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Check Out Children In Motion 👦🏼

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Check Out Therapy Unmasked 🎭

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Check Out Summer Camps 🏕️

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Hi Friends,

This episode explores how play-based occupational therapy helps children learn emotional regulation by meeting them where they are, using games and role-play to safely surface emotions, and modeling appropriate responses.

We discuss tools like the Zones of Regulation, sensory strategies (proprioception, vestibular, interoception), and practical tips parents can use at home, plus a note about related summer camps and group programs.

Sincerely,

Your Friends At Ability Innovations

Check Out Aarone's Course: https://www.abilityinnovations.com/therapyunmaskedland

Check Out Aarone's Blog: https://www.abilityinnovations.com/blog/nbspa-guide-to-help-with-daily-living-skills-including-sensory-challengesnbsp

Hi Friends,

In this episode, Aaron, an occupational therapist and clinic regional director, explains activities of daily living (ADLs) for children—why skills like dressing, toothbrushing, and tying shoes matter, common challenges (attention, sequencing, sensory issues), and real clinic examples of learning and relearning skills.

He shares practical strategies such as creating visual schedules with the child, discusses which diagnoses often affect ADLs (autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, stroke), and offers guidance on milestones and when to seek an OT evaluation.

If you feel like your child may be behind in some of their activities of daily living reach out to us for an evaluation. Also don't forget to check out Aarones course as well as his most recent blog post all about Activities of Daily Living.

Sincerely,

Your Friends At Ability Innovations

In this episode of Therapy Unmasked, host Nick Sidwell (Owner of Ability Innovations and Occupational Therapist) is joined by Megan Davidson, Admin Director and future Financial Strategist, to pull back the curtain on a topic most parents find daunting: Health Insurance.

They dive deep into the often-frustrating reality of how insurance companies dictate pediatric care, often prioritizing "cookie-cutter" policies and profit margins over the individualized needs of a child. If you’ve ever wondered why your child’s therapy was suddenly cut off or why a doctor—who may know nothing about handwriting or sensory processing—is the "gatekeeper" for your child's services, this episode is for you.

• The Insurance Trap: Why following insurance rules can sometimes mean sacrificing the quality and frequency of care your child actually needs.

• Rehabilitation vs. Habilitation: Understanding the crucial difference between "getting back" a skill and "learning a skill for the first time," and why insurance companies often use the wrong metrics to limit visits.

• The Hidden Costs of "Coverage": Breaking down the math of premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximums. Why private pay might actually be more affordable (and less stressful) than you think.

• The Power of Investment: Viewing pediatric therapy not as an expense, but as an investment in your child's "superpowers" and their future ability to change the world.

• Taking Back Control: How shifting your mindset away from insurance dependency allows parents and therapists to make medical decisions based on milestones, not mandates.

"Your insurance company doesn't know a thing about your child, and yet they're the ones dictating everything about their therapy."