It takes an informed community to grow a child.
Welcome! Our webpage is dedicated to providing child development information to parents, professionals, and child caregivers. Our intent is to help parents understand how early play and positioning help their brand new baby build the good foundation for school success. Our goal is to underscore the fact that babies need to achieve all motor milestones. It is what builds a ready body: Ready to crawl, ready to run, and ready to succeed in preschool.
The best first year experience starts as soon as the baby comes home from the hospital. New parents are eager to help their new baby grow a perfect little body, but they need some help when playing with an infant.
On the Tummy Time page please find:
- The Why and How information about Tummy Time
- A free brochure about new baby positioning with helpful information about incorporating tummy time into your baby’s day schedule.
- A Milestone Pictorial to show what babies should be doing by each month for the first year.
- Free PPT downloads explaining in more detail, exercise/play from 0-12 months to acquire preschool readiness skills.
On the Toddler Play page, please find:
- The Why and How toddler play makes a child ready for preschool
- Free PPT, “Toddlers Bloom and Grow”
- Gross motor, fine motor, visual acuity, social, behavioral, language development, and personal independence information
On the Older Child page please find:
- Free PPT, “The Clumsy Child” to help parents with the child who is struggling in school
- Helpful hints and techniques to help the older child learn and retain
- *Disclaimer: Activities in equipment should be done with a therapist. Jennings used with children she served with school-based and private physical therapy.
On the Therapists page for Professionals.
- Research articles
- School-based and private physical therapy suggestions and ideas
- Seminar handouts and a PPT presentations with some of her therapy techniques
Presentations (for therapists)
“Preventing, Resolving the Problems of Plagiocephaly, Torticollis, and Developmental Delay in Infants”. Ms. Jennings, 3-hour CEU from HomeCEU Connection. Current literature is reviewed. Milestones are discussed, and treatment strategies are presented.
“Developmental and Sensory Motor Strategies in School-Based Programs “. Judy Jennings PT and Candace Yates OTR/L. 4-hour CEU from HomeCEU Connection. These are very successful approaches for therapy with children in preschool and even some older children.
Contact HomeCEUConnection.com for more information.
Ms Jennings was a school-based physical therapist since for 25 years working with children of many disabilities. Her extensive continuing education in sensory integration and sensory dysfunction has provided her opportunities to speak and teach parents, teachers, and therapists. She is committed to the goal of prevention of developmental delays in children due to less than optimal positioning choices by new parents.
Ms. Jennings received her certificate in physical therapy from the University of Iowa. She has developed her knowledge of academic helps with many continuing education courses utilizing neuro-kinesiology, sensori-integration, edu-kineseology, and reflex integration. Her unique motor-neuro-kinesiology techniques have worked very well with students with the Clumsy Child Syndrome who have educational challenges but do not usually qualify for physical or occupational therapy services. She has found that giving a child activities that orient him or her to the mid-line of the body will often improve memory, reading, math and handwriting skills. Ms. Jennings has lectured to several audiences on successful motor strategies to enhance academic success.
From 2001 to 2003, Ms. Jennings researched the effects of infant positioning on 100 six month and 18 month old babies. She and her research team presented the results June 2003, at the national Occupational Therapy 83rd Conference in Washington D.C. , and June 2005 to the National American Physical Therapy Association Conference in Boston, MA.
