Tips for Deal with Anxiety Irish Times March 2022
www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/parenting/tips-for-parents-on-how-to-deal-with-anxious-children-1.4821532
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Tips for Combating Anxiety
The World Health Organization (2022) reports that the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety worldwide. In our day-to-day practice at Sensational Kids we have seen a huge increase in the children presenting with anxiety. Anxiety disorders are well recognised as the most common psychological problem for children and adolescents. It is suggested that children as young as three and four can present with persistent anxiety disorders. For children with anxiety disorders, common thinking themes are an increased perception of danger and threat, coupled with a decreased perception of their own ability to cope with that danger. The changing goal posts of the COVID-19 pandemic affected children in different ways. There is no doubt that children have experienced a series of anxiety inducing life events from the Covid-19 pandemic, to the exposure of a war in the Ukraine, to the recent shooting in Texas. As parents […]
Read MoreTheo’s Story
Four-and-a-half-year-old Theo Lage benefits from the services of Sensational Kids in Claremorris. Theo attends Speech and Language therapy sessions with Speech and Language Therapist Maureen Byrne. Discussing her work with Theo, Maureen says: “As a Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist, I really enjoy working with children like Theo to improve their speech, language and communication skills. Theo has a diagnosis of autism, and I began working with him back in December 2020. Theo’s parents were concerned about his delayed speech, he had approximately twenty single words at the time, difficulty following directions and he was having a tough time with transitions. After four months of speech and language therapy, Theo was discharged from the service and at that point he was using phrases, he was following directions, transitions were a lot smoother, vocabulary had increased and overall, Theo had progressed in his expressive and receptive language. His parents were very […]
Read MoreAlicia’s Story
Alicia, along with her twin sister Shauna, attend Speech & Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy at Sensational Kids in Claremorris. Occupational Therapist, Kinza Tabssum works with Alicia and says: “Alicia is a lovely, ten-year-old girl who comes to occupational therapy to work on self-regulation and self-care skills. Intervention focuses on therapeutic engagement and calming sensory experiences to support regulation. Fine motor activities and activities that involve bilateral coordination are also incorporated to work on the underlying skills required for self-care activities like buttoning and tying shoelaces. Since starting occupational therapy, Alicia’s family have seen improvements in attention, regulation and self-care skills. I love my job and getting to work with amazing children like Alicia.” Alicia’s story is part of a project entitled #SensationalFamiles. The project was approved by Government with support from the Dormant Accounts Fund, with the aim of shining a light on the impact of social enterprises […]
Read MoreShauna’s Story
Maureen Byrne is a Speech and Language Therapist at Sensational Kids in Claremorris who sees both Shauna and Shauna’s twin sister for Speech and Language therapy. Discussing working with Shauna, Maureen says: “Our goal at Sensational Kids is to provide a child-centred, holistic approach to intervention that will help Shauna maximise her full potential. Our goals of therapy for Shauna, based on her parents’ concerns and the impact on Shauna’s daily life and peer interactions, have included her speech sounds, specifically the articulation of sounds that Shauna has found challenging which affect her intelligibility. In addition, during Speech and Language Therapy I have been targeting social skills and receptive and expressive language appropriate for where Shauna is at in school. This requires collaboration with her parents, her school and also the Sensational Kids occupational therapist, my colleague Kinza, who also works with Shauna and her sister.” Discussing Shauna’s progress, Maureen […]
Read MoreSummer Routine
Summer holidays mean a change of routine, which can be difficult and even scary for some children. Creating a summer daily plan is something our therapy team often suggest to help children stay regulated and happy. Below is an example of a daily plan, created by one of our Paediatric Occupational Therapists. You can use this or adapt it to suit your own family and child. Early morning Wake and get ready for the day Story and snuggle in bed, let them make up their own bed, get dressed, pack pyjama’s away. Breakfast Let children help to set the table, help to make breakfast, help to clear the table. Choose some fun and different things to make for breakfast; pancakes, flap jacks, scones, eggy-men, waffles etc… Morning walk Go for a walk around the neighbourhood, to the forest or to the beach. Mid-morning Work time NO ELECTRONICS – […]
Read MoreJacob’s Story
Danni Hayes, Speech & Language Therapist at Sensational Kids works with Jacob and says, “ Jacob has recently began attending Sensational Kids to help with his communication development. At the moment, we are targeting Jacob’s engagement and interaction through play as well as introducing PECS as an alternative form of communication. PECS is a picture-based communication system that will allow Jacob the opportunity to express his needs and wants without relying on the spoken word. I really enjoy working with children like Jacob here at Sensational Kids. it’s a very rewarding role.” Jacob’s story is part of a project entitled #SensationalFamiles. The project was approved by Government with support from the Dormant Accounts Fund, with the aim of shining a light on the impact of social enterprises like Sensational Kids. A social enterprise is a business that works primarily to improve the lives of people. The business of social enterprise […]
Read MoreEoin’s Story
Eoin Stuart is a seven-year-old boy who attends weekly occupational therapy sessions to help develop skills that are necessary for school. Mary Ward, an Occupational Therapist at Sensational Kids in Clones has been working with Eoin for the past few months: “The skills that we are helping Eoin develop for school include his fine motor skills, so holding his pencil and doing his buttons and zips. We also work with him to develop his concentration, organisation and social skills, so things like turn-taking, sharing and listening skills. Eoin has made wonderful progress since starting occupational therapy a couple of months ago and I can already see a significant difference in his own self confidence. I feel privileged working in this role; working with children and their families making a real difference in their lives developing skills that are necessary for both home and in school.” Eoin’s story is […]
Read MoreBen’s Story
Erin O’Hagan, Occupational Therapist at Sensational Kids in Clones is helping Ben with his motor planning, coordination and fine motor skills including his writing, shapes, his pencil grip and drinking from a cup. Discussing Ben’s progress, Erin says: “Due to Ben’s tactile defensiveness, we are working on his self-care skills such as bathing and showering in order to increase his independence with his activities of daily living. Ben has made really good progress in the past two months since attending his first therapy session. His confidence has really increased and this is supporting him with his gross, fine motor, self-care, and sensory processing skills; in turn, this is supporting him with engaging in his therapy sessions and his environments at home and in school. I love my job and working with amazing families and fantastic children like Ben.” Ben’s story is part of a project entitled #SensationalFamiles. The […]
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