April is Occupational Therapy Month! Visit www.aota.org for more information!
Maggie Lesher, MA, OTR/L, owner and clinical director of Children's Theraplay, travelled to Denver, CO in December 2009 to participate in an intensive mentorship! She received advanced training in assessment and intervention at the Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) Foundation, and its sponsor clinic, the Sensory Therapies and Research (STAR) Center, under the guidance of Dr. Lucy Jane Miller, a world-renouned occupational therapist and sensory research pioneer.
Maggie was also featured on StarTribune.com, in an article entitled "Direct-care Careers Yield High Satisfaction".
Visit www.startribune.com/jobs/healthcare/ to read the article!
SPONSORSHIPS, EXHIBITS, AND PRESENTATIONS:
Saturday May 8, 2010, we will support the PACER Center's 28th Annual Benefit. Contributions to PACER help enhance the lives of children and youth with disabilities and help to improve education, training opportunies, and employment options.
Sunday February 28, 2010, we were a $1000 sponsor of the Autism Society of Minnesota at their annual Steps of Hope. So far, $60,000 and counting has been raised as part of this event!
October 23 - 24, 2009, We exhibited at the ARC of Minnesota State Convention, "Daring to Dream: Making Inclusion a reality," hosted by ARC Greater Twin Cities.
On September 26, 2009, We supported the 2009 Walk Now for Autism Minnesota, at Canterbury Park in Shakopee. This event raised over $152,000 for research, family services, advocacy, and awareness.
Continuing education is an important priority for our therapists. We want to be up-to-speed on the latest research, techniques, and advances in pediatric practice. Our staff have recently attended the following courses:
- Assessing and Treating Regulatory, Emotional, and Sensory Deficits in Infants and Young Children
- Neuro-Sensory-Motor and Reflex Integration: The Masgutova Method
- A View from the Floor: Integrating the Neurological and Emotional Needs of the Child
- Eyesight to Insight: Visual-Vestibular Assessment and Treatment
- Reflex Integration to address Autism and Neuro-Developmental Challenge in Early Childhood
- Reflex Integration for Infants with Autism and Neuro-Developmental Challenge
- Vision: Its Effects on Learning and Attention, and How Vision Therapy Can Help
- Assessing and Treating Regulatory, Emotional, and Sensory Deficits in Infants and Young Children
- Developing Internal and External Structures for Thera-play
- Integrating Kinesiological and Functional Models
- Using Unstable Surfaces in the Treatment of the Pediatric Patient
- Ball Techniques in the Treatment of the Pediatric Patient
- Practical Strategies for Childhood Developmental Disorders
- Making Sense of Handwriting
- Therapeutic Listening: Listening with the Whole Body
- Fundamentals of Pediatric Kinesiotaping
- Essentials of Praxis Intervention for Children with Autism
- Beckman's Oral Motor Assessment and Intervention
- Achieving Functional Outcomes with the Baby & Young Child
- Treating Children Utilizing Sensory Integration and Neurodevelopmental Approaches
- Ready S.E.T. Go! Sensorimotor Early Childhood/Elementary Themes
- Helping Children with Auditory Processing Disorders
- Picky Eaters or Problem Feeders: The Sequential Oral Sensory Approach to Feeding
- Handwriting Without Tears
- Section 504 in Minnesota: Leveling the Playing Field
- Neuro 101 and Sensory Integration
- Low Muscle Tone: Problems and Treatment Strategies
- ADHD, Aspergers, OCD, and Tourettes: Advanced Strategies and Interventions
- Who's in Charge: Executive functioning in distracted and disorganized children