Why A Movement-Based Approach Matters

A wonderful (and fun to read!) book that summarizes many reasons why a movement-based approach is so important for any kind of learning: The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain, by Annie Murphy Paul. This book summarizes research pertaining to learning through movement, through our natural outdoor spaces, and through each other as a community/group. I love this book since it provides an evidence-base for learning methods that help children learn through their bodies, increase attention via natural environments, and through activities like story telling. When this type of approach is combined with family coaching, children and families thrive.

Supporting Language in Toddlers and Young Children (Pandemic Version!)

I have recently received questions about helping children learn language, specifically social language, amidst the current pandemic—a time where children may have had less opportunities for social learning, or just opportunities that look a little different, or may feel a bit overwhelming.  I put together a list of ideas for families and teachers; read more about how to help children with their language during the pandemic here.

Thoughts about Babies and Choices

This research about babies making choices made me think about the work I do with families around picky eating. Often, adults will give “like” or “dislike” meaning to the things babies reach for…. when we do this with food, it can set up a situation where we are telling the children what they like… even if that was not their original intent. We can support children to continue growing into being adventurous with their food— by labeling their actions such as “You chose the beans” (instead of “oh you don’t want the carrots?” or “you like the beans better?”); we can also say things like “beans are kind of mushy!” and labeling sensory properties. Here’s the article about babies and choices: https://hub.jhu.edu/2020/10/02/babies-prefer-what-they-choose-even-when-random/

Thinking About Food

I wrote a blog post for my son’s school here in Boulder. I thought it could be of interest to some of my families, as well. Thinking About Food (scroll to October 21, 2020): https://alayapreschool.org/blog

My work as a therapist has changed many of the ways that I view children's relationships with food, as well as my own relationship with food. The concepts and strategies below may not magically lead to your child eating more food overnight, but I have seen that when they are implemented consistently, that they positively affect long-term relationships with food throughout life. When we reframe mealtimes to be about exploration, curiosity, and experimentation-- instead of about how much food is consumed-- we can increase a child's internal motivation to make their own choices about foods. Read more about ideas to support your child’s eating here.

Great Food Ideas!

Great ideas to support your child in trying new foods and eating a variety of new foods— from the SOS Approach to Feeding team: https://sosapproachtofeeding.com/monthly-blog/?fbclid=IwAR2PKOum90XXX1jY2ToUFxpV_WZgU7EI9jptBbA8RLDIBL54gyKvwDp3QgU

Social Skills Program June 2019

Cathy will be collaborating with a fellow SLP, Molly Filippini, to offer a social skills program this summer 2019. This is a unique opportunity since the program will use interactions with horses to teach social learning.

Horses are naturally social creatures who model many social behaviors that we see in human interactions, including body language, spatial boundaries, and energy regulation. Working with horses provides consistent opportunities for turn-taking, initiating and ending communication moments, and generalizing skills to new environments.

Please contact Cathy with any questions and for additional details.

Dates: June 10-14, 2019, (9:30am-11am per day)

Location: Medicine Horse Program, Boulder