Sensational Kidz: Protecting Children From Bullying

Pediatric Health The Newsletter About Taking Care Of The Ones That Matter Most

August 2018

“Your Child Should Never Feel Unsafe Due To Bullying!” PROTECTING YOUR CHILD FROM BULLIES

While public awareness regarding bullying has increased in recent years it is still a prevalent problem for many children. There are several effective ways for children to deal with bullies. Fortunately, a lot of the harm a bully inflicts can be prevented. 1. Be Confident This may sound like generic advice that won’t do much to stop a bully, but displaying a strong, confident attitude may be enough to stop some bullying before it even starts. Bullies tend to seek out individuals who appear weak and unsure of themselves. Speaking with confidence and looking people in the eye will show a bully that a child will not be easily intimidated. Children should be raised to be strong, confident, and able to speak up for themselves. (continued inside)

Inside: •Protecting Your Child From Bullying

• Handwriting Without Tears

• Patient Spotlight

Pediatric Health The Newsletter About Taking Care Of The Ones That Matter Most

“Parents Play A Huge Role In Reducing Bullying Amongst Their Children!” August 2018 PROTECTING YOUR CHILD FROM BULLIES

2. Safety in Numbers If children know they may encounter a bully in a particular place it may be a good idea to be surrounded by supportive friends. Whether it’s classmates, friends, neighbors, or adults, kids need to surround themselves with people who they feel comfortable with and can trust. Bullies often gain their power from making their victims feel powerless and isolated. Sticking with others, especially when the bully is around, should be a priority. 3. Ignore a Bully if Possible While it may not always be possible to ignore the actions of a bully, this approach is often the best. Bullies are looking for a reaction. Children should be taught not to get angry, cry, or lash out at the bully since this will only encourage the bully to continue their behavior. Ignoring a bully, however, should only be encouraged the first few times the bullying occurs. If the bullying happens on a regular basis ignoring the behavior probably isn’t going to work. 4. Don’t Bully Back As tempting as it may be, bullying back will only make things worse. For starters, if a child bullies back he or she may be the one to get caught and get punished for bullying even though someone else was initially at fault. Even if in some circumstances a child could intimidate the bully, this is not the way children should be taught to resolve difficult issues.

5. Stay Safe Online Cyberbullying occurs online through emails, text messaging, and social media. Whether a child is in elementary school or high school age, there are a few important things to keep in mind when online. First, kids should never put their private information on the Internet. Children should never respond to the bully and negative information should be saved if possible. Finally, delete bullies from social media and block their cell phone and email address. 6. Tell a Trusted Adult Even if children believe they’re handling a situation with a bully on their own, a trusted adult should still be made aware of the situation. If for some reason the situation should suddenly escalate, adults need to know what’s been happening before something serious takes place.The concept of what “tattling” is and isn’t needs to be well defined. Children need to know that if another person is hurting them or someone else in any way that it is acceptable to tell an adult. Following these steps can go a long way in preventing bullying and dealing with it effectively once it has started. Children need to be told at a young age how to appropriately respond to bullying whether it happens to themselves or those around them.

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HANDWRITINGWITHOUT TEARS

Handwriting is a multifaceted process of coordinating hands, arms, eyes and body posture. While it is undoubtedly important for writing-- in fact, K-5 teachers indicate that 24 to 58 percent of classroom time is spent writing on paper -- it is also a building block for many other skills. Being able to print letters clearly and with ease impacts children’s self-esteem, physical development, literacy skills, memorization and creative writing. As a parent, you may notice that your child struggles with handwriting. To be sure, 10 to 30 percent of elementary children do. Here are some tips for making handwriting more successful, and also ways that a pediatric physical therapist may help. WHAT YOU CAN DO? Help him increase his hand strength and writing endurance by: • Offering him a tennis ball with a slit in it; hide small objects inside the ball so that he must squeeze the tennis ball in order to retrieve the objects; • Asking him to crumple a sheet of newspaper in one hand while his arm is raised; • Suggesting that he use his fingers to “walk” a tennis ball up and down his legs using one hand; • Hiding objects in silly putty or theraputty for him to find. MAKE IT FUN. A lot of children and adolescents simply grow bored by the mechanical act of writing. You can make it more enjoyable by mixing up how and why your child writes. Also, mix up the reasons that he’s writing. Depending on his age, one day he might try circling a certain letter in the newspaper, and the next day he may send a postcard to Grandma. INCREASE STRENGTH. A significant number of children lack the body strength to support lengthy stretches of writing time. It’s important for your child to gain strength, not only in his hand, but also in his shoulder muscles. Some suggested exercises to do this include: • People Push: Two children stand facing one another with their palms touching and one leg in front of the other. On the count of three, they begin pushing each other as hard as possible until one person falls over. If there

is a clear strength imbalance, encourage the stronger person to “go easy” or only use one hand. • Wall Push: With hands at shoulder-height, push against a wall as though it is falling down. Hold the position for 5 to 10 seconds, then run around before repeating the exercise. How a pediatric physical therapist (or occupational therapist) can help A physical therapist’s role in this case is to assess the child’s handwriting and recognize any issues that make handwriting difficult. A pediatric therapist can evaluate a child for sensory, motor, perceptual and postural deficits. The therapist can suggest modified equipment, such as pencil grips, adjusted tables or differently-shaped writing instruments. As technology becomes more pervasive, it may seem that handwriting is growing obsolete. However, this is an erroneous conclusion. People still need the skills to pen information carefully. If you suspect your child’s development is lagging, it may be time to consult a pediatric therapist or other professional for intervention. Sources: http://www.aota.org/about-occupational-therapy/patients-clients/childrenandyouth/ schools/handwriting.aspx http://occupationaltherapyforchildrenover-blog.com/article-handwriting-67838149.html

Patient Spotlight

“I have seen him improve a lot!” “My son has autism and he has been seeing an OT and speech therapist here in Sensational Kidz for around 6 months and I am very pleased. He has been learning and blooming a lot. The therapists are great, very affectionate, patient, knowledgeable, and caring. I look forward to keep seeinghim thrive. Iappreciatehowaccommodating theyarewithschedules and helpful when there is a change. I wish they had more hours during the week for working parents, but I know they are trying to offer the most they can. I have seen him improve a lot. I am very happy with that.” - Ms.Toledo

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TheraSuit Method® was created by Izabela and Richard Koscielny (Physical Therapists and parents of a daughter with Cerebral Palsy). It is a very holistic approach for those afflicted with neurological disorders like Cerebral Palsy, Developmental Delays, and Traumatic Brain Injuries. It combines the best elements of various techniques and methods, and has a sound rationale based on physiology of exercises. Thekeyelement isastrengtheningprogramestablished for theparticipant based on his/her individual needs, strengths and weaknesses. Increased strength reflects in daily functional activities that usually follow or are combined with the strengthening exercises.

TheraSuitMethod® isbasedonan intensiveandspecificexerciseprogram. Elimination of pathological reflexes and establishing new, correct, and functional patterns of movements is of significant importance. TheraSuit Method® utilizes various tools and exercises. One of them is the soft dynamic proprioceptive orthosis called TheraSuit®. TheraSuit® aligns the body as close to normal as possible. Reestablishing the correct postural alignment plays a crucial role in normalizing muscle tone, sensory and vestibular function.

Universal Exercise Unit is used to train one the abilities to isolate the desired movements and strengthen the muscle groups responsible for that movement. Universal Exercise Unit allows to gain range of motion, muscle and joint flexibility, as well as functional skills. Do you know a child who needs therapy? Pass this on to a friend! Does Your Child Need Help with New Patients! Schedule a FREE Screening for Speech, Occupational & Physical Therapy Today!

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