We’ve been with Oak-Leyden Developmental Services for three years. The staff is very courteous and caring. Oak-Leyden’s Supported Employment Program provided the steps my son Eddie needed to secure a job. The program offered help with filling out job applications, mock interviews, and how to focus on tasks. Today, my son is working in the competitive job market and very happy with his job!- Cathy T.
Don’t miss the latest Oak Leyden news—issue 33 of the Leaflet came out last week! Link in bio.
Join us for our latest Children`s Services group opportunity! Developmental Therapist Alison Keane and Licensed Social Worker Bianca Boyce will facilitate this group and help your child build upon their social skills.
Group Details:
Thursday at 10:00 a.m.
starting 9/7 and running through 10/26
411 Chicago Ave, Oak Park IL
$200* for the 8-week session
*scholarships available by need
To sign up: Contact Melissa Ehmann, Director of Children`s Services, at mehmann@oak-leyden.org or at (708) 524-1050 ext. 107.
Join us for our latest Children`s Services group opportunity! Developmental Therapist Alison Keane and Licensed Social Worker Bianca Boyce will facilitate this group and help your child build upon their social skills.
Group Details:
Thursday at 10:00 a.m.
starting 9/7 and running through 10/26
411 Chicago Ave, Oak Park IL
$200* for the 8-week session
*scholarships available by need
To sign up: Contact Melissa Ehmann, Director of Children`s Services, at mehmann@oak-leyden.org or at (708) 524-1050 ext. 107.
Our adult day program participants always know how to have a good time. We wrapped up a fun summer of events with a BBQ and some basketball.
Our adult day program participants always know how to have a good time. We wrapped up a fun summer of events with a BBQ and some basketball.
Ezra is having a flipping good time!
If your child is working on core strengthening or building vestibular maturity (the sensory system that creates a sense of balance and special orientation), Oak Leyden Physical Therapist Susan Klinger recommends rough and tumble play!
“In this picture I’m flipping Ezra onto my shoulders. He had to use a lot of core and neck strength to come to sitting.” She also suggests that adults can hold children belly down and move around the room quickly like an airplane, gently throw them onto couch, or play airplane by laying on the floor on your back, balancing your child belly-down on your feet with hands held or arms extended for balance, and move them quickly up and down using your legs.
#therapytiptuesday
Ezra is having a flipping good time!
If your child is working on core strengthening or building vestibular maturity (the sensory system that creates a sense of balance and special orientation), Oak Leyden Physical Therapist Susan Klinger recommends rough and tumble play!
“In this picture I’m flipping Ezra onto my shoulders. He had to use a lot of core and neck strength to come to sitting.” She also suggests that adults can hold children belly down and move around the room quickly like an airplane, gently throw them onto couch, or play airplane by laying on the floor on your back, balancing your child belly-down on your feet with hands held or arms extended for balance, and move them quickly up and down using your legs.
#therapytiptuesday
Please give a warm welcome to Elise Halpert, our new Occupational Therapist! Elise joined our Children`s Services team this week. Elise received her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2005. She has worked as a pediatric occupational therapist in Early Intervention as well in an Early Childhood classroom and in clinic-based settings. Elise is excited to join the team at Oak Leyden and is eager to work with children and their families. Welcome, Elise!
Please give a warm welcome to Elise Halpert, our new Occupational Therapist! Elise joined our Children`s Services team this week. Elise received her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2005. She has worked as a pediatric occupational therapist in Early Intervention as well in an Early Childhood classroom and in clinic-based settings. Elise is excited to join the team at Oak Leyden and is eager to work with children and their families. Welcome, Elise!
On Friday, some of our adult participants had the pleasure of working with @sol_bloom and founder @angelapargas for the first Blooming Mood Booster’s Floral Arranging Class! Florals are nature`s mood boosters and not only provide a beautiful surrounding, but help reduce stress. Floral arranging engages the senses, provides cognitive and sensory stimulation, improves motor skills, and instills a sense of independence and accomplishment.
Angela reported, "To say we enjoyed it would be an understatement. We had one therapist say we brought life into this center and another say that it was very therapeutic. One of the participants said it was her best day ever and that she was going to give her arrangement to mom."
Thank you, Sol Bloom! Thank you, @sparklingice for making this event possible.
On Friday, some of our adult participants had the pleasure of working with @sol_bloom and founder @angelapargas for the first Blooming Mood Booster’s Floral Arranging Class! Florals are nature`s mood boosters and not only provide a beautiful surrounding, but help reduce stress. Floral arranging engages the senses, provides cognitive and sensory stimulation, improves motor skills, and instills a sense of independence and accomplishment.
Angela reported, "To say we enjoyed it would be an understatement. We had one therapist say we brought life into this center and another say that it was very therapeutic. One of the participants said it was her best day ever and that she was going to give her arrangement to mom."
Thank you, Sol Bloom! Thank you, @sparklingice for making this event possible.
Did you know that you can slow down YouTube videos? Oak Leyden Speech Language Pathologists say this can be a great tool when playing favorite songs for your little ones. A slower song can help with both receptive and expressive language. Slower videos allow little ones to hear the lyrics at an easier pace for their processing and it allows them to sing along with more ease, too! #therapytiptuesday
Here’s how you do it: Click on settings (⚙️), select playback speed, and then select .75, .5, or .25.
Of course, there’s a time and a place for music to be super fast and silly—save that for your dancing!
Did you know that you can slow down YouTube videos? Oak Leyden Speech Language Pathologists say this can be a great tool when playing favorite songs for your little ones. A slower song can help with both receptive and expressive language. Slower videos allow little ones to hear the lyrics at an easier pace for their processing and it allows them to sing along with more ease, too! #therapytiptuesday
Here’s how you do it: Click on settings (⚙️), select playback speed, and then select .75, .5, or .25.
Of course, there’s a time and a place for music to be super fast and silly—save that for your dancing!
Check out two of our Summer Adventure Campers as they explore buttons and parachutes at @wonderworksop!
Developmental Therapist Alison Keane says she loves activities like these because they help children develop an understanding of cause and effect. “Cause-and-effect play helps activate curiosity, utilizes and develops all five senses, and is a spring board to a child’s understanding of so many life skills—for example, turn taking in conversation and a child’s agency/control in making things happen in their lives.”
Buttons on phones, light switches, toys that move, rolling a ball down a ramped surface, and much more can engage your baby or toddler in cause-and-effect play in their natural environment.
#therapytiptuesday
Check out two of our Summer Adventure Campers as they explore buttons and parachutes at @wonderworksop!
Developmental Therapist Alison Keane says she loves activities like these because they help children develop an understanding of cause and effect. “Cause-and-effect play helps activate curiosity, utilizes and develops all five senses, and is a spring board to a child’s understanding of so many life skills—for example, turn taking in conversation and a child’s agency/control in making things happen in their lives.”
Buttons on phones, light switches, toys that move, rolling a ball down a ramped surface, and much more can engage your baby or toddler in cause-and-effect play in their natural environment.
#therapytiptuesday
Happy anniversary to the Americans with Disabilities Act!
Let this occasion serve as a reminder that disability is political. Until 33 years ago when this policy was signed into law, discrimination against people with disabilities was legal in areas of schooling and employment, physical accommodations in public buildings, and much more. This robust piece of legislation was drafted and enacted on the shoulders of many strong, hardworking disability advocates and their allies.
Please continue to vote for leaders and policies that see people with disabilities as whole people, worthy of respect and resources. Just this year, your calls and witness slips made a difference in securing a wage increase for our valuable DSPs, without whom our worthy participants wouldn’t have the care they need 💪🏼💪🏼. Policy makes our work possible.
This photo of Patrice and Kael is from this weekend’s @disabilitypridechi!
#thankstotheada #ada
Happy anniversary to the Americans with Disabilities Act!
Let this occasion serve as a reminder that disability is political. Until 33 years ago when this policy was signed into law, discrimination against people with disabilities was legal in areas of schooling and employment, physical accommodations in public buildings, and much more. This robust piece of legislation was drafted and enacted on the shoulders of many strong, hardworking disability advocates and their allies.
Please continue to vote for leaders and policies that see people with disabilities as whole people, worthy of respect and resources. Just this year, your calls and witness slips made a difference in securing a wage increase for our valuable DSPs, without whom our worthy participants wouldn’t have the care they need 💪🏼💪🏼. Policy makes our work possible.
This photo of Patrice and Kael is from this weekend’s @disabilitypridechi!
#thankstotheada #ada
The park is a great activity year round. Susan Klinger, physical therapist at Oak Leyden, recommends you encourage your child to explore all of the park equipment. Some toddlers and preschoolers prefer to use the same equipment each time they attend the park. But each piece of park equipment works different muscles for balance, strength and coordination.
Oak Leyden developmental, behavioral, and speech therapy teams remind us that learning to try new pieces of equipment also reinforces the concept of being more flexible in play and exposes children to a greater variety of vocabulary words! #therapytiptuesday
Oak Leyden’s Children’s Services takes a multi-disciplinary team approach involving collaboration among developmental, physical, speech-language, and occupational therapists to facilitate the holistic development of the children participating in our programs. For more multi-disciplinary tips like this, check out our programs!
The park is a great activity year round. Susan Klinger, physical therapist at Oak Leyden, recommends you encourage your child to explore all of the park equipment. Some toddlers and preschoolers prefer to use the same equipment each time they attend the park. But each piece of park equipment works different muscles for balance, strength and coordination.
Oak Leyden developmental, behavioral, and speech therapy teams remind us that learning to try new pieces of equipment also reinforces the concept of being more flexible in play and exposes children to a greater variety of vocabulary words! #therapytiptuesday
Oak Leyden’s Children’s Services takes a multi-disciplinary team approach involving collaboration among developmental, physical, speech-language, and occupational therapists to facilitate the holistic development of the children participating in our programs. For more multi-disciplinary tips like this, check out our programs!
After the storms have cleared, put on those rain boots and jump in!
Speech Language Pathologist Julie Cameron says you can use those puddles to your advantage by playing a following directions game.
Toddlers and preschoolers: one-step commands (“jump,” “run”) or two-step commands (“jump then walk” or “march then hop”).
Older kids: play Simon says! (“Simon says spin around,” “Simon says kick the water,” etc.)
Our physical therapists also always endorse gross motor skills like jumping or squatting to splash. Marching with high steps promoted balance because it’s a slightly longer time to be on one foot!
#therapytiptuesday
After the storms have cleared, put on those rain boots and jump in!
Speech Language Pathologist Julie Cameron says you can use those puddles to your advantage by playing a following directions game.
Toddlers and preschoolers: one-step commands (“jump,” “run”) or two-step commands (“jump then walk” or “march then hop”).
Older kids: play Simon says! (“Simon says spin around,” “Simon says kick the water,” etc.)
Our physical therapists also always endorse gross motor skills like jumping or squatting to splash. Marching with high steps promoted balance because it’s a slightly longer time to be on one foot!
#therapytiptuesday
Join us for the next FUN Group session starting tomorrow, July 19! Register at the link in bio!
For children ages 2-3 years old, this group will target:
- increasing problem-solving skills and ability to follow directions to improve success in social settings
- expanding the use of language during moments of frustration
- working on sharing and parallel play
- reinforcing positive behaviors and communication while interacting with peers
Join us for the next FUN Group session starting tomorrow, July 19! Register at the link in bio!
For children ages 2-3 years old, this group will target:
- increasing problem-solving skills and ability to follow directions to improve success in social settings
- expanding the use of language during moments of frustration
- working on sharing and parallel play
- reinforcing positive behaviors and communication while interacting with peers
