Ideas at Play: An Occupational Therapy (OT) Podcast
Welcome to Ideas at Play, the go-to podcast for busy pediatric occupational therapy professionals! Whether you're in school-based settings, early intervention, or outpatient practice, we bring you evidence-based strategies, practical tips, and engaging discussions to support your OT practice with children, teens, and young adults.
Each episode features:
- A deep dive into recent pediatric OT research and how to apply it.
- "Nailed It or Failed It," where we share what’s working—and what isn’t—in our pediatric OT practice.
- Real-world examples and listener questions about all things pediatric occupational therapy.
- Shout outs to People, Places, and Products that fill our occupational therapy hearts
Join the hosts, Michele Alaniz, OTD, OTR/L, BCP and Lacy Wright, OTD, OTR/L, BCP, as we explore innovative OT ideas, share professional insights, and help you stay up-to-date with the latest trends in pediatric occupational therapy. Subscribe now and unlock actionable strategies to help the children you serve thrive!
Stay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!
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📧 Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com
👉 Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play
Keywords: occupational therapy, OT, pediatric occupational therapy, evidence based practice, peds OT
Episodes
27 episodes
Ep. 26 Have Impostor Syndrome? (Here’s what to do)
Ever feel like you are in over your head? You're not alone—new research shows 84% of occupational therapy practitioners and students secretly battle impostor syndrome. From OT students to seasoned therapists, despite being well qualified, we...
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31:54
Ep. 25 Hand Strengthening for Handwriting
Michele presents research that offers a completely different perspective on OT handwriting intervention. While previous episodes emphasized task-specific training (doing writing to improve writing), this study suggests that students receivin...
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24:37
Summer of Play Series: Play Personalities
Ep 24 - In our final Summer of Play episode, we're uncovering the rich history and complex science that makes play genuinely unique in pediatric OT practice. Journey from Piaget and Vygotsky's foundational theories to Mary Reilly's revolutio...
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28:14
Summer of Play Series: Interventions for Play
Ep 23 - Ready to turn your occupational therapy sessions into playgrounds of learning? In this episode of our Summer of Play Series, we explore using play as both the vehicle AND the destination in pediatric OT. We'll discuss 5 manualized oc...
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31:24
Summer of Play Series: Assessing Play
Ep 22 - Think you know how to assess play? We break down the surprising gap between how important play is for EVERY PART of child development and how this occupation is often overlooked in OT/OTA education programs and practice. You'll...
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28:40
Summer of Play Series: 10 Fun Summer Therapy Ideas
Ep 21 - Summer just got a whole lot more fun! 🌞 Michele and Lacy kick off their Summer of Play series with 10 fun, evidence-based therapy activities. From DIY food trucks and table tennis for executive function to wate...
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27:56
Ep. 20 Green Light Interventions for CP: Do What Works (with special guest Iona Novak)
Stop guessing and start knowing which occupational therapy interventions actually work. World-renowned OT researcher Professor Iona Novak discusses her revolutionary Traffic Light System that rates occupational therapy interventions with...
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48:22
Ep. 19 Pictures vs. Videos: Choosing the Right Visual Support for ADL Goals
You've heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, but what about a thousand prompts? When it comes to helping autistic kids master daily living skills like brushing teeth, washing hands, and tying shoes, the visua...
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36:03
Ep. 18 Aquatic Therapy: Using the Pool for More Than Swim Lessons
When you think of therapy in the swimming pool, swim lessons probably come to mind. However, occupational therapy practitioners use water for so many life skills! This week, Michele dives into research from Spain that reveals how aquatic the...
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38:00
Ep. 17 Time Management Treatment Ideas for ADHD
Ready for an ADHD intervention that tackles the root problem of time management? This Swedish research hands occupational therapy practitioners a comprehensive protocol that includes both remediation and compensation strategies for time proc...
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38:13
Ep. 16 From Student Projects to Group Therapy: How to Build Better Teams
As occupational therapy practitioners, we spend our careers working in teams—yet most of us learned to hate group work in OT/OTA school. Sound familiar? We're breaking down brand-new research from the Journal of OT Education that studied how...
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45:17
Ep. 15 Accept, Adapt & Advocate: Autistic Adults Share Insights for OTPs
Ever wonder what your pediatric OT clients will say about you when they grow up? In this episode, Lacy & Michele explore qualitative research where autistic adults share what they wish their childhood occupational therapists had known. T...
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36:28
Ep. 14 Role of OT and Co-Occupation in the NICU (and why it matters!)
Step into the NICU where beeping monitors meet tiny fighters and discover how sensory connections are changing the game for premature infants. We unpack the SENSE program that's putting occupational therapists at the forefront of preemie car...
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43:19
Ep. 13 The Ultimate Evidence Guide: What 52 Pediatric OT Interventions & 90 Years of Research Reveal
Tired of Googling for interventions that actually work? We dive into the mother of all systematic reviews covering 129 studies and 52 occupational therapy interventions across nine decades of pediatric OT research. Discover which interventio...
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39:47
Ep. 12 Shooting for Better Sleep: How Playing Basketball Improves Sleep & Executive Function
Could better sleep for autistic children be as simple as shooting some hoops? In this episode, occupational therapists, Michele Alaniz and Lacy Wright, dive into fascinating research showing how a structured basketball intervention significa...
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38:24
Ep. 11 Handwriting & OT: Guiding Principles for Today and the Future (with AI)
Up to 10% of children have difficulty with handwriting, yet only 12% of teachers feel adequately trained to teach it. This week, we break down the six evidence-based principles (plus one essential bonus) that should guide all handwriting ins...
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40:36
Ep. 10 Tubes & Tables: Supporting Mealtime with Medically Fragile Kids (special guest episode)
What happens when a child isn't able eat? In this milestone 10th episode, Michele and Lacy explore the complex world of pediatric occupational therapy and feeding with medically fragile children and our guest, Yovana Harris, BA, COTA/L. ...
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54:16
Ep. 9 VR and Pediatric Brain Injury (3 Takeaways to Apply Across OT Settings)
Ever wonder how virtual reality could change your pediatric occupational therapy practice? Michele and Lacy dive into a randomized control trial where VR helped kids with brain injuries make progress in just four weeks of OT intervention! He...
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38:53
Ep. 8 Ayres SI in Brazil: 3 Tools to Boost Your OT Practice
Did you know that up to 16% of children have sensory processing challenges that impact their daily lives? In this evidence-packed episode, pediatric occupational therapists Michele and Lacy break down a groundbreaking randomized control tria...
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36:59
Ep. 7 Parent-Powered Potty Training: The 4-Step Coaching Model in Telehealth
Forget everything you thought you knew about toilet training—this evidence-based pediatric occupational therapy approach is changing the game. In this episode, we dive into a hybrid telehealth intervention that transformed toilet training su...
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34:50
Ep. 6 The Surprising #1 Reason OT Students Fail Fieldwork (And How You Can Help)
Struggling OT Fieldwork students? The shocking truth is that occupational therapy knowledge isn't what makes or breaks fieldwork success—it's professional behaviors! Join pediatric occupational therapists, Michele and Lacy, as they unpack ev...
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36:54
Ep. 5 Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3: Top School-Based OT Interventions That Work
Overwhelmed by your school-based OT caseload? Join Drs. Michele Alaniz and Lacy Wright as they discuss three decades of research into actionable, tiered interventions that deliver measurable results. Learn why the most successful school-base...
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30:41
Ep. 4 Beyond the Messy Desk: Assessing Executive Function in Adolescents
Think a messy backpack or desk is just carelessness? We don’t think so. This episode cracks open the complex world of executive function in school, showing therapists how the Weekly Calendar Planning Activity assessment can unlock insights i...
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31:55
Ep. 3 Scoring Success: Quality Sports Participation for Kids with Autism
How can we make sports truly meaningful for children with autism? In this episode, pediatric OTs Dr. Michele Alaniz and Dr. Lacy Wright break down a comprehensive framework for quality participation in sports. Explore research-backed strateg...
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35:13
Ep. 2 Play that Works: Engaging & Effective OT Motor Interventions for Kids with CP
What if you could help children with cerebral palsy make significant motor gains with half the therapy hours while keeping both parents and kids engaged? Pediatric occupational therapists Dr. Michele Alaniz and Dr. Lacy Wright dive into the ...
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29:28