Dr. Jade Dandy is an Idaho native and fell in love with Naturopathic medicine at a young age. She graduated from National University of Natural Medicine (NUMN) in 2015. Focusing on chronic illness, she earned her Doctorates in Natural Medicine as well as Masters of Science in Integrative Medicine Research. Dr. Dandy is an advocate for her patients’ health journey, integrating western medicine with time-tested natural medicine to bring patients back to optimal health. It is her strong belief...

Check out our Autism Acceptance Month Sale, now through April 30, 2024 https://harkla.co/pages/aam-sale Save 15% on all sensory products Save 20% on all digital products We recently completed a 2-on-1 mentoring session with a fellow OT practitioner. We discussed some simple activities to do with her young child as well as brainstormed ideas for her teletherapy clients!  Some of the topics include: seating accommodations, getting outside, teaching teens about technology, executive...

April is OT Month and we’re celebrating with a HUGE sale on our digital courses! If you’re an occupational therapy practitioner, you can earn your CE with our courses that are approved through AOTA! Check out the SALE here - https://harkla.co/pages/ot-month-sale Sale ends April 14, 2024 at midnight! We received a message in IG asking about Brain Balance and how their company claims to “cure” ADHD. We thought this was interesting, so we wanted to talk about it! There are many things that...

Check out our newly re-launched digital course: Early Intervention Blueprint: Sensory and Developmental Milestones for Infants and Toddlers Designed for new and expecting parents, as well as therapists and professionals working with children ages birth - 4 years. OTs and OTAs - earn 11 CEU contact hours through AOTA with this digital course! What is regression? Why do some children go through a regression during therapy? Why do some children go through a regression during primitive...

Check out our newly re-launched digital course: Early Intervention Blueprint: Sensory and Developmental Milestones for Infants and Toddlers Designed for new and expecting parents, as well as therapists and professionals working with children ages birth - 4 years. OTs and OTAs - earn 11 CEU contact hours through AOTA with this digital course! As pediatric therapists, we’re often asked about certain toddler behaviors - Is this ‘normal’? Should I be concerned about _____? Does my toddler have...

Get ready for an episode full of simple, straightforward activities using one piece of equipment - a hula hoop! We dive into the benefits of this single piece of equipment, why you should have one in your home and multiple in your clinic and school, and then we jump right into our 7 favorite activities using hula hoops! Some of these activities can be done independently while others will need some assistance. These activities can be done with a variety of ages and modified to fit a variety...

Our goal with OT when working with pediatric clients is to help the children and their families get through the day easier, learn the skills necessary for ADLs and IADLs, provide emotional regulation tools for all environments that the child is in, and ultimately be successful in all occupations of life that the child wants to participate in. Success is different for each child and each family which is why there’s no one-size-fits all approach when it comes to treatment or discharge. In...

Get ready for an episode full of simple, straightforward activities using one piece of equipment - a yoga/therapy ball! We dive into the benefits of this single piece of equipment, why you should have one in your home and multiple in your clinic and school, and then we jump right into our 10 favorite activities using a yoga ball! Some of these activities can be done independently while others will need some assistance. These activities can be done with a variety of ages and modified to fit...

Sami Carrick is a Child Development & Certified Reading Specialist (M.Ed) who shares (research based) tips for busy parents to take a proactive approach to learning and reading in schools by building a really strong foundation in the younger years and really looking at the whole child. She believes that we can prevent a lot of learning struggles and help kids thrive by making some simple improvements in the younger years. Follow Sami on Instagram:...

What is the Pyramid of Learning and why is it important? Williams and Shellenberger (1996) formulated this pyramid of learning and it highlights how sensory integration processing relates to the child’s learning process. This simple visual aide explains how academic learning, daily living activities (like brushing your teeth and getting dressed), even how your child behaves; it all grows and develops from a strong sensory...

What are hypermobile joints? Who can they affect? What are the functional implications? We dive into these questions, the research, and some information that will be helpful if your child or your clients have hypermobile joints. We also talk about some of the challenges that can be associated with hypermobility. Things like strength training, swimming, nutrition, and finding the right footwear are just a few of the strategies we talk about. Make sure to check out all of our links...

We are so excited to introduce you to Jill Gockel, mom of 5, who left the corporate world at the end of 2016 to stay at home with her kids. In addition to raising her 5 kids, she also invests in real estate, has an online business, & is a continual learner. Our conversation with Jill centers around primitive reflexes. She explains how she first learned about primitive reflexes and the results she and her family have seen since going through our digital course. Learn more about our...

What are some things that we often see in infants, toddlers, and school age children that indicate sensory processing challenges? We list out our top sensory processing red flags for infants, including colic, missed milestones, and challenges with feeding. We then list out our top sensory processing red flags for toddlers which include avoiding playground equipment, covering ears for everyday noises, and avoiding messy play. Finally, we provide our top sensory concerns for school age...

What is eloping? When we’re in therapy talking about eloping, it’s when the child runs. They run away from the task, they run away from the situation, or even run out of the building. There can be a variety of reasons for elopement - we dive into these reasons PLUS specific strategies for each potential reason, including: sensory strategies to help calm the nervous system, building rapport and providing positive reinforcement, using visuals, and more! Make sure to check out all of our links...

We are your podcast DJs and today’s episode is answering YOUR questions! We talk about challenges between young siblings, a 4-year-old Autistic sensory seeker, a sensory-seeking toddler who struggles at bedtime, strategies for a 2-year-old Autistic sensory seeker who will be traveling, and adopted children who are struggling due to drug exposure in utero! Some of the ideas we talk about for these questions are: using emotional regulation tools and sensory stories to advocate for needs;...

Brittyn Coleman is a Registered Dietitian, Autism Nutrition Expert, and the Founder of the Nourishing Autism Collective. She helps parents of children with autism to nourish their kids confidently in a gradual, sustainable way. Through her practice, she has been able to support thousands of parents to expand their child’s diet in a sensory-friendly way and help them get the nutrients they need to feel their best and thrive. Download FREE Nutrition Guide:...

Developmental delays can happen for a variety of reasons- there’s no one to blame and you are not doing anything wrong! We’re going to share some of the typical developmental milestones so you can identify if your little one is on track or a little behind, what you can do to support their development, and who to reach out to and get more help from. We dive into gross motor, fine motor, oral and feeding, speech, emotional, and social milestones. We also give you 2 activities to add into the...

What are primitive reflexes? Why are they important? What are the signs of retained primitive reflexes? How can you help a child who has retained primitive reflexes Listen in and get the answers to these questions, and more! WATCH The Primitive Reflex Webinar and get access to the FREE downloads! Dive into the FULL digital course, Assessment and Integration of Primitive Reflexes for Improved Independence in Daily Activities Make sure to check out all of our links below! We’d love to...

What is a sensory circuit? We use this term to describe an obstacle course that is used for a sensory diet routine. A sensory circuit can be used in the clinic as a way to meet your client's sensory threshold. It can be used at home as your child's daily sensory diet routine as well! We break down how to create an effective sensory circuit using 5 steps: identify the child’s sensory preferences; create a visual support / tool; add a vestibular and a proprioceptive activity; add 1 or 2 more...

Check out our Holiday Sensory Survival Guide, on sale NOW! Shop During Harkla’s Christmas SALE! Save 15% on ANY order! Shop and Save Until Dec. 14, 2023! harkla.co/pages/christmas-sale Shop and Save During Our Digital Course SALE - Save 20% on ANY Digital Course, Dec. 15 - Dec. 22, 2023. harkla.co/pages/digital-courses-holiday-sale Primitive Reflex Digital Course Today’s episode is answering a question that we received from a student inside of our Primitive Reflex Digital Course. This...

Check out our Holiday Sensory Survival Guide, on sale NOW! Shop During Harkla’s Christmas SALE! Save 15% on ANY order! Shop and Save Until Dec. 14, 2023! harkla.co/pages/christmas-sale In this episode, we explore the fascinating topic of organization of behavior in children and how occupational therapy can play a crucial role in addressing these challenges - and how parents can use the same strategies at home! We start by talking about how to identify sensory preferences, then jump into...

Check out our Holiday Sensory Survival Guide, on sale NOW! Shop During Harkla’s 12 Days of Christmas SALE! Save 12% on ANY order! Shop and Save Until Dec. 12, 2023! https://harkla.co/pages/12-days Answering a listener’s question in today’s episode: “I’d love it if you guys could dedicate an episode to all things relating to PERIODS. As my daughter is 11, I’m staring down the road and see this major life event looming in our near future. From fear of menstrual blood, practical info for...

Check out our Holiday Sensory Survival Guide, on sale NOW! Shop During the Harkla Holiday Sale and Save 20% on ANY Order! Nov. 20-27, 2023 Shop here - https://harkla.co/pages/holiday-sale This episode is all about parenting while in survival mode. If you’re a parent who feels like every day is a struggle, or if you’re a professional working with families, this episode is for you! Listen in as we discuss practical tips and techniques for preserving your sanity during demanding times....

Tara Phillips is a speech/language pathologist and has run her own communication based classroom for 25 years. She was at the early elementary level for the first part of her career, and at the early childhood level for the last 10 years. Tara earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Communicative Disorders at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Her minor was in Early Childhood Education. After working exclusively with autistic children at the elementary level for several years,...