Kioko Center

  Children with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit disorder, andother developmental delays often have professionals of all different backgrounds providing strategies for their success. While occupational, physical, and speech therapy , special education, and applied behavior analysts have different focuses, these professionals often use the same foundations to help kids learn and grow. Read on for the most common behavior strategies that the whole team uses: Use Positive Reinforcement Teachers and parents use positive reinforcement with both neurotypical children and kids with disabilities for a valid reason. Their developing brains make stronger connections with positive reinforcement than negative. Try to catch them at their best, whether by saying hello to a friend, listening to your message, or trying something new without getting frustrated. Recognize and praise their behavior. Therapists and educators are as specific as possible with praise and positive attention bas...

  Your child’s academic path may need additional support above and beyond standard classroom learning. It is common for parents to observe children having trouble learning fundamental skills that others find so easy. These difficulties usually indicate the necessity for focused therapeutic intervention. Building Strong Writing Foundations Through Targeted Support Occupational Therapy for Handwriting  helps children develop the motor skills needed for clear, legible writing. Your child might struggle with pencil grip, letter formation, or proper posture during writing tasks. Therapists focus on strengthening small muscle groups in the hands and fingers through engaging activities. They teach correct pencil holds, helping children learn efficient writing movements. These professionals often create games that build hand strength while making therapy enjoyable for young learners. Treatment typically includes: Hand strengthening exercises using therapeutic putty Letter formation pr...

  Speech-language therapy is recommended for almost everyone diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. This makes sense because most children with autism have impaired communication that requires assistance. Even those with high-functioning autism can benefit from speech-language therapy. What is Speech-language Therapy? Speech therapy is the treatment of speech and communication disorders; thus, it is a broad field. Speech therapy may assist children with stuttering or lisps in accurately pronouncing words. Speech therapy also helps children with developmental disabilities in understanding and using spoken language in a social environment. A certified speech-language pathologist (SLP) is a communication specialist who must have a master’s degree. That professional may work in a private setting, a clinic, a school, or an institution, or as part of an educational team. They employ various tools and therapies, including toys and play-like treatment, as well as formal tests and spee...

Most children benefit from proprioceptive sensory work built into their day. The proprioceptive system receptors are located in our joints and muscles and tell us about where our body is in space. The benefits of stimulating this system vary for different children but can help children feel regulated, calm, and ready to focus. Unlike the vestibular system , the proprioceptive system cannot be overloaded. The benefits of heavy work last for up to two hours after engaging. Try to build planned activities into your day to support your student or child’s participation all day long. 1. Play: Play is a creative and natural method of learning and exploring the world. Encourage running and jumping as part of play, draw a hopscotch game in chalk or offer a jump rope. Indoor and outdoor trampolines provide lots of sensory input to the lower body. If you have monkey bars nearby, try to test how long you can hang on. Create an obstacle course including several of these activities to make a memorab...

Whether it be talking with co-workers around the water cooler, saying “I love you” to your spouse, sharing a joke with your neighbor, texting your brother, or sending an email to your boss, people love to communicate, it’s what we do.   Communication, in all its forms, is what creates and maintains the bonds and relationships in our lives, and the ability to communicate is what defines us as being human. Communication can be divided into three main categories: comprehension, expression, and production.   Comprehension or receptive language is the ability to receive a message from someone and understand the meaning of that message whether it be spoken, written, or via gestures such as American Sign Language (ASL). Expression or expressive language is the ability to send a meaningful message to someone verbally, in writing, or by using gestures.   An additional goal of expressive language is that it is socially appropriate, which means knowing what and how to say somethi...

Speech therapy is a type of treatment or therapy provided for people who have difficulty producing or understanding speech and/or language. Speech and language disorders are universal and can be found across all languages Speech therapy   is essential in improving a person’s speech and language skills. If a child has a speech or language disorder, the earlier they are diagnosed and treated the better the results of speech therapy will be. Some of the main speech-language disorders are: Speech Sound Disorders Fluency Disorders     Receptive Language Disorders  Expressive Language Disorders  Voice Disorders      Feeding/Swallowing Disorders Speech-Language Therapy A Speech-language Therapist   helps adults and children  with speech disorders by accurately evaluating, diagnosing and treating speech language disorders.   Speech Therapy sessions are designed to be fun and engaging for both kids and adults. Depending upon t...