Speech & Occupational Therapy For ADHD Kids

小猫 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:00:03 +0000

Miloboy is currently undergoing Speech & Occupational Therapy as recommended by his Doc over at Child Guidance Clinic. Miloboy is slowly improving, at his own pace. I would like to share some of the activities we did.

Do note all of the below things I did are ‘customised’ for Miloboy.

Activity #1 – Playground Helps To Channel Excess Energy

I find bringing him to the playground very good to help him fall asleep at night, especially on days where he uses much energy, such as playing chasing. The sessions last 45 mins each and there’s plenty of recommendations by the therapists to do at home with Miloboy.

But, the therapists do warn that we should not force the kids when they do not want to.

It is not easy to get ADHD kids to do homework. Same for those “exercises” that the therapists ask me to.

Activity #2 – Read Out Loud

Tip – Praise & Encouragement For The Kids

Miloboy knew he could not read very well. Sometimes, when he is stressed up, he stammers and tends to read the same word twice in a sentence. But when he is relaxed, he can actually read quite well. I do strongly suggest PRAISE & ENCOURAGEMENT for all kids when they did well. It works for Miloboy.

Activity #3 – Star Jumps For Hand Leg Coordination

I will also do Star Jumps with Miloboy to improve his hand leg coordination. But Miloboy does not fancy that. He only did it once (I had asked him to do it with me for 4 days in a row). Got to keep asking…. Don’t give up!

Activity #4 – Paste papers on wall for writing/drawing

I also pasted mahjong papers (white paper) on the walls to get him to write and train his wrist muscles, at the same time, teaching him Past Tense. This is a pretty common activity but Miloboy likes it.

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I will share more activities that we did as we go along. So far Miloboy has gone for 4 therapies for the past one month.I am glad that I am not working so that I can bring him there weekly. Gotta count the blessings.

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How To Get Children To Live A Healthy Lifestyle – From 2 to 6 Years Old

小猫 — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:37:25 +0000

My previous post on how to get children to live a healthy lifestyle are more for babies. This time, I will talk how I get my kids to live a healthy lifestyle, using simple, easy methods I used to do as a full time working mum, you can do this too!

Tip#1 – Bring Them To The Playground To Shake off That Extra Fats!

Ok, I think you would have heard many others say Exercise is a good way, that’s too general. I’m going to tell instead, what I have used when I was a full time working mummy, and it works well for me.

When my boy turns 5 years old, he’s getting chubbier than I think he should. There’s simply too much temptations for the kids, cakes, breads and like, they just love them!

What I do is to bring them to the playground, making an effort to bring them there every 2 days, hoping to shake off their extra fats by playing, running around, treat it as a form of exercise. Yes, I think he’s chubby but he is still not considered overweight, so that’s a sign of relief!

Tip#2 – Eat Fruits During Tea Times, Cut down on Cakes, Breads, Pastries or Biscuits.

If your child is overweight, I would recommend staying off pastries for a while till there’s improvement in their weight, else a little bit of fat every now and then is good as children do need some fats to burn off as they are naturally very active beings.

Hmm, I am sure all mummies know fruits are healthier than pastries. Problem is if you are able to persuade your kid to eat fruits if your kid’s not a fruit lover? If so, why not try making them drink fruit juice instead? A bit more work but I think it should work great! If it still cannot work, explore this option: buy some sweets or biscuits that are a healthier choice than their fattier counterparts like Ribena pastilles. Use one to two pastilles to reward your child for drinking that cup of fruit juice up.

Tip#3 – Make them Do Homework (You Indicate, Not schoolwork) Everyday

Besides getting kids to physically shred off their fats, they do need to mentally healthy as well. By doing homework, its a form of brain exercise, especially Maths. My boy do not like writing chinese characters, so I got him to write one to two pages everyday in exchange for a 30 mins cartoon show. Sometimes, its 2 pages of Maths, as I do not want him to hate writing chinese. Do be sensitive enough to detect this though!

For a start, do sit beside your kid, show him how to write (may need to hold his hand) or do that maths problem. Then let him try a bit by himself, sit through the whole session till he finishes that one page of work (this is a variable component – you indicate how much you want or think your kid is capable enough to accomplish, should be something easy for a start) you indicated to him.

This tip requires some time on your part, so make sure you had that time for your kid (about 30 mins), else high chance this is not going to work! If you find that your kid is capable enough to finish by himself, you can excuse yourself for some sessions so that he can do the homework independently, but at times, do make an effort to join him at times, cos its especially enjoyable for the kid as he got your company, I’m sure you will enjoy it too!

Tip#4 – Tell BedTime Stories Every Night

I treat this as a form of healthy mental lifestyle. Telling your kids bedtime stories also keeps them happy, indirectly letting them know that you love them and cared for them. This is also a way of raising smart kids!

It does not have to complicated stories, go for short meaningful stories. For me, I told them Aesop Fables’s short stories when I first started. I shopped for short stories in chinese as well, do not want to limit only English ones. I told fairy tales ever popular 3 Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, The Apple Tree Story etc. Some of the stories I even made it up myself!

I do have times that I simply do not have the mood to tell my kids bedtime stories. I will tell my kids the reason and ask them to let me have my one day off. Sometimes they are so sweet that they agree! Well, happy kids do make a difference, so make an effort to do it now!

- sweetietots

SweetieTots » Children’s Healthy Lifestyle