Blog

Beach Time: OT Perspective

By Leah Frascarelli OTR/L 7/1/2021

Finally, it is hot enough out there to take a family trip to the beach. I am a huge fan of the beach and spend as much time there as I can. I know living near the shore, it is such a blessing that we can get to the beach easily. When a child has differing needs, the beach can sometimes pose difficulties. This could be with sensory processing, fine motor, gross motor, or even executive functioning skills. Let's dive in to examine how these skills play a role!

  • Sensory Processing: As we have discussed before a child may be either sensitive or seeking sensory input in their environment. At the beach, there is a ton of unpredictable sensory input from the waves crashing towards you, to the feel of sand and rocks under your feet, to a breeze or the blazing hot sun. For those sensitive children, these can all be too much and lead to sensory overload. Some tips to help your child at the beach may be to introduce aspects of the beach slowly, allow the child to have a calming item, make sure they are wearing a comfortable outfit, have them lay on a towel or comfortable blanket, and provide them with proprioceptive input as they can tolerate it. It is important not to force them into activities at the beach and let them explore with your support. For our sensory seekers, you may see the exact opposite! These kids could crash in the waves all day, dig holes, run around, and still have so much energy by the end of your beach trip. The key here is to provide them with these opportunities in a structured manner. Make sure the wave jumping or digging is goal-directed. For example, play a game with you child to see who can jump over the most waves or work together to build a tower out of sand. By adding a goal to the beach fun, the child is able to process these activities and have them regulate them.

  • Fine and Gross Motor: The beach also requires children to have a certain level of fine and gross motor skills. This could be the act of putting on/removing a bathing suit, drying off with a towel, carrying beach bags, walking on an unsteady surface (sand), and being able to fill up that bucket with sand to make a sandcastle. Depending on the fine or gross motor skills needed, there can be a lot of ways to work on improving these skills, so that they carry over to beach time! Some modifications may include changing the bathing suit to a more loose-fitting piece of clothing to help with putting on and removing, using their hands to fill up buckets with sand, or having the child start off drying one part of their body or providing a visual model/song to help them sequence the steps.

  • Executive Functioning: We have all been there, we are leaving the beach and our kids start to cry. There can be many reasons for this, but one way we can help address it is by boosting their executive functioning skills. A lot of children with various disorders, including Autism, have difficulty knowing when an activity is going to be finished and when it is their favorite activity, they can be frustrated and not want to transition to something else. As the adults, we have the power to support our child's executive functioning skills. Give them timers to warn them of the end of beach time, use a picture schedule, let them know what is happening next. Also, sympathize with your child! You can let them know that you agree it is hard to go to the beach but we will be back. You could also let them take something small from the beach to remember the trip (i.e. a small stone). Really focusing on the transition can help your child so much, not just at the beach but in various times of the day.

I hope you feel like you have gained more knowledge and some tips and tricks to try on your next beach day. With our community-based model, feel free to reach out and I can come for a session at the beach to help you child tackle these obstacles to make it a fun-filled day for the whole family. Leah Frascarelli can be reached for a free 15-minute phone consult today at (860) 595-2334 or potentialct@gmail.com.

What do Occupational Therapists address?

By Leah Frascarelli OTR/L 5/26/2021

Occupational therapy is a profession that has been around for over 100 years! It helps people of all ages be able to engage in their occupations. Occupations is a term used to describe the activities that "occupy" a person's day. These could be activities that one needs to, wants to, or is expected to do. For example, some of my occupations include being an occupational therapist, cook, dog parent, daughter, sister, friend, professor, swimmer, and TV watcher. Occupations can be broken down into categories that can encompass almost anything!

For children, the occupations can look a bit different! I have been covering the main occupations of children on my Instagram and Facebook page. These can include:

  • Activities of Daily Living (bathing, dressing, eating, and toileting).

  • Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (money management, home management/maintenance, taking care of others/pets, and meal preparation).

  • Play (using toys appropriately, manipulating toys to build, socially interacting with others, initiating or ending play routines, tolerating new play materials, and handling emotions).

  • Sleep (falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up).

  • School and Work (handling school materials, following directions, and regulating emotions/attention).

Children can have such a vast amount of occupations even at a young age. As they get older, the occupations can shift based on new roles or responsibilities one has. Occupational therapists can assist children, young adults, and families in navigating these occupations to ensure the child feels successful and is able to participate and access them. Some of the skills addressed to help a child engage in their occupations could include:

  • Fine and Gross Motor Skills

  • Executive Functioning

  • Sensory Processing

  • Cognition

  • Oral Motor Skills

  • Ocular Motor Skills

  • Self-Regulation

  • Balance, coordination, range of motion, and strength

Do these sound like areas your child/loved one could use help reaching their full potential? I like to partner with children and families to help them feel comfortable completing their everyday tasks. Curious to learn more, reach out to us at (860) 595-2334 or potentialct@gmail.com to schedule a free 15 minute phone consult.

What is Sensory Processing?

By Leah Frascarelli OTR/L 5/10/2021

Today's blog post covers one of my favorite occupational therapy topics: Sensory Processing. In school, you may have learned about the five senses, but did you know there are actually eight! Let's read this sensory story to help us picture how all eight work in our day.


Picture a hot summer day. You go outside and suddenly, your body instinctually receives all of this information from the environment. You can smell the flowers outside and know that they have bloomed (olfaction). You can see the green grass, the red roses, and the sun in the sky (visual). You can hear the children playing outside or the birds tweeting (auditory). You can imagine what that delicious local ice cream tastes like (gustatory). You may feel a light breeze on your skin or the rays of the hot sun (tactile). If you are outside doing an activity you enjoy (for me, it's walking on the beach), then you know how fast to go and how to avoid stepping on sharp rocks (vestibular and proprioception). You will even realize when you get too hot or are thirsty and notice you need some water, to go inside, or find some shade (interoception).


All of these senses tell us something about what is going on around us and how our body reacts to it. If we can interpret all these signals or have someone who can interpret them for us, then we can easily go get that drink of water or head indoors. This is something that as adults we may be able to cope with without even realizing it but can be hard for some of our children or even adults to figure out.

For a simple definition of these senses, see below:


Olfactory: This is one's sense of smell.

Visual: This is one's sense of sight.

Auditory: This is one's sense of hearing.

Gustatory: This is one's sense of taste.

Tactile: This is one's sense of touch.

Vestibular: This is one's sense of motion and movement.

Proprioception: This is one's sense of where they are in space.

Interoception: This is one's sense of their internal sensations and what they mean.


Look for the weekly blog on signs of sensory processing difficulty and when guidance from an occupational therapist may be needed. Have some questions, feel free to give us a call or send an email to schedule a free fifteen minute phone consult.


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