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Holiday Survival Tips From An OT

LLA Therapy Occupational Therapist, Nicole Torres, gives tips on making the holiday season a success for you and your family!

 
We all know that the holidays can be a trying time under the best of circumstances, but what if your child has difficulties with fine motor skills, feeding skills, sensory processing skills???? This can make the holidays even more challenging.  Here are a few tips from an OT (and a mom of a 5 year old with difficulties in all of the above listed areas).
Make sure that your child is well rested.
-Try to visit the craziest (loud, crowded, overwhelming) places when your child is likely to be at his or her best.
-Try to arrive on-time instead of fashionable late so that the volume and people in the room increase over time, instead of having your child walk into a very loud, very crowded place.
-Feed your child ahead of time or pack food if you know that he or she will likely not want to eat what is being served.  This will decrease the stress for  you and your child and your host/hostess will not need to go out of his/her way
-Bring your own utensils and/or cups to avoid excess mess.
-If you have a messy eater (or just a small child), bring a bib or separate shirt/outfit to eat in so that no one has to stress over keeping clothes clean for pictures, etc.
-Limit sugary drinks and desserts to avoid the sugar high and crash!  Water down the punch, give a specific number of dessert items your child may have.
-Provide your child with a countdown to departure.  “Suzy Q, we are leaving in about 15 minutes….You have about 10 more minutes to play with cousin John….In 5 minutes it will be time to say goodbye.”  If you are leaving somewhere near bedtime, you may want to bring some PJs to set the stage for winding down and make the transition into bed as painless as possible if he or she falls asleep on the way home
-And finally, the most important tip that I can offer you as a parent….DO NOT take anything your relatives say to you personally!  They are not you, they do not live in your home, they do not know your child as well as you do, or live your life on a daily basis.  Whatever they say comes from their own perspective and experience, whatever that may be, so as Elsa says…..”LET IT GO, LET IT GO!”
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Patient Reviews

LLA Therapy

Patient Reviews

Crystal Scheibe

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Great place, glad we found them. Been going to Medina over 2 months now and he loves Lauryn and Kyler. Wish they had more ABA therapy places available... live in Wooster and long drive everyday.

Karrie Swan LaRock

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My 11 year old son has dyslexia and has made noticeable gains in working At LLA THERAPY. Katie is strong in her approach toward him and also keeps him comfortable enough to perform well. We will continue visiting both the Fairlawn and Hudson offices and recommend them highly.

Ron Monroe

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My 9 year old just completed about 9 months of weekly speech sessions (due to his stuttering) with Matt Hagge at LLA and we are thrilled with the experience and results. What I thought might be a negative (what kid really wants to go to speech class?) was made very positive by Matt, and my son never hesitated or complained when we talked about class. He really enjoyed it and really took what Matt taught him to heart. His speech has been greatly improved and we definitely recommend LLA. Thank you so much!

Heather Dougherty-Pantoja

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My son’s Occupational Therapist, Jess, is an amazing OT! She gives practical tips on working with my son at home and school!

Terri Apgar

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I cannot say enough good things about LLA Therapy. My daughter was a client of Teal Simmons’ for approximately 2 years and was just released from speech therapy! She was diagnosed with Apraxia in 2015 and worked with Teal twice a week. Through Teal’s application of PROMPT therapy, my daughter had age-appropriate speech after one year. All of the staff we interacted with at LLA were absolutely wonderful. They really care about what they do and making sure your child achieves their goals.

Kelli Geisler Davisson

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LLA Therapy has been an excellent experience for my son as well as my family! My son always asks, "When can I go see Ms. Jeannine again, is it Monday??" He has also made huge gains in only 5 months! I would highly recommend LLA and have already shared my experience with friends looking for services!

Victoria Hansford-Price

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We are so grateful for our Speech Therapist Ms.Teal. We have seen a great improvement with our sons confidence and communication abilities since we have started "Prompt" therapy. What we love the most about LLA and Ms. Teal is that Kohl feels comfortable and relaxed which has played a critical role in his progress. Thank you Ms. Teal for all you have done.

Laura Lee Hogsett

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They have helped in numerous ways. Speech, OT and behavioral. I've had numerous compliments on my son's progress thanks in very large part to LLA. I would recommend LLA before I recommend our local children's hospitals, though they are good, they don't have the staff that LLA does.

Amy Furukawa

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We had a great experience with Matt Hagge at LLA! Our Middle School age son was becoming very conscious of his voice, which is nasal due to a cleft palate. Matt helped him to better form his sounds and project his voice in a way that makes the unavoidable nasality less noticeable.Our son is more confident and outgoing & even took on a speaking role in the church play. Matt has the perfect personality to relate with our son, and we would recommend him to anyone needing speech therapy services!

Jessica Havalotti

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LLA Therapy has been an excellent experience for our daughter. I would highly recommend LLA. Miss Grace was so amazing and I can't believe how quickly our daughter showed improvement. Thank you!
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