April is Occupational Therapy month! The Carruth Center has been fortunate to have talented and dedicated OTs at the clinic. You never know when you will have a child push by your office door on a scooter board, walk by in a body sock or find a child covered in shaving cream thanks to our OTs. The children LOVE going to the OT gym and as a SLP myself, I could not imagine working without one by my side. Hats off to all our OT crew: Caroline Moreland, Rachel O’Reilly, Rachel Czar and Susan Honey!
One of the things that Occupational Therapists understand is all the underlying skills necessary in order for a child to write. When people ask if Camp Superwriters or Occupational Therapy in general is just the use of the Handwriting Without Tears methodology, we explain that much more is needed in order for a child to become a successful handwriter. Not only are fine motor skills necessary, but gross motor skills (such as core strength and posture) are needed so stability and fine motor skills can develop. For example, shoulder and elbow strength and stability are required for a child to make vertical or horizontal lines using the smaller muscles in the hands. Bilateral coordination is needed to hold the paper with one hand and write with the other. Proprioception is needed to know how to hold and manipulate a writing instrument. The ability to visually and physically cross midline is important as children begin writing longer words and sentences. Pencil grasp and hand stabilization are needed. Visual and eye-hand coordination along with spatial awareness is crucial. All of this is in play while a child stays within an optimal zone of regulation and on task! Teaching handwriting takes more than a handwriting program. It is a highly-skilled fine motor movement that can be best helped by a professional who can address all of the above components while making this work fun!
We still have a few spots left in Camp Superwriters, so if you are interested in a two-week, child-centered handwriting intensive for your child this summer please complete an application for camp! Younger campers should be beginning to write capital letters and words with capital letters. Older campers should be using a mix of upper and lower case letters and writing words and sentences. Applications can be found here: Superwriters application
Summer scheduling is always a challenge at The Carruth Center. Our therapists are juggling clients’ vacations and camps as well as their own commitments to the camps The Carruth Center offers. We utilize an online form to try to make this easier: 2025 Carruth Summer Schedule Request. We ask that all current clients complete this form by Friday, May 2nd. Before and after camp times in June are a premium and our team will have limited spots available during these times. Please know we do our best to accommodate your scheduling requests but do ask that you try to have some flexibility with scheduling during the summer months and give us as many scheduling options as possible.
Thank you for bringing your child to The Carruth Center! It is a joy to watch them grow every day!