- Strategies to Teach Cutting Skills for Students with Special Needs
- Hippotherapy: Teaching Strategies for Students with Autism
- Helping Children Develop a Tripod Pencil Grasp
- Information About Infant Hypotonia
- Adaptive Seating for Students with Special Needs
- Sensory Processing Disorders: Part III: Promote Visual-Perceptual Skills
- Vertical Plane Activities Help Students with Developmental and Learning Disabilities Improve Fine-Motor Skills
- Adam: A Movie about Asperger’s Syndrome
- Hippotherapy Helps Children with Autism Develop Fine-Motor Skills
- Strabismus Vision Therapy
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About Me
I am an occupational therapist with interests in autism, sensory integration and hippotherapy (using horses). I also work with adults who have low vision needs. I am currently employed at a farm where we use horses as treatment tools to develop skills such as balance, strength and eye-hand coordination. I enjoy adding to my website and blogs and have recently made some YouTube videos. I love to spread the word about how hippotherapy helps children with special needs and I love creating new and fun activities for the children.
My Awards & Certifications
I am certified in Sensory Integration and Hippotherapy and author of The Recycling Occupational Therapist (Pro-Ed.Inc). This guide teaches how to make therapeutic activities for individuals with developmental disabilities. I use mainly common household recycling objects such as laundry bottles and cardboard boxes. I decided to write this book when working with developmentally disabled adults in a state school and realized that it was difficult to find successful activities. I ended up designing my own activities and compiled them into this book. My new book published 8/11 is titled From Rattles to Writing: A Parent's Guide to Hand Skills, written for an audience of parents with typically developing children but of great benefit to all parents because there are many teaching strategies and adaptations that make learning easier.
My Experience
I have been an occupational therapist for over 30 years and have worked in many different settings including: public schools, sheltered workshops, day programs, school collaboratives, farms, home care and state institutions. I have never worked in long term care, but I spent a great deal of time in an assisted living facility and nursing home when my mother developed Alzheimer's disease. I wrote about this experience and the many occupational therapy adaptations I designed for her in my book titled: Still Giving Kisses: A Guide to Helping and Enjoying the Alzheimer's Victim You Love. The title reflects one of the remaining functional skills she retained while in the late stages of the disease.
More information is provided on my web site at: http://www.BarbaraSmithOccupationalTherapist.com
My Latest Articles
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Help a Student With Autism Improve Drawing Skills
It’s a paradox — children with autism may have incredible abilities to draw accurate scenes from memory. However, drawing skills with autistic preschoolers may be impacted by decreased attention, motivation, tactile defensiveness, pencil control...Published on June 15, 2011 to Special Education
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Public Speaking Used as an Educational Tool
Learning to communicate with confidence is a challenge for many students. But for students with a communication disabilities such as Asperger's Syndrome- learning to organize and present effectively is an important life skill that will open doors...Published on June 7, 2011 to Special Education
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Summer Activity Ideas for Occupational Therapists to Use
The coming of warm weather brings opportunities for outdoor gross motor activities, use of messy tactile media such as sand or paint and summer arts and crafts themes. The following occupational therapy summer activity ideas will help develop strength...Published on May 24, 2011 to Special Education
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