Heads Up Therapy

To Heads Up Families and Friends We hope you are all staying safe and healthy. We wanted to let you all know that we will remain open during the temporary public school closure. We will continue to follow all CDC and Department of Health regulations. As a reminder:... *temperature checks are conducted prior to every session *hands are sanitized or cleaned at pickup in the lobby and then again when they enter the gym *children who receive therapy at Heads Up are in a private treatment room with only their therapists Parents, please get in touch with your therapists if any of the following apply to you: *your child has been exposed to someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 *if you travel outside of NY State, you must let your therapist know *if your child has any cold or flu-like symptoms, please do not send your child to their session. *we can always be flexible and provide remote sessions in the case that your child can not attend for some reason. As always, our priority is keeping the Heads Up families safe during this crazy time while providing your children with the best therapy that we can. We appreciate everyone's patience with us as we navigate this situation. Thank you for your continued support and trust in all of us. Kristin, Patty, Danielle and Meghan Corridan

It's starting to feel a bit more like winter is actually making her way to New York these last couple of days. With the cold weather and the looming possibility... of schools temporarily going remote, we are hearing from parents that they are worried about their kids being stuck in front of a screen for hours on end. While we are all nervous about what lies ahead, we all know so much more as parents, therapists and teachers about what our kids need in order to be successful and one thing we at Heads Up can't stress enough is to make sure your kids get lots and lots of opportunities to move their bodies during distance learning. We LOVE this infographic from the American Heart Association with 25 simple and quick movement activities that don't require a ton of space or equipment. This is definitely worth printing out for your child's work space and when you notice some fidgeting or zoning out, have them pick a couple of these to do to get them re-focused. See more

As the holidays are quickly approaching, we are also facing cold weather and more Covid restrictions possibly being put in place. Our occupational therapist, Meghan Corridan, Pediatric Occupational Therapist has completed her first (of many) holiday gift guides and this one focuses on a variety of games for toddlers, tweens and the whole family! Due to the amount of time kids are spending in front of a computer or some device, she put a lot of effort to include a handful of games that encourage movement. One of our favorite games here at Heads Up is Pancake Pileup. What are some of your families favorite games?

Fitness Friday Tip: Building up your child's physical endurance is one of the main goals of Kristin and Patty during their physical therapy sessions. There are ...so many ways that parents can carryover that work through natural play and transitions. As your kids get older, encourage them to scoot or ride their bikes instead of riding in a stroller. For city parents, tell your kids how many blocks they are going to have to ride/scoot so they are prepared and now what to expect. If they start to complain or want to be carried, encourage them to go another block or two....that is how they will build their endurance. These activities are also great for developing core strength which is required for so many other physical activities. Best of all, their confidence will soar as they notice that they are able to move for longer and keep up with their peers. Not sure what scooter or bike is right for your child? Reach out to any of us at Heads Up and we would be happy to share our favorites. #pediatricphysicaltherapy #physicaltherapy #keepkidsmoving #corestrength #endurance #movement #raisinghealthykids #happykids #confidence #selfesteem

People often ask us why a child would need occupational therapy because when they think about this kind of therapy, they think about adults and rehab. Children are often referred to us for OT when teachers notice they are having a hard time with school based activities like coloring, drawing, handwriting and are observed to have difficulty with focus and attention, especially to complete activities throughout the day. Pediatric occupational therapy helps children develop or ...improve the following skills: *fine motor and grasping skills *visual motor and visual perceptual skills such as cutting, coloring and putting together puzzles *self-care skills such as taking shoes and socks on and off and feeding themselves using appropriate utensils *sensory processing skills such as improving focus, attention, organization, frustration tolerance and task completion *increase hand and overall body strength In addition to intervention, there are many ways to encourage fine motor development in children at home through play and regular routines. This infographic from WY Quality Counts gives you some simple activities that can be done throughout the day at home. Do you have any questions for our occupational therapists, Meghan Corridan, Pediatric Occupational Therapist or Danielle Daria? Leave your questions in the comments and we will get back to you.

Happy First Day of School kiddos! Let's everyone keep our Heads Up and start this new and crazy school year off with smiles and positive thoughts. We can't wait to see everyone, hear about your summers (and springs) and first day of school. xoxo... Kristin, Patty, Danielle and Meghan See more

So many things going on in the next couple of weeks and while we are thrilled to be able to start safely seeing some children in-person, we will continue with remote sessions for many of our kids. As therapists, we know way more than we did in March and are committed to giving our children the best treatment possible. This does require some work on the parents and caregivers for some of our children. Last we shared this infographic one of our occupational therapists created to distribute to our families. Be sure to take a look at her most recent blog post that goes into greater detail about how successful online sessions are possible if you follow these 8 suggestions.

No matter what your school situation is going to be, please, please, please make sure your kids are getting movement throughout the day. Not only is it good for your body, it's good for your brain and helps with learning. Here are 25 simple activities that don't require any equipment that can be done at home or in a classroom setting.

The safety and well-being of all of our families at Heads Up is our number one priority during these crazy times. We have taken every precaution to set up 4 separate treatment areas, have minimal toys and equipment out, sanitize all equipment and toys used during sessions, have air filters running all day in each treatment area and are practicing social distancing not only in our office, but in the hallways. Check out these pictures of Heads Up Therapy.

As this new and unconventional school year begins, please know that all the therapists at Heads Up are committed to providing a fun and safe therapeutic experience to every child. We are thrilled to be able to be up and running again with safety precautions in place. We provide both in-person physical and occupational therapy services, Monday through Thursday. Heads Up accepts CPSE and private cases. Each therapist and child will have their own treatment space. We will conti...nue to provide remote sessions for those who prefer. Call or email us at [email protected] for more information. Kristin, Patty, Danielle and Meghan

We are open!! Social distancing is in effect as each child is with his own therapist in a private,enclosed area. Masks,gloves and thermometers are in use. Thank you to all of our families for your support during these times. We are so happy to see you all again! Contact us as [email protected].

We all know that the start of this new school year is far from ordinary but unlike when remote learning/therapy began in March, we all have a lot more knowledge about what works and what doesn't. We at Heads Up are fortunate enough to be able to do a mix of in-person while and remote therapy this fall. While there are still so many unknowns as we start the new school year, we do know that there are strategies that can be put in place for successful zoom sessions. Thanks to our occupational therapist Meghan Corridan, Pediatric Occupational Therapist's wildly talented husband and daughter, we have created a guideline for successful remote therapy sessions.

Who really knows what this upcoming school year will be like but one of the things I think is going to be so difficult for our kids is practicing social distancing in a classroom setting. It's in their nature to want to be with their friends and be close to them. We are in love with this poster that we found on Facebook this week about different ways children can greet their friends when they finally get back into the classroom. We just may start practicing these with our little ones to help prepare them for what’s to come #socialdistancing #socialemotionallearning #wearmasks #preschool #schoolage

We are so happy to be open for OT and PT sessions part time. We are currently seeing one child at a time, with only one therapist in the gym per day. Masks and gloves are worn by therapists and contactless temperatures are taken at the door. Teletherapy sessions for OT and PT are also moving along nicely. Thank you to all of our families for your amazing support. Please continue to stay safe.

Remote therapy has been both draining and incredibly rewarding experience for all of us here at Heads Up. We couldn't be more grateful to be lucky enough to still be able to connect with our kids and support their families during this crazy time. We have all commented on how we have never had to be so organized with plans and backup plans and backup plans for backup plans during these remote sessions to make sure they go smoothly. We will never take for granted how lucky we h...ave been to have such a huge amount of equipment and resources right at our fingertips every again! One of the best things to do is to start each session with some kind of movement activity in order to get our kids excited, engaged and organized for whatever tabletop, fine motor or gross motor work we have to get through. Simon Says has been a great activity and we like to take turns with the kids being Simon. During this crazy time, letting them feel like they have some kind of control over a situation is very helpful. Simon Says is also a great activity for parents to do at home as a brain break during their remote school day. Here is a great poster with some really fun Simon Says ideas if you find that your kids have a hard time coming up with their own ideas. #remotetherapy #remotelearning #occupationaltherapy #pediatricoccupationaltherapy #physicaltherapy #pediatricphysicaltherapy #grossmotor #motorplanning #organizationalskills #executivefunctioning #simonsays #socialskills #makelearningfun #occupationaltherapy #sequencing #directions

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all of our amazing mothers! We miss you! Have a wonderful day!!!