Educational articles by our therapists, psychologists, and specialists to help you learn more about your child and their developmental needs.
Social Emotional Learning is an approach that aims to teach children the skills they need to understand and manage their emotions and build positive relationships with others. All our experiences
Hi! I’m Callie, an Interventionist at The Energy Source’s Early Intervention Programme (EIP). My colleagues and I have been working on improving our concept of ‘How My Body Helps Me
Children love to play and it’s now well established that play is a cornerstone in child development and learning. So essential is play, that Maria Montessori, one of the most
March is when The Energy Source celebrates National Swallowing Awareness. The mouth and throat are used for both speaking and eating. We have a team of speech language therapists with
What is Learning Support? Parents, you may be wondering – what exactly is Learning Support? Isn’t that something my child’s teachers do anyway, to support their learning? Why is this
Autistic children, like my son Arif, often struggle to understand abstract concepts like social dynamics, new situations, and transitions from one activity to the next. A helpful tool that we
Children learn to speak by imitating the sounds they hear, and typically, they’ll make mistakes along the way. For example, you may hear a child saying “tat” instead of “cat”
If your child has been attending occupational or speech therapy sessions regularly for some time, then you probably have a pretty good idea by now about what goes on in
When my eldest son was 16, he told me that he wanted to become a chef someday. And now, two years later, he has followed his dreams and is studying
In today’s blog, I’d like to get a little more personal, and write to you from the heart. As a mother of a child with autism, there were times in
My son Arif, who has autism, was non-verbal for the first five years of his life. And when he did start to speak, sometimes it was difficult for me to
Primitive reflexes are automatic movements arising from the Central Nervous System (CNS) in response to a particular stimulus that are typically present in childhood, but not present in healthy or
As a parent of two boys, an 18-year old who has just started college and an 8-year old who is on the autism spectrum, I’m well acquainted with the endless
My son Arif has autism and sensory processing issues, which can make it difficult for him to receive and process information from his senses. He regularly seeks sensory input, which
As your child grows, and inches towards toddlerhood, they will develop a sense of self-awareness and begin to assert their independence. However, alongside their budding independence, they’re also likely to
When my son was diagnosed with autism, ‘stimming’ was one of the things that I had to quickly learn about. Once I found out what stimming was, some of my
As parents, we get excited when our child adds new words to their vocabulary and learns how to use them in the right context. This is especially true when our
What is hand-eye coordination? Hand-eye coordination refers to the ability to use both our eyes and hands at the same time while performing actions and carrying out activities. It brings
Has your child ever bitten or been bitten by another child? During the preschool years, biting is a common cause of concern, and is a frequently-reported injury. While it happens
When a child’s handwriting is messy, the typical assumption would be that the child is lazy or careless. In truth, messy handwriting is often caused by challenges with motor skills.
For most children, the majority of their school day is spent sitting still at their desks. The only times they are able to move their bodies, is usually during physical
Messy play, also known as sensory play, is a highly-beneficial activity for children, as they tend to naturally use their senses to explore their surroundings and make sense of the
Have you ever spoken to someone, and wondered if they were really listening to you? And when you were a child, did you ever hear a parent or teacher say
If you’d like to help your child learn language and develop their speech, try ‘recasting.’ It’s a form of modelling that’s considered one of the easiest and most effective strategies
Imagine that an invisible line runs down the centre of your body, dividing your left and right sides. That’s your ‘midline.’ When you reach across your midline with an arm
It is normal for growing children to trip and fall, but if there are persistent issues with a child’s balance, it may indicate a disruption in their vestibular system. The
What is functional communication? The purpose of communication is to be included with others and to learn. Usually, we don’t stop to think about how crucial clear and effective communication
“My first one didn’t talk until he was 4 and he’s fine now!” “My husband is a quiet person, I think my child is just taking after him.” “We went
“He doesn’t really play with a toy for long and moves on to another thing quickly.” “I have to repeat my instructions over and over to get her to do
My son Arif is 7 years old. He was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder when he was two and a half years old. Raising a child with autism comes with
Hello, my name is Joanna Hutt and I am the founder and managing director at The Energy Source.
