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The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills
E-BOOK NO.8
BY: Christel K.A. Seeberger
BSc.O.T., OT(c), OTR, OTReg.(NB)
2 The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, or otherwise without the permission of the copyright holder.
Copyright ©2013Christel K.A. Seeberger Professional Corporation Inc.
Table of contents
03 Introduction
04 Chapter 1: 20 ways to better sleep for your child
06 Chapter 2: 20 Ways to make your child’s morning and bedtime bathroom routine easy
08 Chapter 3: 25 Strategies for Happy, Healthy Mealtimes
10 Chapter 4: Develop Oral Motor Skills to support Eating
12 Chapter 5: Toilet Training Success: PART 1
14 Chapter 6: Toilet Training Success: PART 2
16 Chapter 7: 20 Steps to Mastering Dressing Skills
18 Chapter 8: How to teach school lace tying to your child
The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills 3
Dear Parents, Educators, Therapists and Caregivers,
Self-care skills, self-help skills, basic activities of daily living, whatever you want to call them; these are the heart and soul of occupational therapy in many ways. And self-care skills are the heart and soul of our day to day lives too; they are how we all start our days, how we end our days and what we do in between.
I have worked for almost 20 years with a focus on this core of occupational therapy treatment. Two decaded of helping children and adults with a myriad of challenges that make completing their everyday tasks even more difficult. Everyday tasks that we may take for granted. But when learning them the first time and getting through self-care skills every day is hard, help is needed.From waking up and brushing teeth in the morning, to getting dressed with shoe laces tied and enjoying breakfast, lunch and supper; to toileting, bathing or showering, to going to sleep again at night, this eBook is written to share my best tips to learn all these self-care skills.
Sincerely,
ChristelChristel K.A. Seeberger BSc.O.T., OT(c), OTR., OTReg. (NB)., Occupational Therapist
Introduction
4 The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills
20 ways to better sleep for your child TWEET NOW
Click here to post this success strategy to your Twitter account.
Are your children getting enough sleep? If your child isn’t asleep, invariably, neither are you.
Recommended sleep:Newborns to infants of six months: 16 hoursBabies six months to one year: 14 hours Toddlers of one to three years: 10 to 13 hoursPre-school aged children three to five years: 10 to 12 hours Children six to twelve: 10 to 11 hours Teens: 9 to 10 hours.
Tips to help your child sleep.
Routine1. Establish a consistent bedtime routine.2. Don’t rush through the bedtime routine. 3. Children do love routines! Pick a routine like bath, story, snuggle, and then sleep along with a time
frame (such as 30 minutes) you can stick to most nights; that has to include weekends. 4. Be a good parent-detective; choose calming activities before bedtime. 5. Be cautious about TV and video games before bed. Screen time is stimulating not calming.6. Eliminate rough and tumble play at night. 7. Clean up distracting bedroom clutter. It can be a fun and much needed part of the bedtime routine. Sensory8. Try different pajamas to determine preferences; tight, loose, flannel, fleece, silky, cotton, with feet,
C H A P T E R 1
The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills 5
with socks, etc. for children who are more sensitive to touch.9. Check for seams or threads in clothes, sheets and blankets if your child finds them bothersome.10. Use different sheet and blanket types like flannel, higher thread count, cotton-polyester mix, wool,
polyester, fleece, etc. for ones that feel right to your child.11. If lights and/or noise are distracting for an older child, make a bed “tent”.12. Ensure light from the window is blocked out with room darkening shades. 13. Use a night light with a warm glow if needed, one that doesn’t cast shadows. 14. Give your child a flashlight or an empty spray bottle (alternatively one with water) can be their
weapon of choice against monsters.15. No food or drink before bedtime that contains caffeine. 16. Avoid giving your child medications with a stimulant. Check the ingredients for decongestants,
cough medicines and over the counter drugs. 17. Relaxing music or background noise, such as a fan or a “white noise” machine may be comforting
for some children (but distracting for others). 18. Experiment with scents as a relaxation aid. Vanilla, lavender, and banana are typically calming. 19. Do slow body stretches or yoga with your child. 20. Progressive muscle relaxation as part of your snuggle routine can be used to go to sleep and get
back to sleep if awoken during the night.
Sweet dreams, sleep well!
6 The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills
C H A P T E R 2
1. The first job is to establish a consistent, predictable morning and bedtime routine no matter what.
2. If brushing your teeth isn’t a priority for you, it certainly won’t be for your child.
3. Remember children thrive on routines; most adults do as well. 4. Keep the time of day; place in the house; steps followed; and tools used the same to decrease
everyone’s stress and anxiety.
5. My Best recommendation: “all bathroom things …happen in the bathroom”.
6. It is easier when the hairbrush/toothbrush/facecloth is handy and not under the bed.
7. Teach clean-up when teaching children self-care skills.
8. An individual basket of each family member’s personal grooming tools will help your child take ownership and avoid the daily hunt for their toothbrush, preferred toothpaste, hairbrush, etc.
9. Post a visual schedule that demonstrates the steps of brushing teeth, washing hands or other self-care skills.
10. Create the visual schedule by taking, printing and laminating photos of your child performing each step of the routine.
11. Visual schedules can reduce the need for repeated verbal reminders from parents. If you are more tech savvy, a personal video your child can replay can be a motivating learning tool for your child.
20 Ways to make your child’s morning and bedtime bathroom routine easy TWEET NOW
The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills 7
12. Label drawers/cupboards with words, pictures or pictograms to help your child find (and re-turn) things on their own.
13. Provide your child with their own little chair to sit on, small hand held mirror, and a step stool to reach their grooming tools.
14. Ask your child their preference in using the tub or the shower when it’s time to bathe.
15. Make bathing a pleasant experience by first warming up a chilly bathroom. Your child will love wrapping up in a toasty warm towel and pajamas that have been warmed in the dryer.
16. Use a handheld shower to provide more control over water spray.
17. Prevent water and soap from running into eyes by using a shampoo visor or swimming gog-gles.
18. Dry your child off with a warmed, soft bath towel. Use firm strokes instead of feathery light pressure.
19. Focus on fun, by having background music or singing songs with your child that you have made up.
20. Remember to set your child up for success. What works for your child? HINT: it may not be what works for you. Ask for their input.
8 The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills
C H A P T E R 3
Is the dinner table a war zone? Unsure of what to do with your fussy eater? Trust, enjoyment and fun are the keys to happy, healthy mealtimes.
1. First, establish regular times for meals and snacks that can be easily followed most days. 2. Hunger and appetite are much needed pre-requisites to health eating. 3. A predictable meal and snack time will help your child (and you too!) regulate and learn the
sensations of both hunger and satiation. 4. Have a consistent, seated location for mealtimes in all the places a child regularly eats (e.g.
at home, grandparents, babysitters) the same room, table, and chair. 5. During meals avoid distractions such as the T.V. or toys. 6. Arrange the chairs and table to reduce opportunities for diversion so everyone’s focus can
be on sharing a meal together. 7. Provide some preparatory oral motor games before meal or snack times, i.e. help get the
mouth ready to eat. Blow bubbles, make “hungry monster faces” to wake up those eating muscles.
8. Sing a transition song or activity before coming to the table for a meal or snack. “If you are hungry and you know it, it’s time to eat” can become a favourite.
9. Redefine “try it” when introducing new foods. 10. “Try it” can just be having a new food in the room, on the table, on someone else’s plate, or
on your child’s plate without actually having to eat it. 11. Remember, the less diversity of foods a child is exposed to and aware of, the fewer foods
he/she will actually accept. 12. Include looking at picture books of food. 13. Read stories that include food.
25 Strategies for Happy, Healthy Mealtimes TWEET NOW
The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills 9
14. Make up stories about eating new and different foods that include the whole family. 15. Encourage and participate in pretend play food, play with food puzzles, expand spoken and under-
stood vocabulary around foods. 16. Include your child when labelling foods. Discuss and encourage them to experiment with food co-
lours, food textures, food smells and food tastes.
17. Provide regular opportunities to see other children and adults eat a diversity of foods. 18. Have your child explore foods without being required to eat them (e.g. finger paint with pudding,
Jell-O, or yoghurt). 19. Offer small portions of a new food paired with a familiar food. 20. Children learn to like foods as they become more familiar with seeing them and trying them. 21. Give lots of positive reinforcement for all the components of eating; staying at the table, looking at
new foods, touching a new food. 22. Keep mealtimes short and focused. 23. Use counters such as stickers, coins or tokens to keep track of number of bites or tries and work
towards a bigger reward. 24. Remember to always re-offer any new foods tried within the next few days to increase your child’s
acceptance and enjoyment of it.25. Model your mealtime behaviour to what you want to see in your child. How do you talk about and
act around food and mealtimes?
10 The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills
Oral motor skills include strength, movement and coordination of the muscles in and around the mouth, jaw, tongue, lips and cheeks. They are important for eating and drinking, as well as sucking, blowing, biting, crunching, licking and chewing. Oral motor skills are also important for speaking and facial expression.
Occupational therapists (OTs) help children with their oral motor skills when a child is having difficulty learning to feed him/herself. OTs also know that sucking, blowing and crunching are calming activities you can use to help someone settle down or get ready to learn and work.
Want to teach your child how to drink from a straw? Sucking through a straw requires lip closure, lip strength, jaw stability, and cheek mus-
cle work.
Start with a drinking box.
Squeeze the drinking box to move a small amount of liquid to the top of the straw to be swallowed. You many need to demonstrate first!
Other types of sports bottles or reusable plastic drinking containers can also be used. Just ensure that the liquid rises to the top of the straw easily.
An easier way is start by dipping a straw into liquid, place your clean finger over the top to hold some liquid inside the straw and put it in your child’s mouth. Cue “close lips” to close around the straw and take a sip.
Use different types and widths of straws.
Help increase muscle strength and control with thicker drinks like vegetable juice or apple juice mixed with apple sauce, thin yogurt, shakes, smoothies, slushies, jello or whatever you can concoct that tastes good!
Develop Oral Motor Skills to support eatingTWEET NOW C H A P T E R
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The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills 11
More Oral Motor Skills Help Activities
Play wind instruments: whistles, horns, recorders, kazoos, harmonicas, bubbles, party favors.
Have your child be the wind and blow pom-poms, pieces of paper or something light across a table. Make a start and finish line. Take turns. Who has the most wind power?
Have your child play “blowing ping-pong” instead of paddle ping pong.
Have your child blow feathers or a tissue off his/her hand or face and up into the air. How long can you keep it off the ground?
Introduce a variety of textures and tastes to bite, crunch, munch and chew during snacks and mealtimes and just for fun.
Havae your child play vacuum cleaner with a straw: suck through a straw to pick up a piece of paper or foam that is larger than the straw hole for safety) and move it from one spot to another.
IMPORTANT Occupational Therapy Tip
While “sippy” cups are handy and help avoid spills, they don’t necessarily help develop more advanced oral-motor skills.
Most children can start to learn to drink from a regular cup by age 1 and can master regular cup drinking by age 2.
12 The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills
5 Critical Facts about Toilet TrainingThe 2 Most Important Questions to ask yourself about Toilet TrainingThe 12 skills your child needs to start Toilet Training
The FIVE CRITICAL FACTS ever parent and caregiver should know:TWEET NOW
1. Most children in western countries achieve bladder and bowel control between 2 to 4 years.
2. The average from start date to success date is three to six months.3. Bladder control does not always mean bowel control4. Night time urinary continence may only occur years later.5. There is no age at which a child should start.
The TWO MOST IMPORTANT questions are:TWEET NOW
1. Is your child physically, cognitively and emotionally ready?2. Are parents and caregivers ready to be patient for several months?
Toilet Training Success: PART 1TWEET NOW C H A P T E R
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The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills 13
The TWELVE SKILLS your child needs to start SUCCESSFUL toilet trainingTWEET NOW
Your child:
1. Recognizes he/she is wet or soiled;
2. Indicates (words, sounds, body language) he/she is wet or soiled;
3. Indicates (words, sounds, body language) he/she needs to urinate/defecate;
4. Follows simple one-step directions;
5. Sits on the toilet/potty for about 5 minutes;
6. Helps with dressing/undressing;
7. Imitates actions of others;
8. Shows interest in the toilet;
9. Understands what the toilet is for;
10. Understands toileting words like potty, pee, etc;
11. Stays dry for at least 1 ½ hours during the daytime for urinary training;
12. Has regular, soft, formed bowel movements for bowel training.
With these 12 skills you and your child are ready to start SUCCESSFUL Toilet Training
14 The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills
50 Ways to Successful Toilet TrainingTWEET NOW
1. The number one recommendation for toilet training: all toileting activities (pre and post) happen in the bathroom!
2. Move diaper changes to the bathroom before you begin.
3. If stairs are in the house, consider a potty, but move it to the bathroom.
4. Consider moving from a potty to the toilet as soon as possible too.
5. Use a regular toilet with a ring reducer.
6. Try a visual schedule that the child takes with them, or a universal one that is posted in your home bathroom.
7. Use a visual picture to supplement a child’s ability to indicate the need to go to the bathroom if they do not have the verbal skills to appropriately do so.
8. Do not decrease fluid intake to decrease frequent urination.
9. Do not increase fluid intake over that recommended by your physician.
10. Give specific, concise cues e.g. “pants down” rather than “undress”.
11. Dress your child for success with clothes that are easily managed.
12. Avoid clothing that is a barrier to independence e.g. pants with zippers.
13. Change wet/soiled clothing immediately, frequent or lengthy exposure against the skin will decrease sensitivity.
Toilet Training Success: Part 2TWEET NOW C H A P T E R
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The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills 15
14. Ensure that the child can access door, light switch, taps, and soap dispenser. independently by making adaptations like door knob adapters, lowering soap dispensers, etc.
15. Provide alternatives to toilet paper, such as wet towelettes or warm, wet washcloths for a child who is sensitive to rough paper.
16. Use rewards, visual like a check mark or sticker, verbal praise, and/or a favorite toy (include this step in the visual schedule too) to positively reinforce all successful steps in the process.
17. Establish a routine and then be consistent.
18. Provide a box or a stool to rest feet on.
19. Avoid distracting toys, or people.
20. If the child needs to sit for a while on the toilet to relax and go, reading a short story (about toileting too for example) may be appropriate.
21. Avoid distracting talk or play.
22. Praise success and overlook accidents.
23. Phase yourself out of the bathroom.
24. Encourage the child to sit for at least 5 minutes.
25. Use a social story as well if necessary.
26. Use the same visual and verbal cues at home/school/daycare/babysitter.
16 The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills
27. A “One Flush” sign can help both a child who is both fearful of the sound and one who repeat-edly flushes.
28. Use a marked guide on the wall to measure by if the child uses far too much toilet paper.
29. Use ear plugs if the child is bothered by the sound of hand dryer and offer paper towels to dry hands.
30. Increase your child’s awareness of toilet use by reading toilet training stories
31. Allow your child to watch parents use the toilet.
32. Decide what words you are going to use and be direct; not “going to the bathroom” but “go pee” and avoid negative words like “stinky”.
33. Play pretend and sit a toy on the toilet.
34. Make sure constipation isn’t a problem before bowel training.
35. Make the bathroom safe; lock up cleaners and medications.
36. Practice! Allow your child to sit clothed and diapered on the toilet a few times then remove clothing and then diaper.
37. Develop a regular toileting routine: immediately upon awakening, after meals/ snacks, before leaving the house and before bed.
38. Show your child how to wipe properly (front to back).
39. Most children need help wiping until pre-school.
40. Always teach your child to wash hands after toileting.
The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills 17
41. Makes sure toileting is accessible: the potty is always out and leave a ring reducer on and a foot stool by the toilet so your child can be independent.
42. Teach your child to tell you when s/he needs to toilet.
43. Praise success, even if your child tells you after the fact. Learn your child’s cues; “the dance”, “the crouch”, “the hide”.
44. Don’t expect immediate results; do expect accidents.
45. Ensure the cooperation of all caregivers and be consistent across households.
46. After repeated successes, try cotton underwear or training pants.
47. What if toilet learning doesn’t work? Your child may not be ready.
48. If your child categorically refuses, take a break for 1 to 3 months and try again. Always teach missing skills!
49. Celebrate your toilet training success with a special moment.
50. Anyone else heard of the potty cake party?
18 The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills
Do morning and bedtime routines leave you and your child stressed out?
Does your child want to be independent but struggles to dress or undress alone?
1. A large mirror can be helpful; does your child have one in his/her room?
2. It’s also helpful to add a child size chair that allows your child to sit with feet on the floor.
3. When it’s time to dress, minimize distractions and focus attention on dressing
4. Stop getting dressed in front of the TV, that doesn’t set anyone up for success.
5. Does your child have a dress-up trunk? You can sneak is some fun extra dressing and un-dressing skills practice with a variety of clothes to dress up in.
6. Dressing games be they musical or team-based are also fun for the whole family to play and practice.
7. Look for and buy engaging dressing dolls or boards for the play room.
8. Establish a consistent dressing and undressing routine to start. Same time, same place every day.
9. Choose tops with wider openings for head and arms.
10. Choose clothes without fasteners, buttons, zippers and the like when your child is just learn-ing.
11. Shorts, trunks, pajama bottoms are often easier to practice with first than upper body clothing.
12. Have your child hold onto a small object, or cue “hide your thumb” (tuck thumb into palm and wrap fingers over it) before pushing hand through a sleeve to avoid fingers or thumb getting caught.
20 Steps to Mastering Dressing Skills TWEET NOW C H A P T E R
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The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills 19
13. Mark front and back, left and right on the inside of the garment with colored labels or patches.
14. Sew a strip of loop Velcro to the right inside sleeve of a jacket as a cue for the right arm to go in that sleeve. If your child knows right from left that is!
15. Pull loops sewn into the inside of pants can help your child pull them up if needed.
16. Try tube socks (no specific heel), so heels aren’t a bother. Or mark the sock with heel and toe.
17. Or choose socks with a different colored heel to teach toe and heel placement.
18. Reinforce buttons or sew them on with elastic thread.
19. Elastic waistbands are also good choices.
20. Use backward chaining.
You do all the steps, and then teach your child the last step.
Your child experiences the success of completing the task, rather than the frustration of doing the first step, while you complete all the ones that come after it.
Then teach your child the last two steps (while you continue to do the preceding ones).
In no time at all, your child will have mastered all the steps.
This is an oft-used method for teaching shoelace tying.
20 The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills
Occupational therapy treatment often involves teaching children who have motor or visual skill chal-lenges to master tying their shoes. Children who have great motor and visual skills may struggle with shoe lace tying. While we may suggest finding shoes with Velcro fasteners or using elastic laces to foster immediate independence, shoe lace tying success is still a goal.
There is some debate about whether it is easier or harder to teach/learn with the shoe pointing away from you (as it will when it is on your foot) or towards you.
Always be mindful of what works best for your child and consider the following:
1. Use an oversize shoe for practice2. Stuff the shoe with a sock3. Super long laces may not be helpful!4. Color ½ of a white shoe lace; having two colors to follow really does help!5. Shoe lace tying is a two handed activity (your child’s two hands, not one of theirs and one of
yours) Promote a working hand (dominant) and helping hand (non-dominant)
There are two approaches to shoe lace tying: wrap/knot or bunny ears. Use backward chaining for both.
Backward chaining means you teach the last step first and work your way backwards teaching each subsequent step. So you do all the steps needed to tie the laces, except the last one, and your child performs the last step for success!
How to successfully teach school lace tying to your child TWEET NOW C H A P T E R
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The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills 21
Wrap/Double knot steps for backward chaining
Remember: teach the last step first, so #1 on this list is the last step and you teach it first.1. Double Knot: Pull the loops sideways2. Double Knot: Push the top one down then up through the opening3. Double Knot: Criss cross the two loops pinching all four strands4. Grab one loop with left hand, the other with the right hand and pull sideways together5. Push the belly of the wrapped lace through the space next to your thumb6. Keep a space over your thumb7. Wrap: Picks up free lace and wraps it around the front of the loop8. First loop: Pinch the lace together to make a big loop, hold tight9. Pull the tip through until it stops10. Put the tip of one lace under the middle of the other lace11. Make an X, cross the laces12. Shoe on foot or table
Bunny ear steps for backward chaining
Remember: teach the last step first, so #1 on this list is the last step and you teach it first.
1. Pull the loops sideways2. Push the top one down then up through the opening3. Criss cross the two loops (bunny ears) pinching all four strands4. Grab one loop with left hand, the other with the right hand and pull sideways together5. Second loop: Pinch other lace together to make another big loop, hold tight6. First loop: Pinch the lace together to make a big loop, hold tight 7. Pull the tip through until it stops8. Put the tip of one lace under the middle of the other lace9. Make an X, cross the laces10. Shoe on foot or table
This Self Care Skills Certificate is proudly presented to:
Name
Age
For carefully following instructions and learning self care skills!
Signed
Date
The Best Ways to Teach Self-Care Skills 23
About the Author: Christel K.A. Seeberger
As founder and president of TOTAL ABILITY™, Christel leads her team of occupational therapists to provide MOBILE occupa-tional therapy treatment in Saint John (children, adults, seniors), Fredericton (children) and Moncton (children), New Brunswick, Canada.
Christel’s personal mission is to bring occupational therapy to the world and so she launched TOTAL ABILITY Solutions™ to share downloadable occupational therapy eBooks and advice, for any-one who wants do-it-yourself-help.
Christel K. A. Seeberger, BSc.O.T., OT(c), OTR, OTReg(NB) has practiced Occupational Therapy in Québec, Maine, Florida and New Brunswick with clients of all ages in all settings: home, school, work, clinic, hospital, daycare, summer camp, special care home and nursing home.
Christel is registered to practice occupational therapy in New Brunswick and certified to practice in the United States.
Improve Handwri/ng
and Fine Motor SkillsImprove Handwri/ng and
Fine Motor Skills is not just
another ‘learn to write’
book. This ebook starts
with fine motor skill
development. Missing this
step can lead to mul=ple
problems and frustra=on
for a child. The step-‐by-‐
step excercises are fun
and interes=ng for children. Each excercise is focused
on play, so learning and developing fine motor skills is
fun and something your child will look forward to.
When it’s =me to put pencil to paper, you’ll appreciate
knowing the 20 best occupa=onal therapy =ps and
tricks and how to apply them so your child avoids being
frustrated and sees prin=ng and wri=ng as fun
ac=vi=es, rather than something to be dreaded.
The ebook is easy to use, provides prac=cal, problem
solving excercises and explana=ons, as well as prac=ce
work sheets.
Visit www.totalabilitysolu/ons.com/resources for
more informa=on.
Teach CuAng and Scissors Skills
The key to success when
learning pre-‐school skills,
including scissor skills is
to follow a proven step-‐
by-‐step plan. Every child
including those with
learning disabili=es
learn faster when they
are having fun.
Knowing the steps involved in
teaching scissor skills accelerates learning, eliminates
the frustra=on of seeing your child struggle learning
to use scissors and gives you peace of mind knowing
that you’re on track in teaching this important skill
while developing your child’s fine motor skills.
Teach CuAng and Scissors Skills also provides
teaching and safety guidelines, colorful scissor
prac=ce worksheets and best prac=ces strategies to
make learning how to use scissors fun.
There's also a bonus mp3 audio.
Visit www.totalabilitysolu/ons.com/resources for
more informa=on.
Additional Resources
Total Ability Solu=ons was created to meet the demand in the marketplace for educa=onal resources that help show clients how to lead
fuller, more mobile, happier lives.
Our first series of ebooks focus on providing solu=ons, examples and exercises for children who are challenged. These solu=ons and
exercises are field tested and proven. With 20 years of experience as an occupa=onal therapist, I s=ll use the exact same exercises and
recommenda=ons that I share in the ebooks.
Parents, teachers and caregivers will find the informa=on invaluable in helping to understand the challenges faced by some children, and
also, to see that solu=ons do exist.
Each ebook provides dozens of detailed excercises and recommenda=ons to help you and your child overcome a par=cular challenge.
I strongly believe that if you follow the advice and have your child do the exercises, you will see your child improve. And with the
improvement you’ll see an increase in confidence, self-‐esteem and a happier child. You can find out more about each ebook by visi=ng
www.totalabilitysolu/ons.com/resources.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Total Ability Solutions was created by Occupational Therapist Christel Seeberger to help parents, teachers, health pro-fessionals and caregivers and the children they love, teach and take care of to develop and grow.
This series of eBooks provides easy solutions for parents, teachers, health professionals and caregivers to help children with and without disability. The strategies and activities I share in these eBooks are field tested and proven with my 20 years of experience as an occupational therapist; I use them all daily in my practice.
Parents, teachers, health professionals and caregivers will find these eBooks invaluable to help them understand some of the challenges children face as they learn and grow.
Each eBook provides detailed activities and thoughtful, easy strategies to help you as a parent, teacher, health profes-sional or caregiver.
Follow these eBook strategies and activities and see improvement in your child’s abilities.
Find out more www.totalabilitysolutions.com/resources.
All About Motor Skills
If you could look over the
shoulder of an occupa=onal
therapist as they work with
children who have gross
and fine motor challenges,
you would find that many
of the exercises and
recommenda=ons given
are also contained in All
About Motor Skills. In this
ebook, I’ve dis=lled my 20 years of experience as an
occupa=onal therapist to help parents, caregivers and
teachers understand, learn and implement the same
exercises we use every day to help children who are
challenged in their motor ability.
I strongly believe that if you follow the advice in All
About Motor Skills, you’ll see your child’s motor ability
improve. And with the improvement you’ll see an
increase in confidence, self-‐esteem and a happier child.
Visit www.totalabilitysolu/ons.com/resources for
more informa=on.
49 Ways to Say “I Love You”
Here's an opportunity to
break out of that habit of
using the same phrases and
surprise your child(ren)
with encouraging and
suppor=ve words. In 49
Ways to Say "I Love You",
you'll be introduced to
dozens of ways to say
just the right words to
celebrate achievements, highlight success, and provide
praise.
You'll see your child(ren) blossom, as they eagerly
respond to your words of encouragement. Your child
will absorb your comments and reflect back the love
and caring that you demonstrate.
49 Ways to Say "I Love You" is an easy to use, colourful
picture book, with a photo demonstra=ng each of the
49 phrases. The photos provide the context of when to
use each of the 49 Ways to Say "I Love You".
Visit www.totalabilitysolu/ons.com/resources for
more informa=on.
This document is for informational purposes only. It does not replace the advice of a health care professional. © 2013 Christel K.A. Seeberger Professional Corporation Inc. doing business as Total Ability™www.totalabilitysolutions.com
