Your Therapy Source Magazine for Pediatric Therapists July 2016 | Page 11

During therapy sessions,
we frequently break
down activities into
smaller parts or chunks to
make it easier for children
to learn new motor or life
skills. As the child
progresses with those
individual parts of the
skill, the child then
practices the entire
activity as a whole.
Sometimes this is done in
an isolated environment
(ie therapy room) and
sometimes in the real
environment (ie
classroom).
Keep in mind, in order for the child to learn and retain the skill, the child must
apply that skill in meaningful and functional activities. This helps to lay the neural
networks to achieve and retain the skill.
After the child completes the skill provide formal and informal feedback to help
them improve. Use self-assessment techniques allowing the child to determine
what needs improvements. This will again help lay the groundwork for strong
neural networks for the skill.
So why do children need meaningful opportunities to practice new motor or life
skills? It creates strong neural networks in order to transfer the skill in different
situations or to learn additional new skills.

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