Homes for Ukraine – How Else to Help
Many families around Europe are supporting by offering their homes for Ukrainian refugees. Many are wondering – what else/ what other support is needed? We have done some brief research and list it below. This is not an exhaustive list, and please refer to your local authority/country/ government regarding specific support in your country, and…
Read MoreCommunication Boards for Ukrainian Refugees
We have created a one page communication boards (general and medical needs) to help refugees communicate their basic needs. This was designed with people with additional needs in mind, who may not have access to their communication board or systems, however can support communication for anyone. If further are needed, please let us know and…
Read MoreGuest Post: How Corona Lockdown is Effecting Me – An OT Student with #NotSoTerriblePalsy
This week we are all still in #lockdown due to #covid19. Tim and I are busy working for the NHS #stayathomesavelives #protecttheNHS mostly from home. We are fortunate enough to welcome Georgia – an OT student completing a virtual placement with Mararget Spencer from OT360. Georgia is talking to us about what she is doing…
Read MorePsychology for My Child
TOPIC: Psychology for my child. WHY: Psychology is a broad topic, and there are different psychologists who work in different areas. When working with children, psychologists usually are involved in the following ways: Supporting young people with mental health concerns Assisting young people to develop strategies to manage challenging behaviour Assessing children for behaviour, mental…
Read MoreLook Hear Ipad & Tablet Management Ideas
Read about some of our top tips on manage iPads and tablets with children. With the recent update to the WHO guidelines we thought that it is a perfect time to reflect on their usage.
Read MoreHow to set up an Occupational Therapy Private Practice – Step 3
This is a follow on blog from our ‘Step 1‘ blog which we recommend reading first. It also links to the ‘Step 2‘ blog which (you guessed it, is best to read before step 3). This is specific to the United Kingdom, however most principles can be applied to other countries with similar registrations/processes for…
Read MoreHow to set up an Occupational Therapy Private Practice – Step 2
This is a follow on blog from our ‘Step 1‘ blog which we recommend reading first. It also links to the ‘Step 3‘ blog. This is specific to the United Kingdom, however most principles can be applied to other countries with similar registrations/processes for Occupational Therapists. TOPIC: You are thinking of taking on a few…
Read MoreHow to set up an Occupational Therapy Private Practice – Step 1
This is the first blog in a three part series outlining how to set up a private practice. Take a look at Step 2 and Step 3! Please note – this is specific to the United Kingdom, however most principles can be applied to other countries with similar registrations/processes for Occupational Therapists. TOPIC: Are thinking…
Read MoreGuest Post! What I wish I knew as a new grad Occupational Therapist!
TOPIC: What I wish I knew…. If you have stumbled across this blog post, you are probably a newly graduated occupational therapist! Congratulations on completing your degree! So …what now? If you are anything like I was, when you graduate, you are SO VERY READY to enter the workforce after many years of juggling studying and…
Read MoreGuest Post – Top 10 Tips for Adult Siblings of those with Additional Needs
TOPIC: Top 10 Tips For Special Needs Siblings (from a sibling!) WHAT: When we are children, there can be a variety of emotions regarding our siblings. Maybe you were jealous because they got to do all the fun stuff such as horseback riding and playing in a really cool looking gym? Maybe there were times…
Read MoreWhat is a Whole Class Approach?
TOPIC: What is a Whole Class Approach? Why do therapists talk about it so much? WHAT: Being a teacher in this day and age is hard! There are so many expectations and deadlines and benchmarks to meet, all while trying to nurture and teach the next generation. A big part of therapy is ’embedding the…
Read MoreParents Day 2019 – Top 5 Apps for new Mums and Dads!!
Guest Post This month we have a guest post! Farrah is a writer, millennial, and single mother of two – one living daughter, and one son not. She had both children while attending university, and is now studying a Masters degree. She frankly details life, pregnancy and parenting after the loss of a child, on…
Read MoreWhy do Therapists give me home programs?
TOPIC: Why are therapists family focused? Do we have to be involved? Are home programs that important? WHAT: Therapists talk about being “family centered” or “family focused” all the time. What does it mean? Why are therapists family focused? And why do I as a parent, keep getting homework from my therapist? I thought going…
Read MoreINSAR 2019 – Conference Day 3
Hi everyone, Tim here. I’ve been in Montreal last week at the International Society of Autism Researchers (INSAR) annual conference. This conference brings autism researchers from around the world together to discuss and share the leading research into the autism spectrum. Highlights from Day 3: Transitioning into adulthood Are healthcare providers ready to transition ASD…
Read MoreINSAR Conference 2019 – Day 2
Hi everyone, Tim here. I’ve been in Montreal last week at the International Society of Autism Researchers (INSAR) annual conference. This conference brings autism researchers from around the world together to discuss and share the leading research into the autism spectrum. Highlights from Day 2: Multimodal Measurement of Sensory Processing Measuring sensory reactivity reliably: Teresa…
Read MoreINSAR Conference 2019 – Day 1
Tim shares his reflections and information on the most up to date Autism research fresh from the INSAR Conference 2019!!
Read MoreGuest Post! Over Coming Adversity – The Complex World of Autism and PANS
E’s Journey: The Complex World of Autism and PANS E was diagnosed with autism at 2.5 years. E developed a complex Motor Movement Disorder and Tourette like symptons at 5 years. Intellectual disability followed. My Journey: When at high school many years ago, I always remember an English Assessment being “Overcoming Adversity”. At the time…
Read MoreSleep Week 2019! How to promote healthy sleep in my child?
Why is Sleep important? Sleep is just as important as food, shelter and safety. It allows the brain to recharge and the body to regenerate. Healthy sleep allows people to function at optimal alertness. Healthy sleep requires: Sufficient amount (time) Uninterrupted (quality) Natural sleep cycle (circadian rhythm) Age-appropriate naps Children need sleep to be able…
Read MoreChild Mental Health Week 2019: Using Sensory Processing to look after my Mental Health
Topic: How can I use my senses and sensory processing to look after my mental health? Why: According to Sutton and Nicholson (2011), sensory-based treatment has been identified as an effective treatment approach for clients who are distressed, anxious, agitated, or potentially aggressive and as an alternative for more coercive actions; they also determined that…
Read MoreLiena – Hope for Boro Village
Whilst in Botswana, we met a young girl named Leina. Leina is 3 years old who lives in a small village in the Okavango Delta with her parents, grandparents and siblings. She was initially introduced to us as “the disabled child of the village” as she was unable to walk due to what appeared to…
Read MoreHow we choose the websites we feature….
Today we explain in more detail how and why we chose the websites we have listed in our resource library. Topic How we choose the websites we feature…. Why: It is important for us to be transparent about how we are choosing our websites – it’s also important for our community to know how we…
Read MoreOur How and Why – The Reasons Behind an Online Library
Topic: The reasons behind an online library – Why Look Hear Australia? Today we interview Tara, the founder of LHA, about how and why she started the business with her husband Tim. Why did you start LHA? I wanted it to be a long-term resource that I could use for my therapy; to make it easy.…
Read MoreParents: What is the difference between a melt down and a tantrum?
What is the difference between a meltdown and a tantrum? This is a tricky question! Every child has tantrums – it is actually an important part of typical development. Children with disabilities can sometimes have meltdowns; a full “computer shut down and restart”. This can happen for many reasons that can be sensory-, communication- or…
Read MoreWhy we are an Amazon Affiliate….
Topic Everyone loves Amazon! And we do too! Honestly, I use it weekly – if its for research, buying bits for the family or adding birthday ideas to wish lists. Its a part of daily life and was SO HELPFUL during Covid lockdowns! Why is LHA an Amazon Affiliate? We are Amazon Affiliate Marketers, meaning…
Read MoreFive of the Most Common Questions Clinical Psychologists get asked!
TOPIC: What are some of the most common questions Clinical Psychologists get asked? Q: How long will treatment take? A: Treatment depends on the age of the child, their presentation and type of therapy they are engaging in. Typically therapy would start with 6 sessions, after which there would be a review of the childs’…
Read MoreApp Review: Why we love Theratrak!
TOPIC: Why we love Theratrak! We have been lucky enough to know Laura Simmons from Theratrak since the beta stages of the app. She has worked incredibly hard to develop an app focused on easy, user friendly home programs for parents and professionals; and I must say, she has done a stella job. Laura is…
Read MoreGUEST POST: What is Occupational Therapy?
TOPIC: “So…what is Occupational Therapy?” WHAT: Don’t worry if you find yourself asking this question when you first meet an Occupational Therapist (or even several times afterwards!). Believe me – we understand! Our job title can be hard to understand from our name alone. Let us provide some clarity… Occupational Therapy is an allied healthcare…
Read MoreBook Review: Retro Toddler – Anne Zachry: Everything Retro Is Cool Again!!
We reviewed Retro Toddler for Anne! See what we thought about it below!! Book: Zachry, A. H. (2018). Retro Toddler: More Than 100 Old-School Activities to Boost Development. First Impressions: One thing I enjoyed about this book was that it was clear and easy to read. The layout really lends itself to this; it does not feel…
Read MoreBullying – What is the evidence?
BULLYING – WHAT DOES THE EVIDENCE SAY? Bullying can be defined as a subcategory of interpersonal aggression characterized by intentionality, repetition, and an imbalance of power, often with the element of abuse of power being a primary distinction between bullying and other forms of aggression (Smith & Morita, 1999; Vaillancourt, Hymel, & McDougall, 2003). Bullying…
Read MoreGuest Post – Working in Rural and Remote Queensland
This month, in honour of the SARRAH Conference 2018 which is focused this year on ‘Changing Landscapes, Changing Lives’, we have a Question and Answer Interview with Myles Chadwick, Psychologist, working in rural and remote Queensland. Hi Myles, can you tell us a bit about yourself? (E.g. where you work, how long you have lived there…
Read MoreGuest Post! How to make a schedule for a child with Autism
Today we have a guest post from Meg Proctor, an occupational therapist and autism specialist; focusing on schedule creation. Check her out www.learnplaythrive.com and sign up for her mailing list, or follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/MegProctorOT for more help with schedules and other daily routines. Schedules: If you’ve ever tried to make a schedule for…
Read MoreGuest Post! Adapting Social Thinking – ISAAC Conference 2018
Kim will be presenting at the ISAAC Conference on the Gold Coast later this year. “I was so excited to be offered the chance to speak at the next ISAAC Conference on the Gold Coast. The conference is for people who use and/or work with alternative and augmentative communication (AAC). AAC includes such methods as…
Read MoreMaking It Easy – How to build fine motor skills in children?
How to Build Fine Motor Skills in Children Fine motor skills are the small movements, made predominately by our hands, that help us to manipulate objects and explore. Children need to develop these skills to help them to interact and engage with the world, as well as prepare for schooling (writing, painting, cooking, cutting). Fine…
Read MoreParents: Looking After Yourself as a Parent
TOPIC: Looking after yourself as a parent! WHY: We often talk about parents needing to look after themselves, but why is it so important? Firstly when we have healthy and happy Mums and Dads it is much easier to have happy and healthy children. Further, we know from the evidence that parents of children with…
Read MoreWhy do therapists want me to use visuals at home?
TOPIC: Why do therapists what me to use visual and visuals* at home?? *We mean visuals as pictures, photos or symbols of something or someone. WHY: Visuals are a great way to explain to someone what is happening or going to happen. They also don’t require verbal language to understand them (think road signs or…
Read MoreVisuals – why we love them (and the evidence)
VISUALS This month the review of the evidence is all about our favourite resource in the world – VISUALS!! RESEARCH There is a large body of evidence linking cognitive and physical disabilities with externalising problematic behaviours (Visser et al., 2015; Artemyeva, 2016; Giltaij, Sterkenburg & Schuengel, 2015; Poppes et al., 2016). In particular, the literature…
Read MoreRelaxation – What is the evidence?
RELAXATION This month the review of the evidence is all about something to follow on from the bullying update – Relaxation. You can check out all things Mental Health on our page here! RESEARCH All children worry. Researchers have suggested that this worry is in part due to the fact that childhood is full of…
Read MoreWhy are therapists family focused?
TOPIC: Why are therapists family focused? Why do we have to be involved? WHAT: Therapists talk about being “family centered” or “family focused” all the time. What does it mean? Why are therapists family focused? WHY: We know that children learn the best off their parents. That is because they love their parents and…
Read MoreChildren with additional needs accessing hospitals – What does the evidence say?
WHAT DOES THE EVIDENCE SAY? Children with additional needs accessing hospital and emergency departments. Through each developmental stage, children interpret, comprehend, and process the world in a variety of different ways. Children and adolescents having to be treated in hospital, especially children with additional needs, can find the experience of being poked and prodded by…
Read MoreWhy does therapy cost so much?
TOPIC: Why does therapy cost so much? WHAT: Therapy is expensive! Depending on your child’s needs and who you see for how long, it can add up. Therapy is denfined as “treatment to relieve or heal a disorder”. When we talk about therapy at LHA we are referring to Occupational Therapy, Speech Language Pathology, Psychology,…
Read MoreWhen to ask for help?
TOPIC: When to ask for help? WHAT: It can be hard to know what is ‘typical’ for children and what is ‘expected’ and ‘unexpected’. How are parents meant to know when something isn’t ‘normal’? Of course there is no hard and fast rule though there are some tips that might help. There are so many…
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