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One of the things that I love about the Food Chaining philosophy is the concept of a rating scale for picky eaters to use when exploring new foods. It empowers them and gives them a say in what goes into their mouth and, eventually, onto their accepted food list. What I have found with these ratings scales, however, is that it can be hard for many of my picky eaters to conceptualize. I find myself cutting down the ratings for many of them and drawing {I always have crayons with me} a stoplight to give them a more real world example of how to use it. What do I mean? Most children KNOW what red means on a stop light. STOP! Most children KNOW what yellow means on a stop light. Go Slow, caution. Most children KNOW what green means on a stop light. GO! How does this translate to food? Like this... 
I'll present this, or something very similar, to my kiddos and explain how we will use it as we try tastes of new foods.
The kids really enjoy this rating scale and we often will make a corresponding list of red, yellow and green light foods {depending upon the developmental ability and age of the child}. How about you? Have you found a way for your picky eating kids to rate their foods in a unique and meaningful way? I'd love for you to share it with me. As always, thank you for reading and until next time...keep helping your kiddos BLOOM! Jen
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Can you believe these pictures were done by the same child only TEN MINUTES apart? I'm not kidding! By implementing an easy coloring play sequence the child was able to produce a more appropriate coloring response. This technique is especially helpful for those on the Autism spectrum and/or those with Executive Functioning Delays.
Before I jump in to giving you the details on how to get the same results, I want to explain WHY some children have difficulties with coloring. Most often, children have difficulties for the following reasons;
A coloring play sequence gives them the boundaries, cues and plan that they need to accomplish the task. It also begins to lay the foundation for FUTURE coloring tasks by forming new neural pathways with regard to coloring. Now, how to implement right? Perhaps the most important thing before getting started is picture selection. Make sure that your picture isn't "busy." Choose a picture that has large and fewer coloring items.
As the child gets better with completing a page independently, you can begin to fade the cues by outling one or two less parts of the picture and see how they do. If they begin to scribble then it's too early and you need to put the outline back in place. As the child gets better at the coloring play sequence, continue to fade the cues and perhaps place more colors out for them to see if they will stick with the "plan" of selecting the outline colors. Over time, the child WILL be able to color a complete picture without outlining first. The key? Patience and not taking away those supports too soon. Remember...supports and cues are like glasses. We use the tool to help us see. When we can see, we surely wouldn't take those glasses away, right? As always thanks for reading and until next time keep helping your kiddos BLOOM! Jen  One of the things I absolutely adore about Facebook is that wonderful collaborations can occur in the span of minutes. On Friday, I happened to post a status about making home made pizza dough and pizzas for my teen who was having friends over {17 year olds eat A LOT you know!}. One of my childhood friends posted a comment about how she does Pizza Bar at her house {especially when her 4 kids have friends over}. I absolutely LOVED this idea so I shot her a quick FB message and asked if she had any photos that she would be comfortable sharing.
Not only did she have photos but, she also shared a wonderfully written post about her experiences cooking with her children. Without further adou, I give you Kristina's great idea for cooking with kids that is perfect for finicky AND adventurous eaters~just make the tweaks necessary for your finicky ones; no pressure, keep it FUN and allow them to make their own creations in their own time. Click here for the link. By the way...Kristina is a VERY talented photographer which you will quickly realize when you see the absolutely GORGEOUS photos she has shared of her family and their Pizza Bar nights. As always, thank you for reading. Until next time, keep helping your kiddos BLOOM! Jen  The above picture(s) represent a simple play sequence for children who have difficulty playing independently or using toys in flexible and novel ways. As discussed last night on my BlogTalkRadio Show, play sequences, at their most basic, teach a child how to play with something or someone.
Why are they important? Because core skills like: the ability to imitate a variety of skills and engage in a sequence of play lays the foundation for the development of ALL other social and communication skills. This is especially important for children on the Autism Spectrum, those with cognitive delays, sensory processing difficulties and definitely those with executive functioning delays. We must be teaching children, through play, how to navigate future learning opportunities. Play sequences are very easy to implement. In their most basic sense, you will want to follow these steps when making a sequence of your own:
Play sequences are not only for children with known difficulties. Ocasionally, a typically developing child has difficulty grasping the concept of playing with certain toys/materials. When this occurs, implement a play sequence and see them thrive! Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing other play sequences with you {interspersed with my regular blog posts} so please check back often or better yet subscribe to my blog OR our newsletter {right hand side of the page}. As always, thanks for reading. Until next time...keeping helping your kiddos BLOOM! Jen  {Creative Commons} Isn't this an awesome graphic? I love how this depicts all of the different areas of the brain as gears and needing to work together for the greater good. If one gear doesn't turn, the rest are stuck or don't work as efficiently. This can be a great way to think about what happens with Executive Functioning Disorder; things just don't flow. Sometimes, they may not even get started. Other times, they may start but then stop going.
What do we do when this happens for our children? How do we help our elementary schooler remember their books or get along with friends? Our middle schooler remember to turn in their homework or complete reports? Our high schooler plan for long term projects? Our high school senior get their college applications in on time? Our college freshman get to class on time and keep up with the work load? COACHING. In particular Executive Functioning Skills Coaching. What does EFS Coaching do for a student that has Executive Functioning Disorder and why is it different than other methods?
Many times, we don't explain the tools we give to individuals to help them. We TELL them what they are supposed to do, they do it {hopefully} and then the cycle repeats itself: over and over and over and over. There isn't any self motivation, self awareness or self regulation. It's a band aid~a temporary fix. Coaching teaches individuals how to help themselves in the present AND the future. I'm happy to announce....oh who am I kidding....I'M ABSOLUTELY, JUMP ON MY CHAIR, EXCITED to announce that we now offer Executive Functioning Coaching {both online and in person} at Therapy and Learning Services, Inc. Be sure you are on our mailing list as I will be announcing a discount for our EFS Coaching package, later this week, ONLY to our newsletter subscribers. You can find the link to sign up on the right hand side of this page. As always, thanks for reading. Until next time...Keeping helping your kiddos BLOOM! Jen  This pains me to write this...literally and figuratively. I hadn't planned this particular post but had an epiphany while eating my usual Fage yogurt this morning.
Isn't this a fantastic bowl? I LOVE vintage dishes. Actually, I love vintage everything. On one of my jaunts through Goodwill this week, I found this awesome little bowl in Tiffany Blue. Perfect. What a great way to liven up my morning routine of yogurt. The color and size are just my taste. Only... I can not eat things from this bowl as it puts me over my sensory threshold edge. Even though this bowl is glazed, it is still stone and everything was fine until I got to the bottom of my yogurt and my spoon began to scrape the bottom. IT. WAS. TERRIBLE. The only way I can explain it, is fingernails on a chalkboard. I felt it. EVERYWHERE. My fingers, my arm, my ears...MAKE.IT.STOP! People wonder why I "get" kids with sensory based feeding disorders. Well, this is why. I have them myself. Even though I don't have picky eating or an extreme sensitivity to texture, taste or smell {although my husband would vehemently disagree} I DO have sensitivities which makes me a good therapist and for that I am thankful. I become their voice. I can look at the issue from 360 degrees. I can not imagine how I would feel about eating if someone sat and FORCED me to keep eating from this bowl. I probably would get agitated, cry, do something to get out of it {gag, vomit, tantrum}. So, think about this next time your child is finicky. It may be something like the sound of the utensil on the dish. Try to figure out the issue. Try not to assume that they are just being "difficult." Think about something that bothers you. A food you just can't tolerate. A sound that puts you over the edge. Then, think about if someone forced you or bribed you to keep experiencing that difficult thing over and over and over and over...how would you feel? What would you do? Sigh. I need to find a silicone covered spoon so I can continue to eat from this bowl. :) As always, thanks for reading. Until next time...Keep helping your kiddos BLOOM. {Cue cheesy game show music} {Enter stereotypical game show host voice} {Cue audience} "WHEEL....OF....SAUCES..."  Look at how much FUN my finicky friend is having with the sauce. This little guy is a lover of dipping and sauce...in particular ketchup and McDonald's BBQ sauce. One of our goals is to "chain" {a la Food Chaining program} to new flavors that are similar to currently accepted flavors. Another is to lessen the anxiety {neophobia} around new foods and yet a third is for the FAMILY to relax at mealtimes, have some fun with food and take the pressure off. I suggested that mom get some little cups and fill them with several sauces that are accepted {honey, French dressing, McDonalds BBQ sauce and ketchup} as well as several sauces that are similar to the accepted ones and throw in a few that might be a stretch but have a "flavor" that might serve as a bridge to a new flavor {honey mustard~bridging/chaining from his love of honey}. Put them all on their Lazy Susan {my friend LOVES to spin that thing when we sit at the table so it's a perfect fit} and play Wheel Of Sauces. The rules are easy. *EVERYONE takes a turn *On your turn, spin the wheel *When it stops, you can choose to taste the sauce in front of you, take a taste of one of your favorites OR pass. *Take your taste how you wish. On food, a spoon, the handle of the spoon, a finger or a chewy toy or oral motor tool. *When you taste, even if it's a favorite, you must give ONE {or more} describing words about your sauce. {SPECIAL NOTE: for some children the turn may consist of being near the sauce while others play and spinning the wheel and experiencing the smell of the sauce and not taking a "real" turn at all. Work with your therapist or decide which is most appropriate for your child.} That's it! Easy Peasy. I'm happy to report that my friend had a blast and tried two new sauces, one time. The main thing is that he had fun with his family around food, stayed focused on the activity that was food related {he likes to retreat and move during mealtimes} and tried something new. There are many ways you could adapt this to encourage fun around food and experiencing new foods~what can you think of? Please share by leaving a comment. As always, thanks for reading. Until next time...keep helping your children BLOOM! Jen  Photo from Creative Commons Setting goals with school aged children can be a very rewarding process. There are some key points to remember in order to do so successfully. First off, the following suggestions are most appropriate for children who are 3rd grade and above {see my previous post about setting goals in the preschool/young child aged group}. It's also best to have a whole family mentality or partner mentality. This helps the child feel like they are part of a team and that they aren't going it alone-an accountability partner if you will. Let's say that your child decides that they want to become a better reader in 2013 . Then, everyone else who is participating would come up with a reading related goal. So it may look like this... Child: I want to become a better reader. Mom: I will read one book per month that is NOT work related. Dad: I will read a book to learn a new skill this year.  Photo from Creative Commons Another fun way to do resolution setting for families is to have categories like New, Improve and Continue. This keeps the goal setting within logical boundaries while also allowing for reflection of good things from the past year that should/want to be continued {this keeps us focused on the positive changes we have already made}. Here is a simple example of how you can set it up for a 4 person family. There you have it! Have fun setting those family resolutions in 2013. I would love to hear what you come up with. Please post a comment and let me know if you do something similar or another idea you have.
As always, thank you for reading. Until next time...keep helping your kiddos BLOOM. Jen Happy New Year! Do you set goals for the new year? I do and I have always helped my kids set them as well. Nothing too lofty and not too many goals but a nice list of a goal or two to strive for. My goal, over the next three posts, is to help give you ideas on getting your kids in the goal setting habit but in a way that they meet with success NOT that makes them feel like failures. First up...goals for preschoolers. YES! You can start that early and you SHOULD. I'm finding an awful lot of kids these days who have zero responsibilities. Not only is this good for encouraging a work ethic and responsibility but it's also great for strengthening executive function skills! The best thing for the preschool aged set is to look at self help skills: picking up toys, brushing hair, brushing teeth, clearing meal dishes etc...You can set it up as a visual schedule and use some handy dandy templates from one of my favorite websites for FREE materials http://www.do2learn.com/. Take a look at this nice template for a weekly schedule that the child can place a sticker on or check mark when their task is completed. Instant gratification which means that the behavior is likely to repeat. Yay! That is what we all want, right? 
Here is an example that shows the pictures you can place within the above template OR just use as is. Whether you place these pictures in the above template or use the pictures "as is" I would recommend laminating and hanging it in a place that is easily seen and accessible to your child. 
There you have it! It's that easy. Make sure, when you sit down with your preschooler, that you give them some input. YOU go first and give an example "Mommy is going to make sure that she picks up her ________ every day." Then, perhaps, give them a choice to get them started. Show them some of the pictures and see what "job" they would like for their goal.
As always, thanks for reading. Until next time...keep helping your kiddos BLOOM! Jen |
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