Behaviour Strategies and a Final Note!
As I am nearing the end of my placement, I wanted to share some reflections about my experience developing Larchwood Nature OT as well as share some final insights into behaviour strategies I have been learning about that can be used at home.
Behaviour Strategies
I have been so excited with the warmer weather here and summer fast approaching! I also know that summertime can be a time where routines are disrupted, making it hard for kids. Throughout this placement, I have been looking at ways to support children while at camp and thought these tips would be helpful for parents to use at home as well!
1. Using a visual schedule. For some children, not having a set schedule can be difficult, resulting in behaviours at home. One way to help children with unexpected changes to routine is to create a visual schedule for them. What’s a visual schedule you may ask? This is a visual representation of everything that is going to happen that day. This helps kids visualize what their day will look like, and as you finish one activity it can be crossed off, so that they know what more to expect. Visual schedules are also helpful for when children are learning the sequence to something, for example how to get dressed. Here is an example that I made, to give you an idea of how they can be made.
2. Use a verbal or visual first/then. This is great for when you want your child to do something that they don’t want to, such as cleaning their room. Follow it up with something that they want to do, such as going swimming. Telling them, first clean your room, then you go swimming may help with having kids complete tasks that they need to do, but don’t want to.
3. Setting timers. If children are really enjoying the activity they are doing, it may be hard to pull them away. Give them a 10 minute warning, and then set a timer on your phone. Let them know that once the timer goes off, it will be time to leave.
I’ve also added some mindfulness strategies to use in nature as part of our parent resources.
Final Reflections
As I finish off this placement, I have taken time to reflect on the journey. This has been such a fun and exciting placement and has taught me about how the possibilities with occupational therapy are endless! I have learned so much about the benefits of nature and am excited to incorporate it into my future practice.
My favourite aspects of this placement were developing new activities to be used at camp. This included activities on: water play, zones of regulation, using tools, arts and crafts and learning about emotions. I’m excited to see these activities put to action this summer at Larchwood Farm.
As a final note, this placement has been a wonderful experience in learning how to advocate for new areas of occupational therapy. Working with Alanna, Rozelen and the rest of the team has been a pleasure to work with! Finally it has been an absolutely wonderful experience and I look forward to what’s to come at Larchwood Nature OT!