and 5 tools and strategies to incorporate into the classroom to help students develop and improve their executive function skills. 

LINKS

Improving Focus and Behavior in the Classroom - Digital Course for Teachers, Therapists, and Professionals Working in the School Setting https://harkla.co/products/classroom-sensory-training

We’d love to answer your questions on the podcast! Fill out this form -

https://harkla.typeform.com/to/ItWxQNP3 

All Things Sensory Podcast Instagram 

Harkla YouTube Channel

Harkla Website - Shop Sensory Products!

Harkla Instagram

Executive Function Skills and More

7 Executive Function Strategies

The Zones of Regulation

Just Right Curriculum

The Alert Program

Free Visual Schedule Template

Quiara Smith an Expert Pediatric Pelvic Health Occupational Therapist who is the CEO/Director of Aloha Integrative Therapy, the first boutique private OT practice exclusively created to treat children with toileting difficulties, pediatric pelvic floor dysfunction, and bowel and bladder disorders. Quiara has been a practicing pediatric OT for over 14 years. Quiara is passionate about creating and holding safe and inclusive space, in order to provide holistic and integrative approaches to pedi...

Kali Jacobs, OTR/L, MSc. OT, OT Reg. (Ont.), received her Masters of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Toronto in 2012. She founded the SMILE Therapy for Kids OT department and trained all OTs across three clinics. Kali has training in sensory integration, including the Astronaut Program, as well as the Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) approach, The Listening Program, and the Sequential Oral Sensory (S.O.S.) approach to feeding. She h...

We had a question come through on Instagram about how to help a child with sensory overload in the daycare setting - so we’re diving into WHY daycares can be overstimulating and what you can do about it!Whether you’re a parent or caregiver, working in a daycare or preschool setting, or a therapist - this episode has tips and tricks for everyone! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Ou...

Joel Warsh - aka DrJoel Gator - is a Board-Certified Pediatrician in Los Angeles, California who specializes in Parenting, Wellness and Integrative Medicine. He grew up in Toronto, Canada and completed degrees in Kinesiology, Psychology and Epidemiology, and Community Health before earning his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson Medical College. He completed his Pediatric Medicine training at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA) and worked in private practice in Beverly Hills ...

We talk a LOT about how to help YOU - the adult - identify your child’s (or your client’s) sensory needs / preferences. But what about teaching kids how to become independent with identifying and meeting their sensory needs? That’s what today’s episode is all about! Diving into WHY it’s important to teach our kids about their emotions, their sensory needs, and how it’s all connected. Plus we give you our favorite tips and tricks! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at H...

Diving into what ADHD is - from a diagnostic perspective and our clinical experience. Then jumping into some strategies, including neurofeedback, changing the environment, working on executive functioning, and MORE! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives. We accomplish this through high-quality sensor...

We have an episode on sensory diets - episode 39 from 2019 … it’s time for an update!Sensory diets are the series of sensory activities and strategies that you use to help meet your sensory needs and feel regulated throughout the day! This episode dives into the research as well as how to create a sensory diet for your child! Be sure to check out the links below! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast is brough...

We received a question on Instagram about what sensory strategies we would recommend to help a child who has lower cognitive abilities or who is non-speaking or pre-verbal.We’ve had many, many clients who had learning disabilities, used AAC devices because they didn’t communicate verbally, or who struggled overall with communication - expressive and receptive. In this episode, we’re going to draw from our own personal experiences as well as research! Be sure to check out the show notes o...

We received a question about how to best explain to others that your child has sensory needs and differences to those who just don’t understand it. Or to those who think your child is misbehaved.So, we’re diving into this topic - how to explain and advocate for your child’s sensory differences! We talk about some verbiage to use, we provide you with a free download (link below!), and just an overall quick pep talk to remind you that YOU are your child’s BEST advocate!Be sure to check out the ...

We are your podcast DJs! We had a question from someone on Instagram asking about strategies for a child who becomes aggressive towards themselves and others when they are in a meltdown. We dive into the WHY behind aggressive behaviors and chat about some strategies you can try. We’d love your feedback! Share this episode on Instagram, tag us @allthingsensorypodcast, and let us know your thoughts! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brough...

As COTAs, one of the things we’ve worked on with a lot of our clients is emotional intelligence - the ability to identify one’s emotions (and emotions in others). This is oftentimes VERY difficult for children! But emotional intelligence is a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to self-regulation and social interactions. Today we talk all about the WHY and the HOW, plus we give you our favorite ways to improve emotional intelligence in your child(ren), your clients, or your students!...

Free Primitive Reflex WebinarPrimitive Reflex Digital CourseOne of our favorite things about our digital courses is that you can ask questions and start conversations inside of the course! We have a comment forum within each module of each course, and we LOVE getting in there to answer questions, brainstorm, and chat about progress!Today’s episode is a conversation about a question that was posted inside of our primitive reflex digital course. We talk about different reflexes, different chall...

Does your child seek out a certain type of sensory input that drives you nuts? Are your sensory preferences the complete opposite of your child’s? If so, this episode is for you! We dive into sensory preferences, what it looks like when your child’s sensory needs create a sense of overstimulation in you, and some tips, tricks, and strategies to help! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast is brought t...

Shop our Back to School Sale by clicking THIS link! Save 15% on ALL Harkla products, physical and digital! Sale ends Aug. 29, 2022! At school, a child is exposed to a lot of sensory information as well as they are required to sit and focus for long periods of time and interact socially with their peers. It’s a LOT of work! Many children hold it all together at school but then break down at home - home is their safe space and they feel comfortable enough to melt down.This episode is ...

We don’t typically recommend products but since a lot of you have asked for recommendations, here we go! We dive into products for each of the 8 sensory systems! Some you can purchase and some you can DIY! Check all the links below! Be sure to check the show notes for links and free resources!Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those wi...

Back in 2018, we did an episode on interoception, one of our hidden senses. Now, 4 years later, we’ve learned a LOT more about this hidden sense and we are sharing it with you in this episode! We dive into what interoceptive dysfunction can look like and our favorite strategies to help. Be sure to check the show notes for links and free resources! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast is brought to you by Hark...

Sensory activities don’t have to be expensive! They don’t have to be Pinterest perfect either. Today we’re going to share 10 easy DIY sensory-based activities you can do from the comfort of your own home, at school or in the clinic!Don’t forget - our podcast is now on YouTube!!!!Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy a...

Back in 2018 we did an episode on the proprioceptive system and now it’s time for a re-do! This episode is all about proprioception - what it is, what it affects during daily life tasks, and a variety of activities and strategies to target the proprioceptive sense!Don’t forget - our podcast is now on YouTube!!!!Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help...

Back in 2018, we put out an episode on the vestibular system - it’s been 4 years and it’s time for a re-do! In this episode, we dive into all things vestibular. What the vestibular system is, how it works, what dysfunction looks like, and a variety of activities for all ages! Don’t forget - our podcast is now on YouTube!!!!Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at ...

We’ve done episodes on fine motor skills but this is our first time diving into gross motor skills! There’s a LOT that goes into gross motor skill development, and we’re going to give you all the details plus our favorite gross motor activities! Stay tuned to the end where we answer two listener questions: talking about speech therapy and working on new goals in therapy! Don’t forget - our podcast is now on YouTube!!!!Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.C...

Does your child enjoy going to the dentist? Or is it a struggle every time?Or maybe your child hasn’t been to the dentist yet, but you’re nervous because they already show signs of struggling with sensory processing and transitions to new locations. This episode is all about WHY your child might struggle at the dentist - from a sensory perspective of course!Then we dive into a variety of tips, tricks and strategies to help improve success and happiness with going to the dentist. Be ...

Brittini Barnes is a pediatric occupational therapist who has been working in the pediatric setting for 6 years. She currently works with middle school and high school students. She also serves on a local Autism Awareness Non-Profit in her small Florida town. She is a wife and a mother to a 4 year old daughter. She loves coming up with low prep/no prep activities that are simple, easy, and impactful to implement into treatment. Over the course of the recent pandemic, she tailored her therapy ...

Joel Warsh, MD, is a Board-Certified Pediatrician in Los Angeles, California, specializing in Parenting, Wellness, and Integrative Medicine. He grew up in Toronto, Canada, and completed degrees in Kinesiology, Psychology, Epidemiology, and Community Health before earning his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson Medical College. He completed his Pediatric Medicine training at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA) and worked in private practice in Beverly Hills before founding his current p...

This episode is all about your brain - how your brain learns new things and how you can help improve your child’s success when learning new skills or cognitive tasks. We also dive into how the brain and body work together and we give you our top 10 sensory strategies that you can use to help your child get ready to learn! Don’t forget - our podcast is now on YouTube!!!! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast is brou...

Mickey Richards is a homeschool mama of four boys. Previously, she was a music teacher and now she coaches anxious homeschool mamas with resistant kids and helps them fall back in love with their homeschool.Mickey is a lifelong learner in the school of hard knocks who has discovered the joy of homeschooling amidst the rollercoaster of raising four boys. Her oldest son is autistic and each of her boys have unique needs and learning styles. As a wife, mother, and homeschooling coach, she knows ...

This episode is all about visual motor - how you coordinate your vision to your movement. We dive into the different daily tasks that require visual motor skills, what it looks like if your child is struggling with visual motor integration, and of course we give you our favorite visual motor activities to try today! Don’t forget - our podcast is now on YouTube!!!! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast is ...

Kristin Palen, OTR/L is an occupational therapist with over 19 years of experience solely in pediatrics. Kristin is the owner of Coastal Connections Pediatric Therapy, in the Outer Banks North Carolina. Her practice provides direct nature based occupational therapy services, early intervention services, virtual parent coaching, nature based resources and masterclasses coming soon.Kristin is a proud mother of two preemies (30 weeks and 36 weeks); and she believes her experience as a preemie mo...

There are several subtypes of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and in today’s episode we dive into Sensory Based Motor Disorder. We talk about dyspraxia and postural disorder - what they look like and what you can do to help promote the skills involved!Be sure to check out the links below! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special n...

From a pediatric occupational therapy perspective, crawling is a very important milestone for MOST children. This is today’s topic and we encourage you to think outside the box, dive into the research, and remember that everyone’s experience is unique. Make sure you check out all the links below! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those wit...

Amirra is the founder of Marvelous Mirracles and creator of The Mirracle Money Blueprint, an all-in-one comprehensive program designed to kickstart your financial game plan, help you stress less + make more money, and develop strong money management skills in 90 days so that you can start building wealth from your very first paycheck...even if you’re a new grad with no side hustle. Amirra knows what it's like to feel stuck, and she’s here to teach you all the things about money that we never ...

Today’s episode is all about WHY we love sensory strategies for EVERY classroom!The idea is to create an inclusive, sensory friendly classroom that all students can benefit from, while also providing individualized sensory strategies to the students who need a little bit more.Make sure you stay til the end of today’s episode where we answer a listener question! Be sure to check out all of the links below for additional resources! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at &n...

Dr. Hailey Arnold is a chiropractor and functional medicine practitioner; however, she is best described as an entrepreneur. Constantly finding solutions to problems, Dr. Arnold spends her days formulating nutritional products and genetic tests for children of all ages. She is an active clinician, educator, public speaker, and published author. With a passion for neurosensory differences and autoimmunity, Dr. Arnold has created multiple businesses that allow children to get healthy natur...

We’ve gotten asked many times about how and why we started our entrepreneurial journey. So today, we’re diving in! We started out as outpatient pediatric COTAs (Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants) and saw a gap in our space. So we took a leap to try to fill that gap (almost 4 years ago!) and thanks to you wonderful listeners, we just reached 200 podcast episodes! We’ve learned a lot along the way and this episode is full of our tips and tricks for success in starting a new bu...

Today’s episode is an “interview” with Jessica! We’re chatting all about Gestalt Language Processing, using AAC in occupational therapy sessions, collaborating with speech therapists, transitions with non-speaking / pre-verbal clients, and more!Although Jessica is not an expert in language and communication, she works closely with an SLP who has extensive experience in GLP specifically. Everything she shares is from her personal and professional experiences. She knows that she has more to lea...

Kim Wiggins, OTR/L, is an experienced occupational therapist specializing in the treatment of children since 2001. She is a full-time therapist at a City School District in upstate New York, owner of www.OTKimWiggins.com, and has been a nationally known speaker since 2011. Kim is certified in Mobile Devices for Children with Disabilities, Puzzle Art Therapy, Handwriting Without Tears, Zaner Bloser, The Size Matters Handwriting Program, The Listening Program, and as an Irlen Screener. Be ...

We had someone message us asking what a day in the life of a COTA looks like!We (Rachel and Jessica) are both Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants, Licensed in the state of Idaho (COTA/L). We worked with children in an outpatient clinic setting for over 7 years and in this episode we share what a “typical” day looked like in the clinic. We also share some tips for fellow therapists! Don’t forget to listen to the end, where we answer a listener question! Be sure to check ou...

Jennifer Jo Brout is the Director of the International Misophonia Research Network. She is a New York State Certified School Psychologist, a Connecticut Professional Licensed Counselor, and holds a Doctorate in School/Clinical-Child Psychology. She is the mother of adult triplets, and is a Misophonia sufferer herself. Disappointed by her own experiences with the state of the field when seeking help for her own child in 1999, Dr. Brout began efforts to establish better research practice, ...

So many children struggle with the process of independence with toileting skills and we’ve talked about it in previous episodes - check out the show notes for those episodes - but today we are going to break down the actual skills required for each step of the toileting process plus give you some activity ideas to address each skill! In OT, we call this an activity analysis: A breakdown of a task into each step that is requiredIdentifies physical requirementsIdentifies specific skil...

Matt Sloan is a certified occupational therapy assistant specializing in sensory integration therapy. Matt is also a fitness professional, coach, and has worked as a special education teacher and adaptive PE teacher. Matt has been involved in education for over 25 years working with kids and adults of all abilities in a multitude of settings.Matt now runs Sensory Fitness - a program developed to incorporate sensory integration therapy and fitness that is intentional about exercise, games, and...

We got a question on instagram that we’re going to answer in today’s episode!When doing sensory activities, should I continue the challenging activities or push through them with my child when my child has adverse reactions? Such a great question! We dive into this topic and discuss the ‘just right challenge’ as well as provide some examples of what this looks like for different situations. We give you our fav. tips and tricks for navigating the ‘just right challenge’ as well as ans...

Today’s episode is a 1-on-2 with a fellow OT where we dive into all things primitive reflexes! We talk about a variety of challenges related to primitive reflexes as well as we really got to nerd out on all the activity ideas! If you’re a therapist working with children, this episode is GOLD! But don’t shy away from this episode if you’re not a therapist - there are some great ideas for kiddos who are struggling with anxiety, how to help kiddos move into a variety of positions ...

In today’s episode we dive into WHY we believe, and why research shows, that establishing hand dominance is vital to success with a variety of daily activities. We also talk about what it looks like if a child is struggling to establish hand dominance and of course, we give you our favorite tips and tricks to help! Stick around to the end to listen to us answer two listener questions! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By Harkla...

Jessica Irwin is a childhood routine expert, pediatric occupational therapist, and lover of all things child development. She has worked in pediatrics since 2014 in a variety of settings including daycares, preschools, elementary schools, private practice, and pediatric home health. She founded Rooted in Routine in 2019 to help parents learn simple, easy to implement routines for optimal child development at every age. Her approach is largely rooted in going back to the basics ...

Today we break down skills necessary for handwriting, and give you our favorite OT-based strategies for improving this skill! The title says 10, but let’s be real - we give you way more! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.Brought To You By HarklaPodcast listeners get 10% off their first order at Harkla with the discount code "sensory". Head to Harkla.co/sensory to start shopping now.Podcasts:# 17 - Handwriting and Fine Motor Skills# 93 - Self-Injurious ...

Have you ever wondered why we always recommend obstacle courses for kids during therapy and at home?It’s because they have so many benefits!Today’s episode is all about WHY obstacle courses are so beneficial and how to set up obstacle courses for all children!We talk about our favorite equipment pieces to use, how to identify the number of steps in the obstacle course, how to add a function-based play component, how to add different transitions into it, and MORE!We’d love to answer your quest...

We want to give you our top tips for infants and toddlers - based on our clinical, professional experiences as well as our personal experiences! Our goal is to share information, no shame involved! Take what works for you and share with anyone you think can benefit! We also answer a couple of listener questions at the end, so stick around! Check out the links below for a bunch of our fav. products, our Free Primitive Reflex Webinar, and our full length course! Be sure to check ...

Lauren is a pediatric speech pathologist and has been practicing for over 13 years. She specializes in childhood stuttering and is the owner of Stutter Free Kids.Lauren takes an integrative approach to stuttering that both treats directly but also teaches how to support greater fluency through play, connection, brain care and managing high sensitivity, which is common among children who stutter. Lauren believes strongly in early intervention and advocates for a 'support and see' approach...

Meeting the sensory threshold is the first step in helping a child feel more regulated. But do you know what that means?!If not, this episode will give you all the details on what, why, and how! If so, this is a great episode to refresh and send to everyone you know! We also answer 2 listener questions, so stick around to the end! Also, check out the links below for even more amazing content, articles mentioned in the episode, and MORE! LinksYouTube Video - What is th...