Cornerstone Therapies

02/02/2026

01/25/2026

Due to inclement weather, our office will be closed tomorrow, Monday, January 26, 2026. The safety of our patients and staff is our top priority.

We appreciate your understanding and encourage everyone to stay safe and warm. ❄️

01/23/2026

✍️ Happy National Handwriting Day!

Handwriting is a complex occupational task that requires strength, coordination, motor planning, and visual-motor integration. At Cornerstone, our occupational therapists support each patient by addressing the foundational skills behind functional handwriting.

OT tips to support handwriting at home:
⬆️ Always encourage starting letters from the top when practicing
🔤 Practice forming letters correctly every time to build strong motor memory
🖐️ Build hand strength with playdough, putty, or squeezing sponges
✏️ Encourage proper pencil grasp using short crayons or broken pencils
🧠 Practice letter formation in fun ways—writing in sand, shaving cream, or on a whiteboard
🪑 Check posture: feet flat, hips and knees at 90°, paper slightly tilted
⏱️ Keep practice short and positive to build confidence and endurance

Small, consistent practice makes a big difference! 💙

01/23/2026

Inclement Weather Notice 🌨️

In order to help keep our families and staff safe, we will be opening tomorrow but only from 9:00am – 12:00pm in hopes of avoiding the severe weather expected later in the day.

If you have an appointment scheduled and decide you need to cancel or reschedule, please give us a call. As always, if we don’t answer, we encourage you to leave a voicemail.

We appreciate your flexibility—stay warm and safe! 💙

01/20/2026

01/11/2026

Do you know the relationship between pencil pressure and the sensory system? One important piece of "sensory processing" that plays a role in handwriting is the proprioceptive sensory system.

The proprioceptive system receives input from the muscles and joints about body position, weight, pressure, stretch, movement and changes in position in space. Our bodies are able to grade and coordinate movements based on the way muscles move, stretch, and contract.

Proprioception allows us to apply more or less pressure and force in a task. Instinctively, we know that lifting a feather requires very little pressure and effort, while moving a large backpack requires more work.
We are able to coordinate our movements effectively to manage our day’s activities with the proprioceptive system. The brain also must coordinate input about gravity, movement, and balance involving the vestibular system.

When we write, the pencil is held with the index finger, middle finger, and thumb, and supported by the ring and pinkie finger as the hand moves across a page. In these actions are movement and input through the joints in the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand.

A functioning proprioceptive system allows us to move the small muscles of the hand to move the pencil in fluid movements and with “just right” pressure.
We are able to mark lines on the paper, erase mistakes, move the paper with our supporting arm, turn pages in a notebook fluidly, and keep the paper in one piece.

When something is amiss, we will see writing that is so dark that there are heavy smudges on the paper, the pencil tearing the paper, letters that won't erase, or very light handwriting that is hard to read.

Here is everything you need to know about pencil pressure and how to help this aspect of handwriting: https://www.theottoolbox.com/pressing-too-hard-when-writing-tips/

12/23/2025

Day 12!

12/22/2025

Day 11!

12/20/2025