As I celebrate this milestone of 1000 followers, I’m excited to share my story and the passions that drive my journey.
Hi, I’m Kathryn Byrd, or Kat - a military brat turned Florida girl living life to the fullest with my husband and our three fur babies who bring immense joy and chaos into our lives.
Throughout my academic pursuits, from UWF where I earned my degree in exercise science (Go Argos!), to FAMU for grad school (Go Rattlers!), I’ve been fortunate to apply my skills in diverse healthcare settings.
After six incredible years in outpatient pediatrics, I’ve found my true calling and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. My personal journey with ADHD has taught me that neurodivergence is not just a challenge, but a unique strength - our brains are wired differently, and that’s what enables us to connect and empathize in remarkable ways. This perspective allows me to offer authentic support to my patients who share similar experiences.
My passion for Occupational Therapy is unmatched, and I thrive on the profession’s versatility, independence, and creativity and the skill that I can turn any object/item into a fun, adaptable, therapeutic activity!
I’m passionate about all things sensory, crafting, obstacle coarses, games, low-prep activities I can make, co-treatments with other therapists, and buying new games for my patients!
As a fieldwork educator and supervisor for numerous Master’s and OTD students, I find fulfillment in guiding them as they grow into confident professionals, ready to make a meaningful difference!
So if you like me and my content, like, comment, share, and follow along on my own personal creative outlet journey into content creation with celebrating all my wins for my little patients!
Ocean play meets emotional learning 🌊🐚💙
These Ocean Emotion Seashells are such a fun way to target BOTH social-emotional skills and fine motor development during play! Kids work on opening and closing the shells to strengthen little hands while also identifying, matching, and talking about different emotions.
This activity can help support:🐚 Fine motor strength🐚 Bilateral coordination🐚 Hand-eye coordination🐚 Emotional identification🐚 Social-emotional learning🐚 Language development🐚 Sensory exploration🐚 Imaginative play
I love pairing these with sensory bins, kinetic sand, water play, or hide-and-find games to make learning feel playful and engaging! 🌊✨
#occupationaltherapy #pediatricot #emotions #sensoryplay #socialemotionallearning @learningresources
Push pin pool noodle play = SO many developmental benefits! 📌✨
Pushing different varieties of push pins into a pool noodle works on:
• Hand strengthening
• Pincer grasp
• Finger isolation
• Bilateral coordination
• Hand-eye coordination
• Visual motor skills
• Motor planning
• Force modulation
Adding pre-drawn dots targets visual scanning, attention, and accuracy while changing the noodle position creates different challenges!
➡️ Flat on the table promotes wrist stability and controlled movements
⬆️ Standing upright encourages postural control, upper body strength, reaching, and crossing midline
Simple play with BIG developmental benefits! 💪🧠
#occupationaltherapy #skilldevlòpment #handtherapy #handstrength #playbasedlearning
Upgrade your bean bin with 1 simple item and let the magic happen! ✨
This water & sand toy is such a fun add-in for sensory play! With dry beans, kids can work on:
🤲 Scooping + pouring
💪 Force modulation
🫘 Tactile input
👀 Visual tracking as the gears spin
🧠 Cause + effect learning
✋ Bilateral coordination
🎯 Hand-eye coordination
Simple setup, BIG developmental benefits!
#occupationaltherapy #sensoryplay #kidactivities #playbasedlearning#waterandsand
Tracing through the tape maze challenges kids to slow down and control their movements while staying within boundaries. Peeling up small pieces of tape strengthens little fingers and promotes a refined pincer grasp, while crumpling the tape provides great hand strengthening and tactile input! Using a marker cap eraser and Q-tip to erase lines adds an extra layer of precision, endurance, and coordination while keeping the activity engaging and motivating. 🙌
I love activities like this because they combine creativity, sensory input, and fine motor development all in one playful task! 🎨🖍️✋
#occupationaltherapy #fineMotorSkills #visualmotorintegration #handstrength #kidactivities
People think we’re just playing… 👀 but what they don’t know is that’s how kids learn to build an array of soild foundational skills for their development is through PLAY! #playbasedtherapy #occupationaltherapy #progressnotperfection #pedatrics
🦖💥 Dinosaur blasters + therapy fun = the PERFECT combo for building so many developmental skills!
Using a dinosaur Nerf-style gun that requires kids to pull back the tail, load the target into the hole, aim, and shoot is SUCH an engaging way to target important pediatric occupational therapy skills through PLAY! 🎯
This activity works on:✨ Bilateral coordination — using both hands together to stabilize, pull back the tail, and load the foam target✨ Hand and finger strength — strengthening little hands while pulling back the launcher and inserting targets✨ Fine motor coordination — placing the target into the small hole requires precision and control✨ Visual motor integration — coordinating the eyes and hands together for accurate aiming and shooting✨ Motor planning — figuring out the sequence of loading, aiming, and firing the launcher✨ Shoulder and upper body stability — helping support endurance and postural control during play✨ Attention and focus — maintaining visual attention while aiming at targets✨ Grading force and body awareness — learning how much force is needed to successfully launch the target✨ Crossing midline and core engagement — especially when reaching across the body to grab and reload targets
The BEST part? Kids are having so much fun they don’t even realize how many skills they’re building! 🦕💚#occupationaltherapy #handeyecoordination #nerf #handstrengthening #kidstoys
Happy Mother’s Day 🌸💐 Watch as we create a beautiful bouquet of flowers for Mom while targeting so many important developmental skills through play and creativity!
During this craft we worked on:
✂️ Fine motor skills
🖍️ Marker grasp & control
📏 Tracing lines
✂️ Cutting lines & shapes
🧴 Tool use with glue sticks, scissors, and tape
✍️ Handwriting skills
🧠 Following directions & sequencing
👀 Visual motor integration
🤲 Bilateral coordination
I love activities like this because they combine creativity, fun, and meaningful skill building all into one sweet keepsake for Mom 💕 #PediatricOT #OccupationalTherapy #MothersDayCraft #KidsActivities #momsday
Happy Mother’s Day 🌸🌷🌺💐
Enjoy my patients’ “All About Mom” activity! I love doing these types of activities with my patients because kids have such a funny and honest outlook on things! Their answers always make me smile 🤍
I have to say though… my favorite part is watching them draw the self-portraits of their moms. The creativity, details, and love they put into each picture is so special to see 🥹💕
Not only are these activities adorable, but they also help support important developmental skills like handwriting, visual motor integration, fine motor skills, attention, creativity, and expressive language — all while making meaningful memories for families 💐#occupationaltherapy #mothersday#allaboutmom #handwriting#creativity
This balloon activity is packed with SO many developmental benefits from a pediatric OT perspective! 🎈✨
🩷 Bilateral coordination🩷 Hand strengthening🩷 Fine motor precision🩷 Tripod grasp development🩷 Visual scanning & visual discrimination🩷 Crossing midline🩷 Hand-eye coordination🩷 Graded force & motor control🩷 Separation of the two sides of the hand🩷 Color sorting & cognitive skills🩷 Sustained attention
The unstable movement of the balloon also adds an extra challenge for postural control, motor planning, and visual tracking while keeping kids engaged through play! 🎈💪
Such a fun, simple activity using materials you may already have at home while targeting so many foundational skills needed for school and daily tasks! ✨
#pediatricot #occupationaltherapy #bilateralintegration #kidsactivity #pedsot
Such a simple setup with SO many developmental benefits! 💕✨
Using scrunchies, rubber bands, and small hair ties over a pool noodle placed on a paper towel holder is an amazing fine motor and bilateral coordination activity in pediatric occupational therapy! 👏
Stretching the scrunchies with BOTH hands works on:
🌈 Bilateral coordination
🌈 Hand strength
🌈 Finger strength and endurance
🌈 Motor planning
🌈 Coordination and control
🌈 Midline crossing
🌈 Body awareness
Placing scrunchies over all fingers and opening the fingers outward to stretch the bands targets:
✨ Intrinsic hand muscle strength
✨ Finger isolation
✨ Web space development
✨ Hand arch development
✨ Separation of the two sides of the hand
✨ Graded finger movements
Sliding and placing the scrunchies onto the noodle also helps improve:
🧠 Visual motor integration
🧠 Hand-eye coordination
🧠 Attention and sequencing
🧠 Problem-solving skills
🧠 Precision and control for functional tasks like dressing, fasteners, handwriting, and self-care skills
This activity can also help support learning how to put on socks by practicing using both hands together to stretch openings, position the hands correctly, and coordinate pulling movements needed for dressing tasks! 🧦👏
Play-based activities like this create meaningful opportunities for strengthening little hands while supporting independence through FUN! 💪🫶
#PediatricOT #OccupationalTherapy #FineMotorSkills #HandStrength #BilateralCoordination VisualMotorIntegration
Easy Peasy activity To work in improving independence at home! Give your kid a dry erase marker and let them draw inside the bowl and then paper towel to wipe! #occupationtherapy #chores #independence #kidsactivity #kidschores
