Internet Therapy Services from A Total Approach Bring a Wealth of Opportunity for Families

Internet Therapy Services from A Total Approach Bring a Wealth of Opportunity for Families

by | Apr 23, 2020 | Parenting, Programs

By Maude Le Roux, OTR/L, SIPT, RCTC, DIR® Expert Trainer at A Total Approach 

The outbreak of COVID-19 has certainly impacted our lives in many ways. 

We are all social distancing, staying at home and working remotely while many families also are juggling scheduled learning events and the needs of each child for a whole new way of going to school. 

Many of us also are concerned for our financial futures and anxious about the dangers this novel coronavirus can inflict daily on our lives. 

Yes, lockdown is certainly not a “fun” situation. 

Yet we also are hearing stories about families getting closer, connecting more deeply for the first time in a long time. One parent tells me their family started a vacation board to plan all the trips they want to take once “this” is all over. 

It seems families are dreaming together again, a happy consequence of an otherwise anxious and uncertain time 

Now Is the Best Time to Continue Therapy

While the transition to staying at home may be rough, families may enjoy many real-life benefits from the opportunity to continue their occupational therapy and speech language therapy virtually. 

At A Total Approach, we offer online therapy services to support and ease your family’s situation at home, enabling little ones and students under our care to translate what they learn from us into their daily lives. 

In the past weeks, we have heard from families who tell us:

  • “It is too difficult to juggle everyone’s schedule and include time for therapy.”
  • “I do not think I can manage my child’s therapy at home. He needs the equipment at your center.”
  • “My child will not listen to me and attend to the computer at the same time.”
  • “The future is too uncertain to really think about therapy right now.” 

At the same time, the following is also true:

  • Figuring out ways to get daily chores completed while adapting to your child’s sensory systems may be a high priority for you right now.
  • Your child’s sensory systems need to adapt to a “new normal,” which may affect their behavior in a different way than before.
  • Spending more time with family gives you a chance to observe and get to know different adaptive aspects of your child’s function.
  • Your child’s progress will benefit from personalized home programs that target their sensory, social or academic needs.
  • Sharing a Floortime session with your child every day truly can support your relationship.

Advantages of Online Therapy

Many therapists believe online therapy services are the new frontier of medicine, although doctors have been using telehealth in the United States since the 1990s and consider it highly effective. 

Telehealth, also known as online therapy, e-therapy and virtual therapy, is defined as “the online delivery of speech, occupational and mental health therapy services via high-resolution, live video conferencing.” 

The benefits of online therapy for clients include increased access to different types of therapies and greater flexibility in scheduling sessions from a safe, private environment: your own home. 

Research also finds people who participate in telehealth are more likely to seek out face-to-face therapy as a result of their positive experience. 

Our Unique and Specialized Approach at Home

Our therapists have been conducting virtual consultations, assessments and therapy sessions for almost 20 years, working with clients who live out of state and around the world, so we are well equipped to support you in the following ways: 

  • If you are a current client, you can continue working with your therapist online.
  • If you are a new client, you can consult online with Maude Le Roux or Angela Gaudiuso Johnson, and they will assign a therapist to your case based on your needs.
  • If you need an assessment or re-assessment of occupational and speech function, we accomplish this virtually and/or with video.
  • If your family needs training to support your child at home, we provide targeted home programs designed for this purpose.
  • If you need flexibility in your virtual therapy schedule, we can conduct weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly sessions.
  • If you and your child are working with our intensive programs such as Tomatis Sound Therapy, Interactive Metronome, ReadLS or others, they can be delivered right in your home.

Our Take-Home Message

Our wish is for all our families and staff to stay safe, to be there for each other and hopefully to be back in the familiar swing of things sooner rather than later. 

Even as we acknowledge that virtual therapy is not for everyone, it may become “the new normal” for many clients in the many months to come—not as another burden but as an ally in difficult times. 

We truly believe the time is now for families to consider online therapy sessions to continue or to start creating positive, impactful change in your lives, even as we hope to re-open our center at the first opportunity.

Learn More About Online Therapy Sessions

If you’d like to learn more about online therapy sessions, please contact angela@atotalapproach.com, who can support you with information on virtual consultations, assessments and/or therapy sessions.

Giving Your Child the Gift of Self-Regulation

Giving Your Child the Gift of Self-Regulation

by | Apr 16, 2020 | Parenting

By Maude Le Roux, OTR/L, SIPT, RCTC, DIR® Expert Trainer at A Total Approach

For many children, self-regulation is a daily struggle. Self-regulation is the ability to understand your own behavior and modify it while reacting to the world around you. It’s about effectively managing your emotions in a wide variety of situations – and it doesn’t come easily to everyone.

Imagine being a child who has challenges with self-regulation. Things constantly pop up to provoke your emotions. Yet teachers ask you to be quiet. People tell you to calm down. Friends shy away when you’re feeling distressed.

How frustrating this must be! It’s no wonder that these children often go into meltdown mode when loving parents are only trying to help. If this sounds like the situation for you and your child, I’d like to share some tips for helping them self-regulate more effectively. 

Moderate Your Voice

As a parent, you can support your child’s self-regulation by staying calm and thinking carefully about how you speak. Avoid raising your voice, use a neutral tone, and speak to them in short, simple phrases when you can see they’re struggling with their emotions. 

Establish a Safe Space

Create a safe spot at home where your child can retreat during difficult times. Calmly encourage them to seek out this spot when they feel too overwhelmed to regulate their emotions. 

For more information about establishing a safe spot, I invite you to take the Golden Nuggets parent course from The Maude Le Roux Academy. It explains this concept in much more detail.

Raise Sensory Awareness

In order to self-regulate, your child needs more awareness about what’s happening within themselves. Allow your child to experience their emotions and begin to discover an awareness of how the process of self-regulation feels. 

Be advised that their emotions may become more even intense at first, rising to a crescendo before they can begin to self-regulate. This is normal. The goal is to give your child a “felt” sense of internal control, where they can see how it feels within their body to self-regulate. Over time, they will gain an understanding of this new sensation and will be able to recognize it as it happens.

Allow Time for Self-Discovery

Instead of trying to tell your child how to self-regulate, provide them with the opportunity to accomplish it for themselves. Don’t tell them how to feel. Give them the chance to feel what they will feel, then to find their own path to self-regulation.

This is a valuable opportunity for them to discover a new sense of personal power. Allow your child the time and space it takes to accomplish this their own way, and you will both be rewarded with an improvement in self-regulation.

Tell Them You’re Proud of Them

When your child is completely calm, share a big hug and tell them you’re proud of them for handling their own emotions. Move on and continue whichever daily tasks you were accomplishing when they had a moment of difficulty with self-regulation.

I’d also encourage you to reflect on the day with them later, during a quiet moment when you can discuss the day’s events. Bring up the moment that caused a crisis of emotion for them. It’s okay to tell them you were concerned about their reaction at first, but then you were so proud of them for regulating their own emotions.

Learn More About Self-Regulation

If you’d like to learn more about helping your child self-regulate, I recommend contacting A Total Approach. They have therapists who are trained in my methodology and share the self-regulation techniques that give your child a sense of empowerment. 

CONTACT US TODAY

The Positive Side of Rigid Thinking

The Positive Side of Rigid Thinking

by | Apr 2, 2020 | Parenting

By Maude Le Roux, OTR/L, SIPT, RCTC, DIR® Expert Trainer at A Total Approach

Is your child a rigid thinker? You’re not alone. Many children exhibit inflexible thinking, particularly those with attention, learning, and sensory processing disorders. 

Rigid thinking is characterized by a desire for predictability, displaying difficulty with unmet expectations, feeling compulsions to do certain things, and in some cases exhibiting perseveration – repetition of words, phrases, and gestures. Children who are rigid thinkers often show behaviors like explosive outbursts, meltdowns, difficulty communicating, or even a state of near-incoherence in moments of intense frustration.

But I’m sure you’ve heard plenty about the negative aspects of rigid thinking, so today I’d like to focus on the positive. Let’s take a closer look at the positive side of your child’s rigid thinking.

Rigidity Reduces the Guesswork (Or Does it?)

When your child is a rigid thinker, they may prefer that things predictably happen the same way, day after day. Of course, the world doesn’t always behave as we expect. Unpredictable circumstances can send your child into a tailspin, as they may become emotionally overloaded by unfamiliar sensory experiences.

As a parent, you can probably predict how your rigid thinker will approach many kinds of daily situations. Even if your prediction is simply, “He won’t like it,” you still have some awareness of how your child will react to certain events.

 However, I’d suggest that you avoid allowing your own assumptions to limit the potential you see in your child or the potential they may see within themselves. When a child begins occupational therapy, they are encouraged to learn in their own way. Their rigid thinking isn’t, and shouldn’t be, a limitation on how much they can do.

Coping With Chaos and Uncertainty

We live in a chaotic world. As your rigid thinker comes into contact with new sensory experiences, they may feel overwhelmed. Some children feel compelled to assign things certain labels and fit them neatly into the sorting boxes in their minds.

This is normal human behavior, even if the labels aren’t always kind, helpful, or accurate. Labeling people and things is a way of coping with uncertainty and gaining a sense of control. To some degree, everyone does it.

If your child seems to have a strong desire to name, sort, and categorize things, this could be a form of self-soothing and self-reassurance. And if they become extremely distressed when things don’t sort correctly – for example, when someone they labeled “friend” is unfriendly – you’re seeing their frustration about the uncertainty of the situation. 

This can manifest as a meltdown, but your child isn’t being bad. They’re just struggling to sort things out in their mind. Here’s a more positive way of looking at it: Your rigid-thinking child has excellent mental organization, but sometimes the world just doesn’t want to be organized.

Rigid Thinking in Schooling and Therapeutic Settings

Many children with autism, anxiety, and/or sensory processing disorders experience school quite differently from those without these challenges. A child who is cognitively flexible can easily transition from subject to subject and activity to activity.

For your child, one rigid moment can cause such intense emotion that they are unable to make a smooth transition. Their classmates and teacher may or may not understand what is happening or how to help, depending on the setting and the resources provided at school.

This is why occupational therapy can be such an effective way to support the education of children with rigid thinking. As long as the therapy takes a child-led approach, the child is in charge of their own process and their own progress. 

Your child’s thinking might be rigid, but it doesn’t have to be restrictive. Within the therapy setting, their rigid thinking can be a benefit rather than a detriment. Their therapist can help them learn techniques that will allow them to blossom in many other settings, including school.

Thriving for a Lifetime

Some children with rigid thinking thrive in environments with a fairly high degree of order and structure. Others prefer a certain level of personal structure but actually thrive in more flexible environments. It depends on your child’s individual needs.

Do you worry about the many types of environments your child will encounter in the future? Perhaps you’re concerned about how they will handle college, a workplace, friendships, and relationships down the road in life.

Well, here’s a comforting thought: Your child is full of potential. The precise form of rigid thinking they exhibit at age 5 is not necessarily representative of the thinking they will exhibit at age 25.

This is why I recommend taking a holistic developmental approach to supporting children with rigid thinking. It’s an approach that goes beyond one skill deficit or performance issue and examines how the child is forming their total sense of self, based on how they experience their world. 

I believe we can dig deeper to find the “why,” and then take it a step further by saying, “We can change the why.” This is a method of reshaping the child’s self-perception to think, “I can do this,” which will be a benefit to them for a lifetime. 

For more information about finding the positive side of rigid thinking, I encourage you to explore the wealth of resources provided by the Maude Le Roux Academy and A Total Approach.

CONTACT US TODAY!

What does your child think and feel when facing you?

What does your child think and feel when facing you?

by | Mar 11, 2020 | Parenting

Ever wondered what was going on in your child’s head when they look at you? It may surprise you to know the real needs behind different facial expressions. Though there are many, we will cover three major facial expressions today.

Downcast eyes, not fully wanting to make eye contact, downturn of mouth, coming closer slowly, hesitantly:

Your child is feeling insecure, not sure how you will respond to a request or situation to be shared. Children always want their parents’ acceptance and love. They want to know they are not disappointing you even as they disappoint themselves for not having the control they think they should have had, for causing a “bad” situation to take place. No matter the behavior, they always want your love, even when they test your patience sorely. When you think they are not looking, they are scouring your face from the corners of their eyes, listening to your voice tone, continuously assessing what “mood” you are in. The problem with a developing child is that they perceive you according to their own perception of the moment, not the actual reality of the moment. They do not see what you see or hear what you hear. You think they should be listening, more than they are looking, but this is not the case, they are looking, more than they are listening. And your facial and physical gesture is going to be interpreted according to their own logic, not yours. This forms the foundation for many power struggles, preventing a meeting of the minds to come to some common conclusion.

Belligerent eyes, fierce attitude, scowl on face, body pulled up in extension, ready for fight, or flight, harsh tones, angry words:

Believe it or not, but your child is still feeling insecure, pulled into self-protection through the defense mechanisms, with a strong need to protect vulnerability at all costs. The fighting child is a frightened child with all sorts of hurt feelings inside. When the child searches, your face, your voice tone, which may be perceived as being angry, mad, disapproving, his sympathetic nervous system goes into over-arousal, kicking in his Amygdala in full action, which causes logical thinking to disappear into the night.

Blank face, non-committal, low voice tone, shoulders slightly stooped or too erect – act as if does not care:

They do care, they care intensely, but if they allow themselves to show what they feel, it would make them feel fragile, needy, and vulnerable to being “bullied” or being told “no” or even
worse, that their opinion is not valued. Children are trying to find themselves, their place, their “mold” in this world. As they are still searching to make sense of it all, it opens them to experience strong emotions at times that they may not feel safe and protected. They also learn and respond to their emotions from the modelling of their parents. They are learning from you
how to handle things. It is a scary thought, as we certainly cannot be perfect each time. But as scary as it is, it does not shake the truth of it. If you get mad in response to a situation, they

learn it is ok to do it. If you cry at the drop of a hat, they learn it is ok to do it. If you throw or hit something, they learn from it for themselves. Research states that each one of us are
building the kind of parent we are going to be in the first 9 months of our lives.

What do we do?

  • Think about how you respond to your child in different circumstances. What do you want your child to see when they look at you?
  • Reflect on your own experience as a child and your thoughts of your parents through these early developing years
  • Reflect on your own behavior and what you are modeling for your child. Is your own behavior what you would like them to follow?
  • Do not take the child’s response as fact, it often is built upon the fantasy of their own perception, which makes it true for them, but not necessarily true to the situation. This helps to fray those edgy nerves we have, though you still do not want to minimize their emotion. To them it is real and therefore should be treated with respect.
  • Whatever the emotion, try to respond with the cue of “emotional safety” first. It is connection before correction that counts.
  • Meet them in their emotion, not in their words. Gain regulation first, then go into the situation.
  • Do not solve their problems for them. Frame it, help them reflect, but allow them their own process so they can “own” the success of their solution and build on it.

When parenting alone does not help and you are feeling lonely in trying to understand your child, call us at 484 840 1529 and let’s talk!

 

You can do this!!!

 

4 Things to Do During a Meltdown

4 Things to Do During a Meltdown

by | Mar 5, 2020 | Parenting

Children with attention, sensory, and learning disabilities sometimes experience meltdowns when they are feeling anxiety and sensory overload. These meltdowns can be frustrating for parents, but it’s important to stay positive and take a calm and proactive approach to these emotionally-charged situations. 

I’ve found that there are four important things you can do to manage meltdowns effectively and reduce their intensity and frequency over time. One of the therapists I mentored named it, “The Meltdown Recipe”. To set the stage for success with this recipe, start by establishing a safe space your child can visit when they need calmness in their system. Allow the child to access this spot whenever needed and plan for only one adult or caregiver to interact with them during the meltdown.

When a meltdown begins to happen, don’t focus on the specific trigger. Instead, focus on helping your child get to their safe spot as quickly as possible. They may fight this routine at first, as it may raise their anxiety, but over time it should become a reliable and comforting habit.

From there, follow the four steps of The Meltdown Recipe:

1- Don’t get sucked into the meltdown.

First, avoid getting sucked into the meltdown yourself. Of course, this is no easy task when your child is upset, but if you spiral down into having a meltdown too, it will only make matters worse. Try to stay calm and speak in a kind, even tone. Avoid raising your voice or making fast body movements, which could further aggravate the situation. 

2- Use simple language.

Now is not the time to share big ideas or theories about why the meltdown is happening. Nor is it time to discuss the situation that triggered it. Your child is in a mode of sensory overload where more input will push them deeper into the meltdown. Keep it simple. Speak in short phrases free from flowery language. Even better, say as little as possible. Use a neutral voice without vocal strain or judgment. The emphasis stays on allowing the body to experience the emotion and raising awareness – a “felt” sense of what it feels like when they are calming down.

Emphasize the importance of going to their safe spot. Again, they may fight this new routine at first due to uncertainty about the consequences, which can cause a rise in their anxiety. Predict this and continue using gentle, simple language to guide them to their safe spot.

3- Don’t solve the problem.

Parents often try to problem-solve their way out of a child’s meltdown. However, if you try to solve this for them, it will only make things worse. Plus, you’re missing a valuable opportunity to help them feel a sense of personal power in this situation. Give them the gift of finding a resolution within themselves.

Don’t tell them it will be okay or otherwise problem-solve their emotions for them. Instead, calmly insist that they enter their safe spot and once they are there, simply request that they remain there until they are “ready.” Do not touch them unless they try to flee their safe spot. Sit near them, but not within the immediate boundaries of their safe spot.

As an adult and as a parent, you may find that during this time you will feel an almost irresistible urge to use logic or reason to help your child calm down. Resist this urge. Allow your child to decide within themselves when they are ready. Give plenty of time for this to happen. It might be immediate or it might take a while.

If you need something to focus on mentally during this difficult period, focus on your own willingness to follow this process consistently, no matter how tedious it is, every single time.

4- Give time in, not time out.

At the point that you and your child feel that their body has calmed down and they are “ready,” re-enter the original situation that triggered the meltdown. Mentally scan the situation and analyze whether the demands on your child were too high or involved too many steps. Continue the situation and don’t allow them to simply avoid the task because of their previous meltdown.

If a sibling or friend is involved, urge your child to say they are sorry and give a reason for being sorry. It doesn’t have to be a logical explanation. Just allow them to put their emotions into words. Continue to accomplish the task that triggered the meltdown and see it through to the end.

Now give them a big hug and tell them you’re proud of them for calming down and completing the task. Feel pride in your own parenting, too. This was a meltdown, but it was also a success!

Please don’t punish your child for having a meltdown. This isn’t bad behavior; it’s sensory overload and your child needs support. It’s important to understand the difference between manipulative behavior and behavior as communication of need. 

Later – perhaps during a warm, snuggled-up moment – say that you were disappointed in their behavior at first, but you were proud of them for calming down. Don’t make them feel that they were being “bad,” and instead emphasize that you don’t condone certain behavior and are proud of them for showing other behavior. It’s fine to discuss what might happen again in the future, reviewing the steps of going to their safe spot, calming down, deciding when they’re ready, then trying again.

Tips for managing this process:

I’ve found that many families prefer to begin this process on a weekend when they have no big plans coming up. In fact, if you can start on a weekend and continue into the weekdays with few to no outside obligations, you will accomplish many successful repetitions of “The Meltdown Recipe” and create a positive habit.

Parents often ask me, “But what about when we’re not home?” They’re worried about what to do when their child is away from their safe spot. That’s why it’s best to have practiced this routine many times at home before venturing out into the public to test it. 

To learn more about how to handle meltdowns, I invite you to take the Golden Nuggets parent course from The Maude Le Roux Academy. Session 5 explains the “Meltdown Recipe” in more detail and will help you successfully handle these challenging moments in a way that gives your child a sense of empowerment. You can also contact www.atotalapproach.com for a therapist trained in my methodology to assist you further.