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 aFloortime session with your child every day truly can support your relationship.
Advantages of Online Therapy
Many therapists believe online therapy services arethe new frontier of medicine, although doctors have been using telehealth in the United States since the 1990s and consider ithighly 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 therapyfor 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 liveout 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 withMaude 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.
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-openour 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.
Have you tried using ForbrainⓇ bone conduction headphones? This is an incredible tool that can improve your child’s sensory perception and enrich their world. Perhaps you’re not familiar with this technology, so I’d like to show you how it works and how much it could help your child.
The basic idea behind bone conduction is not new – in fact, it’s been around for thousands of years. As humans, we perceive sounds through our eardrums (air conduction) and our bones (bone conduction). Although we think of hearing as something that happens only within our ears, it’s actually a combination of listening through our ears and our bones. That’s why you can sit in an amphitheater and really feel the music deeply. It’s resonating through your bones and giving you a fuller comprehension of the sound.
When I talk about bone conduction therapy, I’m referring to methods of increasing the amount of sound that is shared with a child’s skull bones. Conduction therapy devices offer a form of headgear that can be worn comfortably to deliver audio content to the ears and skull. Please note that it’s best to use a bone conduction device with the help of a qualified therapist or educator to ensure you’re using the right techniques for the best outcomes.
The ForbrainⓇ bone conduction headphones allow your child to experience sounds more clearly and fully, stimulating their brain with input from a robust auditory source. Using them for just a few minutes each day is like a workout for the brain and audio-vocal system. For your child, experiencing sounds through bone conduction for the first time can be a thrilling experience.
You might be wondering whether you can get the same effect simply by buying high-quality headphones for your child. There are several reasons why ForbrainⓇ bone conduction is superior to ordinary headphones.
The ForbrainⓇ therapeutic device is specially-designed for use in early intervention scenarios, for example with developmental delays and hearing impairments.
This is a more adjustable and comfortable option for children who don’t like regular headphones and earbuds.
It has proven benefits for reading, writing, speech, fluency, and other aspects of a child’s communication skills.
It improves a child’s short-term memory.
It improves concentration and the ability to stay on-task.
Children get a boost to their self-confidence, self-esteem, and motivation.
It provides a gentle introduction to other beneficial therapy approaches, including the process used at A Total Approach.
Here’s a tip that will help you and your child use the ForbrainⓇ headphones successfully every time. Have your child take a moment to do the following visualization as they begin using the device:
Imagine you are a tree: Your feet are roots going into the ground, your back is the trunk that rises up straight, and your head is the top where all the leaves grow.
Now you (the parent) can mime the rain sprinkling down to make the child grow, grow, grow. Isn’t this a wonderful way to ease your child into their ForbrainⓇ session?
These bone conduction headphones could be your child’s gateway to a rich new set of sensory experiences. They give your child a sense of power in their world, so they feel like a brave and adventurous hero exploring new sensations. This is the greatest gift we can ever give anyone, and it’s something that can truly change your child’s life forever. For more information you can go to https://atotalapproach.com/ and also find a coupon code if you would like to order the ForbrainⓇ
Bone conduction therapy can be very effective for babies and children, particularly those born with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). This includes:
50% of children with intellectual disabilities
12% of children with cerebral palsy
10% of children with autism spectrum disorder
TomatisⓇ therapy is particularly well-suited for babies because it can benefit an infant before the fontanels are closed. This extremely early intervention is crucial in providing therapy for developmental delays and hearing impairments.
In addition, this is a workable alternative to traditional headphones for babies and children who are sensitive to them for a variety of reasons:
Anxiety
Difficulty with the fit
Discomfort with the sensation of certain features, like grommets, ear tubes
Case Study – Baby Gwen
She was born with severe to profound hearing loss in her right ear and was unable to sit up by herself, stand when held, crawl, or babble.
Gwen started TomatisⓇ therapy and within the first 1 hour and 45 minutes of treatment – which took place over 5 days – she demonstrated being able to sit up by herself, make faces, get up on her hands and knees to try to crawl, balance in various ways, and move across the room.
By day 8 she was looking in the mirror and recognizing herself and by day 12, her parent reported that she was communicating more. At day 20 she had begun to turn toward sounds, attempt more sounds, and sleep through the night.
After the first intensive session, which was 10 hours in total, she could crawl, stand with support, and babble and squeal to communicate. Gwen continued into a second intensive of 15 hours and began to explore her environment, gain weight, eat more, and say words like “dada.” By her fifth intensive, she was walking and running unassisted and as the seventh intensive was about to begin, she was jumping, singing, clapping, and talking almost nonstop.
Keeping Bone Conduction Safe for Babies
Bone conduction can be an amazing experience for your growing baby. Bone conduction is also very safe for babies, as long as you follow these best practices:
Use a careful, gradual increase of time with the guidance of a bone conduction expert.
Ensure the sound level is acceptable at all times.
Change the bone conductor’s location slightly to prevent irritation.
Monitor your baby’s reactions carefully and make adjustments along the way.
Check your environment for new dangers that are accessible to a mobile baby.
Benefits and Improvements to Expect
Parents are always eager to hear about the improvements their child could experience through bone conduction therapy. To summarize the three biggest overall benefits, they are:
Early auditory stimulation
Stimulation of childhood developmental milestones
Positive changes in vestibular function, movement, coordination, and speech
In fact, these improvements are often so fast and so deeply gratifying for parents, we recommend making video recordings to save these precious moments forever.
For More Information
To learn more about TomatisⓇ bone conduction, please contact A Total Approach. We offer a holistic developmental approach to therapy that respects each child’s individual needs.
A Total Approach offers children’s occupational therapy unlike any other therapy in the world. Using a holistic and individualized method, A Total Approach creates a family-centered, child-led therapy environment where children make significant progress fairly quickly.
If your child has attention, sensory, or learning disabilities, read on to learn how A Total Approach could help them learn how to process information more nimbly and reshape their own positive self-perception.
What Makes A Total Approach Unique?
We offer a child-led process that welcomes the family into the therapy environment. We’ve assembled a group of dedicated professionals, including occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists, to support each child’s individual needs and involve their parents in the process.
We call it “equipping the child and empowering the parent.” It’s not just a drop-off, pick-up model of therapy. We invite the parents into the sessions and use a consultative developmental therapy model, where we talk to the parents at scheduled appointments to keep everyone on the same page.
We even provide videos of your child’s sessions, including comments from the Director Maude LeRoux, OTR/L, SIPT, RCTC, DIR® Expert Trainer. This further enriches the process with additional insights to use at home.
How is Your Philosophy Different From Other Therapy Centers?
You may have heard of a different approach called the operant approach, which focuses on ending certain behaviors. However, the operant method is only about addressing a single performance problem. It’s a very limited solution.
With the holistic developmental approach of A Total Approach, we offer so much more. We go beyond one skill deficit, performance issue, or anxiety, and examine how the child is forming their total sense of self based on how they experience their world. We don’t just look at behavior; we also consider emotions.
It’s a dual approach – a balance between the performance and emotions of a child. We dig deeper to find the “why,” and then take it a step further by saying, “We can change the why.” It’s about reshaping the child’s self-perception to think, “I can do this.”
How Frequently Will Therapy Take Place?
The timing varies. At first, we might see your child daily for 2 to 5 hours a day and this may go on for a period of 2 weeks. This is known as an initial intensive meeting schedule. Research on neuroplasticity has indicated that high intensity and high frequency interventions are extremely effective in creating the pathways toward change.
Thereafter, we could move to a less frequent schedule of seeing your child once or twice a week for about 6 to 8 weeks. Then we might go back for another intensive schedule, then take another break to once a week therapy. It’s common to do a cycle of three intensives, followed by a longer-term, ongoing therapy schedule if needed.
Of course, this entire schedule depends on the unique needs of your child. Our plan will always be designed to support your child and help them find the best results possible.
Will My Child Benefit From Therapy Quickly?
Many children show significant responses just within the first intensive phase. In fact, they may gain such great results during the initial weeks that the positive effect lasts for months or years to come.
For other children, it may take longer and require careful planning over the long term. Timing matters. In order to benefit your child optimally, we may need to add certain therapies and solutions at precise points in the process.
A Total Approach is about looking at the full spectrum of each child. We will work diligently to address the areas of your main concern, and we will also address secondary issues that may be having an impact. The process could go quickly or more slowly, depending on your child’s needs.
Do You Provide Therapy Online?
If you live in Pennsylvania, the answer is yes. While we can offer certain online mentoring and consultation appointments to anyone in the world, state law requires that many therapy services must be provided in-person at our clinic in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania if you reside in the US, outside of Pennsylvania. If you live abroad, please contact us for a solution for you. Contact us for a consultation about which services we can provide online and which require in-person appointments.
What Kind of Impact Will it Have for My Child and My Family?
Rather than explaining it ourselves, we’d like to share some heartfelt words from happy parents who have seen their children blossom through A Total Approach.
“At ATA, I’m no longer alone. I no longer have to figure everything out for myself. I have open, willing collaborators who are always available to help me keep my son’s treatment program at an optimum place … Over and over I hear from teachers and other professionals that they are astounded at the amount of progress my son has made.”
-Jona
“The difference in Sam was remarkable. He was lighter, and happier, and had the tools and capacity to be kinder and more helpful with his siblings. He was also no longer nearly as reactive. If he fell or hurt himself, he would simply get up and keep going, whereas prior to his work at ATA he would have had meltdowns.”
-Ingrid
“My youngest son had major issues with his speech and hearing. He essentially was not talking, saying single words and labeling but having a very hard time communicating … I could cry talking about all the progress he has made. His speech blows me away. We now have conversations, he has a sense of humor, he tells me he wants to do it. I feel like I finally got to know my little boy.
-Nichole
If you’d like to read more about the real experiences other families are having with A Total Approach, click to see more testimonials. We also welcome you to contact us for more information about our unique approach to helping children succeed.
This time I want to write you about the project I have been working on that has kept me very busy over the past months. Over the past 8 years, my training travels has taken me far and wide as the amount of trainings increased every year. I am honored by so many invitations of parents and professionals wanting to hear about my model of assessment and intervention. It is truly humbling. At this time though; it is beginning to become an entity that simply is too busy!
For this reason, I am opening my own online academy starting in January 2019. I have 3 major goals in mind. The first is to share my passion that change is possible in developmental delay if you know what to look for and where to begin. It is not about doing “more”, it is about the timing and sequence of what you put in place. We follow typical development and target intervention in different phases so the parent can follow and be released from the pressure of what I call the “catch-up” theory. In fact, intervention goes faster this way. If typical development was good enough for the typically developing child, it has to be good enough for the atypically developing child!
My second passion is to inform and equip families to the best of my knowledge. My wish is for parents to find joy in their children, to focus on their strengths while therapy intervenes on their child’s challenges. I want parents to feel they understand their child and their own position as an anchor for their children. Magic starts happening once the parent understands the value of “connection before correction”. Each behavior has a story, a reason and encourages the challenge of “chasing” the “why”. Nothing provides me more joy than when parent and child come together in harmony, when the parent knows how to challenge their child towards growth and feels the power to do so.
Finally, in order to create the above missions, we have to share our clinical skill with professionals, who like to exercise judgment and clinical thinking. What we learn at college (university) provide the foundation of working within our scope of practice, but it is the actual practice afterwards that informs clinical thinking. I have taken what I have learnt from children, families and other experts over 3 decades of practice to share a model of intervention that will promote specificity, individualization, clinical thinking and improve outcomes with clients. Of course, I do not believe that one person has the total answer for anything, and I do not pretend to think this is the “only” way of intervention. My hope is that this venture will spur other clinical experts to share what they know and create a base where knowledge can keep transforming our practice.
Courses will stretch over a number of weeks (6 to 12), meeting one time per week for 90 minutes. This allows for integration and reflection before adding more information each week. Webinars will occur in 90-minute sessions and will cover additional topics of interest. We also will have “track” courses, that will cover 4 levels of clinical practice. The first would be the bronze level, discussing theory and open to anyone to join. The silver level will target assessment for this specific population and the gold will target intervention. The final platinum level would consist of an individual practitioner presenting two cases, starting with assessment through intervention describing clinical thinking through their process. The last three levels will be applicable to only clinicians. These courses will follow a clinical model, but no one specific method of intervention will be over emphasized. The emphasis will be on broadening the mind to choose from a variety of tools to explore for each individual child.
The first 4 tracks we are going to kick off with in January would be Autism, The Reading Brain, Dyspraxia, and ADHD/ADD/Executive Functioning. We are also starting two single courses with regards to “Golden nuggets for Parenting” and another one explaining the concept of timing as a crucial building block in the brain. I am so excited about this venture and relieved that we are finally there. My hope is that it would be beneficial, insightful and promote the kind of thinking that will inspire parents and professionals to want to learn more. Children deserve the chance to be all that they can be. They deserve to be children who can play to their heart’s delight with joy and exuberance. They should be able to walk into every classroom with confidence, curiosity and a mind that looks forward to what the teacher has in store for them. I welcome any thoughts for future courses. We are working fast and furiously on the website, so please keep checking back in to know when the website is up and ready to go! Any day now!
For many years now I wanted to create a space for parents, therapists, teachers and psychologists to come together and discuss functional difficulties in the light of development. In our world today, the focus has shifted to more and more productivity and though I also believe being productive is a good goal, I really want to support the process to get to that goal. What does this mean? Simply that if a child understands the sequence of how to accomplish something and can execute it, the product will always be there.
Too much emphasis is being placed on behavior, when in reality the child’s behavior is a communication to us. We have to try to understand why a child chooses a specific behavior in a certain circumstance. At my trainings, I usually repeat the following statement a number of times: “If a child could, he/she would”. Once any one of us feels successful at something, we wish to repeat it again because it feels so good. The only reason we avoid certain activities is because that “feeling good” is absent or elusive and we have to find a way out of the situation.
Too much emphasis is being placed on behavior, when in reality the child’s behavior is a communication to us.
In this blog, we can cover a multitude of discussions on a variety of different topics. We can discuss modalities such as DIR/Floortime or Sound Therapy, but we are also going to be practical and discuss different behaviors and what to do about them. We can discuss the brain and what does a child need in order to achieve academically. How do we read and write? How do I get my great ideas out on written expression? How do we pace ourselves through an activity and know how much we can accomplish in a certain time? How do we mobilize a child to the next level of functioning? I will welcome case discussions and discuss sensory processing development alongside emotional processing development. Diagnosis is necessary, but not considered the most important aspect of every child. We can discuss kids on the autism spectrum; though also discuss children with Down syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and yet other categories such as reading and learning disorders. What I do not know, we can research together, but the importance would lie in that we tie in theory with practice and be helpful in providing everyone ideas to collaborate upon.
I travel a lot to train others; so do not despair if sometimes I do not respond immediately. I will be there most of the time quite quickly, unless travel causes a delay in my response time. I would also like to make this blog about you. Your questions, your suggestions are going to spearhead the next pieces of information, so please comment, ask your questions. Together we can create a forum that would support all of us as a collective group.
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