Understanding Key Terms of Occupational Therapy

The occupational therapy team has put together a list of commonly used terms in their therapy sessions so families can understand the terms better and help carry these strategies into everyday life. View this email in your browser Understanding Key Terms of Occupational Therapy Understanding Key Terms of Occupational Therapy   Occupational therapy can sometimes feel like it comes with its own language, and that can be overwhelming. We put together this list of common OT terms to help make therapy feel a little less confusing and a lot more approachable. Our goal is to help you feel informed, comfortable, and confident as you support your child's growth. You are an important part of your child's therapy team. When you understand the words and ideas we use in therapy, it becomes easier to carry those strategies into everyday life—at home, at school, and during play. Working together and sharing the same language helps create consistency, which can make a big difference in helping your child build skills and feel successful beyond therapy sessions. Movement & Body Control Gross Motor Skills – Exercised when we engage large muscle groups to perform big movements, often in bursting motions (running, jumping, throwing, climbing). Fine Motor Skills – Involves the coordination of small muscle groups, primarily in the hands and fingers, to achieve fine manipulation tasks (writing, buttoning, cutting). Bilateral Coordination – Refers to the ability to use both sides of the body together to perform actions at the same time (clapping your hands, jumping with both feet, holding paper while cutting). Praxis – Praxis can be broken down into several components, including ideation, motor planning, execution, and feedback and adaptation. Praxis is the overall ability to think of an action, plan it, and carry it out. It includes coming up with the idea, figuring out the steps, and using the body to complete the task. Praxis is important for learning new skills and handling unfamiliar activities. Sensory Processing & Regulation Sensory Processing (Sensory Integration) – How the brain takes in and responds to information from the senses including touch (tactile), visual, gustatory (taste), olfactory (smell), interoception (internal body cues), auditory (hearing), proprioceptive (body position), and vestibular (balance). Proprioception – Our bodies internal sense of position, movement, and force. It allows us to know where our limbs are without looking, how much strength we need to lift an object or how firmly to press a pencil when writing. Interoception – The ability to perceive the internal state of our body (hunger, heartbeat, need to use the bathroom). Vestibular – Provides the brain with information about head position, motion, and spatial awareness and is crucial for maintaining balance, coordination, and stability during physical activities. Hypersensitivity – Over-reactive to stimuli in our environment. An individual might feel compelled to touch every item they see, or they might listen closely to identify specific noises. Hyposensitivity – Under-reactive to stimuli in our environment. People may have trouble distinguishing sensations like hunger and illness, or they might display under-reactions to pain. Visual & Visual-Motor Skills Visual Motor Skills – Using vision to guide movement (writing, drawing, cutting, catching). Visual Perception – Making sense of what the eyes see. Daily Living & Independence Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) – Self-care tasks like dressing, eating, bathing, and brushing teeth. Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) – More complex daily tasks that help a child function at home and in the community, such as helping with chores, organizing school materials, following routines, or simple meal preparation. CONTACT US Share Tweet Forward Website Facebook Copyright © 2026 Cutting Edge Pediatric Therapy, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website or offline form Our mailing address is: Cutting Edge Pediatric Therapy 900 Junction Drive Allen, TX 75013 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Latest from Food Politics: Recent events in pet food safety and ingredients

If I counted right, the FDA oversaw 17 recalls of pet food and animal feed in 2025. The causes included Salmonella, Listeria, aflatoxin, bird flu, plastics, and “presence of particulate matter” Not yet on that list is an even more serious case ...

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By Marion Nestle February 05 2026 Recent events in pet food safety and ingredients If I counted right, the FDA oversaw 17 recalls of pet food and animal feed in 2025. The causes included Salmonella, Listeria, aflatoxin, bird flu, plastics, and “presence of particulate matter” Not yet on that list is an even more serious case involving Darwin’s raw pet food (thanks to  Phyllis Entis for writing and sending) : Darwin’s raw pet food linked to human case of E. coli O157:H7 in four-year-old child. The contamination came to light after food-safety attorney, William Marler, initiated third-party testing of an previously unopened package of BioLogics All-Natural and Grain Free, Beef Recipe for Dogs found E. coli O157:H7 in the raw, frozen product. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) confirmed that the strain found in the pet food was a match for the strain recovered from the child. In addition to the E. coli O157:H7-positive sample, the third-party lab recovered Salmonella Infantis and Salmonella Hadar from previously sealed packages of Darwin’s chicken dog food and duck dog food, respectively. This example is notable for two reasons.  The company refused to recall the products (recalls are voluntary) and continued to sell contaminated food: Darwin’s pet food tests positive for Listeria and Salmonella: The FDA has again found bacterial contamination in Darwin’s Natural Pet Products dog food and the producing company, Arrow Reliance, is again refusing to recall its products.Read more  As I keep insisting, pet food is not a separate entity; it is part and parcel of the food supply for humans.  Contaminated pet food can and does infect pet owners and their children.   It is made from the same foods that go into the human food supply and is an early warning of problems to come (hence my book, Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine) That is why safety and other pet food issues are well worth tracking. SAFETY APHA reveals Salmonella findings in animals and pet food: Reports of Salmonella in raw meat-based pet food in the United Kingdom have declined again from the record levels seen in 2022.The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) collected data on Salmonella from animals, feeding stuff and animal by-products (ABP) in England, Wales and Scotland.Read Dog food, treats linked to Salmonella outbreak in Canada: The Canadian government reports 27 confirmed cases across four provinces connected to handling various dog food products. Read more Dog Food Recalled Nationwide Due to Bacterial Contamination: FDA: North Carolina-based Viva Raw said the recalled dog and cat foods were contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. INGREDIENTS Report: China dominates critical vitamin, amino acid supplies: New IFEEDER research reveals U.S. dependence on Chinese-produced feed additives essential for animal nutrition and food security. Read more Shark-based pet snacks rising in popularity, include regulated species: DNA barcoding of shark-based pet treats in Thailand identified eight species of shark. Biologists have classified many of those species as near threatened, while also under international trade regulations. Read more Good fatty acids boosted by BSFL insect protein in dog food: Nevermind humans, dogs didn’t need to be convinced of insect-based pet foods’ value. In preference testing, dogs showed no significant difference in consumption between traditional and insect-based diets. Read more Tesco issues urgent recall over contaminated dog food fears: The retailer has issued an urgent recall notice after a foreign body contamination was detected in Lily’s Kitchen branded dog food cans…. Read more The post Recent events in pet food safety and ingredients appeared first on Food Politics by Marion Nestle      Related Posts The FDA’s promised work plan for 2026: ambitious, yes, but doable? Today’s dysfunctional FDA: Could staff losses have something to do with it? Not good news: The FDA is conducting fewer foreign inspections   Now Available: What to Eat Now My new book, What to Eat Now, is officially out! It's both a field guide to food shopping in America and a reflection on how to eat well—and deliciously. For more information and to order, click here. You can explore the full archive of this (almost) daily blog at foodpolitics.com, where you'll also find information about my books, articles, media interviews, upcoming lectures, favorite resources, and FAQs. Visit the Site » ​​​​​​​ Marion Nestle Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, Emerita © Marion Nestle. You're receiving this email because you've signed up to receive updates from us. If you'd prefer not to receive updates, you can unsubscribe. Safely Unsubscribe • Archives • Preferences • Contact • Subscribe • Privacy

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Latest from Food Politics: The government is actively promoting meat and dairy intake

The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans actively promote meat and dairy intake, especially full-fat dairy.   The USDA has long acted as a marketing arm of those industries through its research and promotion (checkoff) programs. But the current ...

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By Marion Nestle February 04 2026 The government is actively promoting meat and dairy intake The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans actively promote meat and dairy intake, especially full-fat dairy.  The USDA has long acted as a marketing arm of those industries through its research and promotion (checkoff) programs. But the current government takes this new levels. Here are the Secretaries of HHS and USDA: More on the milk mustache campaign here, here, here, and here. And how about RFK Jr’s birthday celebration: Earlier, in 2025, USDA announced its plan to “fortify the American beef industry.” USDA Action: USDA FNS is encouraging schools, sponsors, and institutions participating in any USDA Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) to source and serve locally grown foods, including beef, in program meals.,,,These efforts will improve access to local foods, including high-quality meat, for American students, and will improve child health and nutrition and reinvigorate American livestock producers by better connecting them with USDA’s Child Nutrition Programs. USDA Action: Together with HHS, ensure the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) reflect sound science and practical advice for the American family, including encouraging protein as the foundation for every meal. Comment I chalk all this up to the extraordinary lobbying power of the meat and dairy industries.  Fruit and vegetable growers (“specialty crops”) do not have this kind of clout.  Will eating more meat and dairy foods Make America Healthy Again?  That seems highly unlikely.  In my reading of the evidence, we—and the planet—would be healthier getting more of our calories from plant foods.I The post The government is actively promoting meat and dairy intake appeared first on Food Politics by Marion Nestle      Related Posts The MAHA Dietary Guidelines III: Conflicts of Interest The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines: Some preliminary speculation What’s happening with plant-based meat: a roundup   Now Available: What to Eat Now My new book, What to Eat Now, is officially out! It's both a field guide to food shopping in America and a reflection on how to eat well—and deliciously. For more information and to order, click here. You can explore the full archive of this (almost) daily blog at foodpolitics.com, where you'll also find information about my books, articles, media interviews, upcoming lectures, favorite resources, and FAQs. Visit the Site » ​​​​​​​ Marion Nestle Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, Emerita © Marion Nestle. You're receiving this email because you've signed up to receive updates from us. If you'd prefer not to receive updates, you can unsubscribe. Safely Unsubscribe • Archives • Preferences • Contact • Subscribe • Privacy

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