Prior to joining Emerge, Anna worked in both Durham and Wake County Public Schools with students ranging from kindergartner to high school in mainstream and self-contained classrooms. She completed her undergraduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at UNC-Greensboro in 2011 before moving on to complete her graduate degree in Speech-Language Pathology at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2013. She also completed courses with the Vital Links program, focusing on primary movement patterns and positioning in therapy, as well as, DIR/Floortime education, Interactive Metronome certification, training with the Child Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE) approach, and more.Īnna is a North Carolina native, originally coming from Winston-Salem. Katie has completed formal education with the Sensory Integration Certification Program (SIPT). She completed one of her graduate fieldwork placements at Emerge Pediatric Therapy, before returning as a pediatric Occupational Therapist in the winter of 2014. Katie has experience working with children with Autism, Asperger’s, ADD/ADHD, sensory processing disorders, learning disabilities, and motor planning disorders. As an undergraduate student at Meredith College, Katie discovered the career of occupational therapy working as an applied behavioral analysis therapist for children with autism. Katie received her Master’s in Occupational Therapy from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2013. About the Authorsīlog Post by Katie Fletcher, MS, OTR/L and Anna Housman, MS, CCC-SLP. This board could be used as visual support for sequencing or as a choice board. On the back of the board, all the options are stored. This whiteboard was modified with laminated pictures and velcro strips. Say “Simon Says touch your nose.” “Simon Says clap twice.” This will give the child time to process one step at a time and follow directions successfully.įor children who are struggling with verbal communication, have trouble with word recall, tend to freeze up when being put on the spot, or who benefit from visual supports, a visual choice board is a great way to modify the game. For example: Instead of saying “Simon Says touch your nose and clap twice”, break these directions up. Consider giving a simple, 1 step command. Sometimes verbal directions can seem complex to a child. If sequencing is not a goal your child is working on right now consider giving simple commands. “I looked up, ran in place, and then did a silly dance.”.“I touched my nose and then touched my belly.”.After each round talk about the actions you just completed. Simon Says is also a great way to work on both regular and irregular past tense verbs. “Simon Says lookup, then run in place and finally do a silly dance.”.“Simon Says touch your nose before touching your belly”.“Simon Says do jumping jacks then sit down”.Increase the level of difficulty and work on sequencing while playing by adding in multi-step directions. having the person who is “Simon” act out the directions as they say them) is a great way to support children in understanding the directions. Simon Says is a great way to practice giving and following directions, as that is the basis of the game. Instead of reinforcing a winner or loser, taking turns playing “Simon” is an easy way to re-direct the child back to the game, even if it did not work in their favor. Good sportsmanship takes time for children to develop and utilize when playing with peers. Losing can be a difficult concept for children to understand and is a great skill to practice within the comforts and safety of home. “Simon Says touch your toes/ears/shoulders/nose”). This game is also a simple way to practice learning and labeling body parts (e.g. “Simon says stand on one foot” or “Simon says do 10 jumping jacks”), bilateral coordination, and other gross motor tasks. This game is a fun way to practice improving body awareness, while also incorporating other motor skills, including balance (e.g. Children with poor proprioceptive processing may struggle with imitating body movements. Your child will have the opportunity to see a demonstrated body movement or sustained position, then he or she can replicate this action. This game is an excellent way for a child to practice improving his or her body awareness. Developing Body Awareness and Motor Development Play therapy is an important part of any therapy program and some of our most beloved childhood games can have therapeutic benefits that we didn’t even know about! Looking for a simple and fun activity that requires no materials? “Simon Says” is the perfect game to address a variety of skills to help with your child’s development! That’s why “Simon Says” is out May Game of the Month! 1.
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