All Things Sensory by Harkla

As COTAs, one of the things we’ve worked on with a lot of our clients is emotional intelligence - the ability to identify one’s emotions (and emotions in others). This is oftentimes VERY difficult for children! But emotional intelligence is a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to self-regulation and social interactions. Today we talk all about the WHY and the HOW, plus we give you our favorit...

Does your child seek out a certain type of sensory input that drives you nuts? Are your sensory preferences the complete opposite of your child’s? If so, this episode is for you! We dive into sensory preferences, what it looks like when your child’s sensory needs create a sense of overstimulation in you, and some tips, tricks, and strategies to help! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog...

Shop our Back to School Sale by clicking THIS link! Save 15% on ALL Harkla products, physical and digital! Sale ends Aug. 29, 2022! At school, a child is exposed to a lot of sensory information as well as they are required to sit and focus for long periods of time and interact socially with their peers. It’s a LOT of work! Many children hold it all together at school but then break down at home -...

We don’t typically recommend products but since a lot of you have asked for recommendations, here we go! We dive into products for each of the 8 sensory systems! Some you can purchase and some you can DIY! Check all the links below! Be sure to check the show notes for links and free resources! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla. Co/Podcast. Brought To You By HarklaThis podca...

Back in 2018, we did an episode on interoception, one of our hidden senses. Now, 4 years later, we’ve learned a LOT more about this hidden sense and we are sharing it with you in this episode! We dive into what interoceptive dysfunction can look like and our favorite strategies to help. Be sure to check the show notes for links and free resources! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at...

Sensory activities don’t have to be expensive! They don’t have to be Pinterest perfect either. Today we’re going to share 10 easy DIY sensory-based activities you can do from the comfort of your own home, at school or in the clinic! Don’t forget - our podcast is now on YouTube!!!!Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla. Co/Podcast. Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast is brought...

Back in 2018 we did an episode on the proprioceptive system and now it’s time for a re-do! This episode is all about proprioception - what it is, what it affects during daily life tasks, and a variety of activities and strategies to target the proprioceptive sense! Don’t forget - our podcast is now on YouTube!!!!Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla. Co/Podcast. Brought To You...

Back in 2018, we put out an episode on the vestibular system - it’s been 4 years and it’s time for a re-do! In this episode, we dive into all things vestibular. What the vestibular system is, how it works, what dysfunction looks like, and a variety of activities for all ages! Don’t forget - our podcast is now on YouTube!!!!Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla. Co/Podcast. Brou...

We’ve done episodes on fine motor skills but this is our first time diving into gross motor skills! There’s a LOT that goes into gross motor skill development, and we’re going to give you all the details plus our favorite gross motor activities! Stay tuned to the end where we answer two listener questions: talking about speech therapy and working on new goals in therapy! Don’t forget - our podcast...

Does your child enjoy going to the dentist? Or is it a struggle every time? Or maybe your child hasn’t been to the dentist yet, but you’re nervous because they already show signs of struggling with sensory processing and transitions to new locations. This episode is all about WHY your child might struggle at the dentist - from a sensory perspective of course! Then we dive into a variety of tips, t...

Brittini Barnes is a pediatric occupational therapist who has been working in the pediatric setting for 6 years. She currently works with middle school and high school students. She also serves on a local Autism Awareness Non-Profit in her small Florida town. She is a wife and a mother to a 4 year old daughter. She loves coming up with low prep/no prep activities that are simple, easy, and impactf...

This episode is all about your brain - how your brain learns new things and how you can help improve your child’s success when learning new skills or cognitive tasks. We also dive into how the brain and body work together and we give you our top 10 sensory strategies that you can use to help your child get ready to learn! Don’t forget - our podcast is now on YouTube!!!! Be sure to check out the sh...

Mickey Richards is a homeschool mama of four boys. Previously, she was a music teacher and now she coaches anxious homeschool mamas with resistant kids and helps them fall back in love with their homeschool. Mickey is a lifelong learner in the school of hard knocks who has discovered the joy of homeschooling amidst the rollercoaster of raising four boys. Her oldest son is autistic and each of her...

This episode is all about visual motor - how you coordinate your vision to your movement. We dive into the different daily tasks that require visual motor skills, what it looks like if your child is struggling with visual motor integration, and of course we give you our favorite visual motor activities to try today! Don’t forget - our podcast is now on YouTube!!!! Be sure to check out the show not...

Kristin Palen, OTR/L is an occupational therapist with over 19 years of experience solely in pediatrics. Kristin is the owner of Coastal Connections Pediatric Therapy, in the Outer Banks North Carolina. Her practice provides direct nature based occupational therapy services, early intervention services, virtual parent coaching, nature based resources and masterclasses coming soon. Kristin is a pro...

There are several subtypes of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and in today’s episode we dive into Sensory Based Motor Disorder. We talk about dyspraxia and postural disorder - what they look like and what you can do to help promote the skills involved! Be sure to check out the links below! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla. Co/Podcast. Brought To You By HarklaThis podcast...

From a pediatric occupational therapy perspective, crawling is a very important milestone for MOST children. This is today’s topic and we encourage you to think outside the box, dive into the research, and remember that everyone’s experience is unique. Make sure you check out all the links below! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla. Co/Podcast. Brought To You By HarklaThis po...

Amirra is the founder of Marvelous Mirracles and creator of The Mirracle Money Blueprint, an all-in-one comprehensive program designed to kickstart your financial game plan, help you stress less + make more money, and develop strong money management skills in 90 days so that you can start building wealth from your very first paycheck...even if you’re a new grad with no side hustle. Amirra knows wh...

Today’s episode is all about WHY we love sensory strategies for EVERY classroom! The idea is to create an inclusive, sensory friendly classroom that all students can benefit from, while also providing individualized sensory strategies to the students who need a little bit more. Make sure you stay til the end of today’s episode where we answer a listener question! Be sure to check out all of the li...

Dr. Hailey Arnold is a chiropractor and functional medicine practitioner; however, she is best described as an entrepreneur. Constantly finding solutions to problems, Dr. Arnold spends her days formulating nutritional products and genetic tests for children of all ages. She is an active clinician, educator, public speaker, and published author. With a passion for neurosensory differences and autoi...

We’ve gotten asked many times about how and why we started our entrepreneurial journey. So today, we’re diving in! We started out as outpatient pediatric COTAs (Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants) and saw a gap in our space. So we took a leap to try to fill that gap (almost 4 years ago!) and thanks to you wonderful listeners, we just reached 200 podcast episodes! We’ve learned a lot along t...

Kim Wiggins, OTR/L, is an experienced occupational therapist specializing in the treatment of children since 2001. She is a full-time therapist at a City School District in upstate New York, owner of www. OTKimWiggins.com, and has been a nationally known speaker since 2011. Kim is certified in Mobile Devices for Children with Disabilities, Puzzle Art Therapy, Handwriting Without Tears, Zaner Blose...

We had someone message us asking what a day in the life of a COTA looks like! We (Rachel and Jessica) are both Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants, Licensed in the state of Idaho (COTA/L). We worked with children in an outpatient clinic setting for over 7 years and in this episode we share what a “typical” day looked like in the clinic. We also share some tips for fellow therapists! Don’t fo...

Jennifer Jo Brout is the Director of the International Misophonia Research Network. She is a New York State Certified School Psychologist, a Connecticut Professional Licensed Counselor, and holds a Doctorate in School/Clinical-Child Psychology. She is the mother of adult triplets, and is a Misophonia sufferer herself. Disappointed by her own experiences with the state of the field when seeking hel...

So many children struggle with the process of independence with toileting skills and we’ve talked about it in previous episodes - check out the show notes for those episodes - but today we are going to break down the actual skills required for each step of the toileting process plus give you some activity ideas to address each skill! In OT, we call this an activity analysis: A breakdown of a task...