Skills Haven Therapy Solutions

24/09/2025

🧠Executive function refers to a set of cognitive processes that help us manage and regulate our thoughts, actions, and emotions to achieve goals. These processes include skills such as working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control.

🤸🏽Vestibular input, on the other hand, involves the sensory information related to balance and spatial orientation, primarily managed by the inner ear and brain. It plays a crucial role in our ability to move, balance, and maintain posture.

↔️The connection between executive function and vestibular input is significant, especially in children. Proper vestibular input can support the development of executive function skills by promoting body awareness, spatial orientation, and overall sensory processing.

Activities that provide vestibular stimulation, like swinging, spinning, or balancing, can enhance attention, focus, and the ability to regulate emotions, all of which are critical components of executive function.

Incorporating vestibular activities into daily routines can therefore be beneficial for children and individuals who need to strengthen their executive function skills. This is particularly useful in therapeutic settings, where targeted vestibular input can help improve cognitive and emotional regulation.

https://www.theottoolbox.com/vestibular-activities/

22/09/2025

So important to read together. 🥰

22/09/2025

Did you know that there is a learning difficulty specific to writing? You probably heard of the one specific to reading (Dyslexia), but this one is specific to *writing*. The two can occur together or separate and both are common in autistic people.

22/09/2025

WAYS TO IDENTIFY SENSORY PROCESSING ISSUES IN YOUR CHILD.

If you see any of these signs and symptoms in your child, they could have a sensory processing disorder.

(Author Unknown)

21/09/2025

We are scared of the wrong things...

We worry about skinned knees and climbing too high, while overlooking the real danger quietly unfolding.

Children are moving less than ever before, even though movement is what builds both the body and the brain. Only about one in four children meet daily activity recommendations, and outdoor free play has dropped by more than half in recent decades.

And when children are outside, they are rarely given the freedom their bodies and brains need. They are hovered over, directed, redirected, and told “be careful” every other minute. Instead of climbing, leaping, and testing their limits, they are being micromanaged.

Meanwhile, screen use is at an all-time high.

Preschoolers now average over two hours a day, and older children often five or more. Constant screen time drains the developing nervous system, disrupts sleep and dopamine regulation, and leaves children still, sedentary, and emotionally flooded (and disconnected from others).

In trying to prevent every hurt, we’ve stripped away the very experiences that wire children to handle the world. Running, climbing, crashing, wrestling, and recovering build balance, coordination, emotional regulation, and resilience. Without this, children are left fragile in every way, with adulthood being far more challenging than you'd imagine.

We are bubble-wrapping childhood and calling it safety, while it is quietly costing them their strength, confidence, and trust in themselves (short and long term consequences).

This is the conversation we need to have.

Join us next Wednesday (9/24) for our live webinar Brave Play: Risk, Weapons, Destructive Play, and the Freedom to Explore (part 3 in the summer of play series).

A full recording will be sent to all registrants so you can watch anytime.

Free Registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gauhhsCsR7usaSLppZn5vw

Catch up on Parts 1 & 2 and get certified for any or all three: https://www.weskoolhouse.com/store-webinars

21/09/2025

How is school drop off going by now? Here are OT-recommended tips to help with separation anxiety with the 3-5 year old crowd: https://www.theottoolbox.com/tricks-to-help-with-separation-anxiety-preschool/

20/09/2025

Occupational Theray at Skills Haven Therapy Solutions

📱 0939-932-1988
📍 Centro Uno Bldg, Balanga City, Bataan
(In Front of Centro Medico Hospital)

Scissor skills develops in a progression. The key is to adjust the level of difficulty by using different grades of paper and thicknesses of lines. Here is a full explanation: https://www.theottoolbox.com/scissor-skills-recycled-wrapping-paper/

20/09/2025

19/09/2025

Hands up if you did/do this with your babies? 🖐

Thanks, The Speech Practice via Play to Learn Preschool

19/09/2025

Every reaction we have leaves an imprint on our children. Spills, plates, and broken glasses can be replaced, but harsh words can echo in a child’s heart for years. The way we choose to respond in stressful moments teaches our children how to handle challenges and how to treat others. Let’s break cycles of pain and instead model words of love, patience, and compassion.
That is the kind of legacy that lasts a lifetime. 🩵

19/09/2025

When we think about supporting speech and language, most people picture drills, articulation cards, or expanding vocabulary. But here’s the thing, communication often starts with the body.

The vestibular system (our sense of movement and balance) and the auditory system (hearing and processing sound) are tightly connected. Movement actually influences how the auditory system processes sound. That’s why children with vestibular challenges often also show auditory-language difficulties.

As OTs in Early Intervention, we can make a real difference by:
👉 Observing sensory preferences and figuring out what kind of movement helps a child learn best.
👉 Using movement-based play like swinging, spinning, rocking, or rolling to support arousal and attention—critical for learning new skills.
👉 Challenging motor planning through novel movements, which helps organize the tiny oral muscles needed for speech.
👉 Pairing sensory input with language opportunities (music, deep pressure, tactile input) to give the child’s brain multiple ways to connect.

This isn’t just theory, it’s practice-changing. And it’s the kind of resource we dive into inside The Therapy Village, where you’ll find handouts, session examples, and community discussion on how to integrate vestibular strategies into communication-focused goals.

📍Want more insights like this? Explore what’s inside The Therapy Village and see how practical, research-informed tools can transform your sessions.