All Things Sensory by Harkla

Rachel Harrington, COTA/L, AC & Jessica Hill, COTA/L
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Nov 13, 2024 • 12min

#334 - Listener Question: Tips for Safety During Transitions

We are answering a listener question today: a 4-year-old child who is receiving speech and OT services and the family is struggling “to prevent eloping in parking lots and helping him understand the dangers of moving vehicles.” We talk about some different ideas including a sticker/reward chart, different ways to transition to the car, practicing “safe” and “not safe” scenarios, creating a social story, 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 Eloping: The Why and How For Kids Who Run Away Weighted Lap Animal  Gestalt Language Processing  Social Story Template  Social Stories
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Nov 6, 2024 • 24min

#333 - The Difference Between Passive and Active Sensory Activities

Sign up for the Harkla Early Bird Holiday Sale - https://harkla.co/pages/early-sign-up What is the difference between a passive sensory activity and an active sensory activity? Is one type better than the other? How long does a passive sensory activity “last” in the body, compared to an activity sensory activity? We answer these questions and give you our favorite passive sensory activities and our favorite active sensory activities! 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 Sensory Diet Digital Course The Sensory Chef 
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Oct 30, 2024 • 22min

#332 - 10 Things We've Learned in 10 Years!

We’re sharing ten things that we’ve learned in the past 10 years! We’ve been certified occupational therapy assistants for just over 10 years and we’ve learned so many things, it was very difficult to pick just 10! We talk about mentoring, asking questions, referring out, and MORE! We’d love to hear from you - Leave a comment on Spotify or YouTube and let us know what you’ve learned in your career or what you’ve learned from listening to us!   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 What We Really Do in OT
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Oct 23, 2024 • 15min

#331 - Listener Question: Tips for Understanding Sensory Challenges

We’re answering a listener question today - helping a parent understand how to help their child self-regulate, understand sensory challenges, how to find help, and how primitive reflexes might be connected to learning in school, specifically reading. This child was recently diagnosed with ADHD as well. We dive into using the Harkla Sensory Preferences Checklist (free download linked below), adding more sensory activities into the daily routine, how to improve emotional intelligence, 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 Download Free Sensory Preferences Checklist Free Sensory Diet Webinar Sensory Diet Digital Course Build a Sensory Corner Free Primitive Reflex Webinar Free Classroom Webinar All About ADHD The Power of Vision Therapy
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Oct 16, 2024 • 20min

#330 - Crawling for Brain Development: An Interview with Rachel

Today we are chatting all about Rachel’s new curriculum: Crawling for Brain Development. Get the inside scoop on how Rachel created this book, why she is so passionate about crawling, and how you can get your hands on this amazing curriculum!  Crawling for Brain Development© is a 5-week, guided program designed for children and adults ages 3-100+. It will benefit individuals of all abilities, whether they crawled in infancy or not. Parents can implement the program at home, teachers in their classrooms, and therapists in their treatment sessions and home exercise programs. In 150 pages, you will learn therapist-directed activities designed to move the brain out of fight-or-flight and into a higher level of functioning!  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 Crawling for Brain Development Curriculum 
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Oct 9, 2024 • 31min

#329 - The Connection Between Sensory Over-Responsiveness and Anxiety

Today we’re talking about sensory over-responsivity (what is it? What does it look like? Who can it impact?) and the connection to anxiety.  We dive into 2 different research articles (linked below) as well as provide 3 tips: Develop individualized sensory diet routines and environmental modifications  Look into retained primitive reflexes, specifically the Moro Reflex Find simple ways to decompress and regulate the nervous system 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 Free Sensory Diet Webinar https://harkla.co/pages/sensory-diet-webinar-opt-in Free Primitive Reflex Webinar https://harkla.co/pages/register-primitive-reflex-webinar-2023 Motion Sickness Toolkit https://harkla.co/blogs/podcast/178-motion-sickness-toolkit?_pos=1&_sid=7ed041778&_ss=r Gravitational Insecurity https://harkla.co/blogs/podcast/127-gravitational-insecurity?_pos=1&_sid=2ef95245b&_ss=r What is Sensory Overload? https://harkla.co/blogs/podcast/237-sensory-overload-what-it-can-look-like-and-how-you-can-help?_pos=4&_sid=9ffc748d1&_ss=r Tactile Processing and Clothing Textures https://harkla.co/blogs/podcast/171-tactile-processing?_pos=1&_sid=0286be9dc&_ss=r Picky Eating Strategies https://harkla.co/blogs/podcast/132-picky-eating-strategies-with-mckenzie-from-playingatyourplate?_pos=2&_sid=df36eafea&_ss=r Bean with Bacon Soup https://www.campbells.com/products/condensed/bean-with-bacon-soup/ Research Article #1 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10802-018-0502-y Research Article #2 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01942638.2016.1185504 The Anxious Generation https://a.co/d/djFiHkc
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Oct 2, 2024 • 25min

#328 -Q&A: Picky Eating, Success with School Line-up, and Fatigue During Sports

We are answering your questions in today’s podcast episode! Question 1: How to help with picky eating, specifically with fruits and vegetables. Question 2: How to help a toddler with daycare/preschool line up when it’s time to come back inside after playing outside. Question 3: Understanding if soccer is the ‘just-right’ sport for a child with SPD, Autism, and low muscle tone.  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  All Things Sensory YouTube Channel Harkla YouTube Channel Harkla Website - Shop Sensory Products! Harkla Instagram Feeding and Meal Prep Making Kids Nutrition Easy Muscle Tone vs. Muscle Strength Buddy Timer (Amazon)
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Sep 25, 2024 • 21min

#327 - Sensory Bins Aren't Just for Toddlers! Sharing A Variety of Ways to Use Sensory Bins Therapeutically

We are answering a listener question today! Is there an age limit when it comes to sensory bins? Are sensory bins beneficial for older children? How can we make sensory bins beneficial and fun for a variety of ages?We dive into the benefits of sensory bins, including tactile modulation and visual processing. Then we talk about our favorite ways to make sensory bins fun and engaging for older children, including following a recipe, using a blindfold, and adding it into an obstacle course!  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 5 Ways to Use a Sensory Bin Messy Play All Day Picky Eating Resources Executive Function Skills Improve Classroom Engagement - Free Webinar
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Sep 18, 2024 • 52min

#326 - Spelling to Communicate with Kinsey Showers

Kinsey Showers is an S2C practitioner based in Utah. She began her spelling journey in 2018 when she was working at Invictus Academy Tampa Bay, a school for students with sensory motor differences. She is also a cohort leader and mentor for the International Association for Spelling as Communication. Kinsey is very passionate about communication rights because that's what communication is- a right! She is so thankful to work with nonspeakers and their families. Kinsey’s background is in education and she has worked in both private and public school settings. While the main focus of S2C is not necessarily to provide an education, she is passionate about advocating for her clients in whichever educational space they are in. LINKS Follow Kinsey on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kinseyshermansen/ The International Association for Spelling as Communication  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 Website  Harkla YouTube Harkla Instagram
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Sep 11, 2024 • 20min

#325 - The Connection Between SPD and Learning Challenges

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

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