By Laura Donatello, Physical Therapist and Positioning & Mobility Clinic Coordinator

As school districts return to remote instruction (many for the rest of the school year), the learning environment at home should be revisited. As an observer of your child’s school day you may notice when he/she needs a break or help focusing. Their seating position has a large impact on their ability to focus! You may have to experiment with seating positions to find the best productive space for their child.

Ideally, you want to help create a workspace conducive to good posture and free of distractions. The pictures below demonstrates what good posture looks like in an at-home learning environment. As you can see, there are multiple ways to position an at-home learning environment!

Seating Positions

1. Laying in prone on your stomach is a great way stretch your trunk and hips after sitting in a chair. You can put a small pillow or rolled up towel under your feet to relax your back.

2. Sitting on a peanut ball is another great alternative to sitting in a chair. The ball will provide proprioceptive feedback to assist with increasing arousal levels. Be sure your child’s feet are flat on the floor. It might be easier for your child’s feet to touch the floor with a peanut ball versus a round exercise ball because of the shape. Put something under the computer to be at eye level. A physical therapist can help identify the right size ball for your child. Also, a general tip is to measure the distance from the child’s armpit to the middle finger tip. This measurement will give you a decent estimate of what the diameter of your ball should be.

3. Tall kneel and half kneel are different floor positions which can be balance challengers. Encourage your child to keep their stomach away from the support surface. You could use a small towel or move the desk slightly away from their trunk to strengthen their core!

4. Using the wall is an easy tactile cue to encourage your child to sit with a flat back. If you do not have a small bench you can use a box. Your child can sit in pretzel style sitting while using the wall as support.

5. If you have an adult size desk chair, position blankets to make it child size! Watch for a couple minutes to see if your child is comfortable. If you notice your child leaning to the side, you can also put a rolled-up towel or blanket by their hip. Make sure their feet are supported with hips and knees at a 90 degree angle. If you notice your child leaning back, you might need another blanket behind their back. If you notice their trunk starts to come past their hips, you might need to take a blanket away. If their knees are higher than their hips, the support surface under their feet might be too big. If their knees are lower than their hips, you might need a higher footrest.

In this picture the height of the desk is set as if Henry were talking to his teacher and looking at the camera. If your child is watching something on the screen, you would need something else under the computer such as a thin box to keep their eyes level.

6. Another example of what a blanket can do for posture! In this example the blanket is rolled long ways and wrapped around Henry’s back to provide total trunk support.

Foam Roller Stretch

This exercise is one of the best activities you and your child can do after a long day at the computer! Grab a foam roller or roll up 1-2 towels. Lay on your back with your arms stretched out, your palms facing up, and your feet flat on the ground. Keeping your arms on the ground, bring your hands in line with your shoulders. If you notice your back start to arch bring your hands down. Stay here for the length of 1 song per day to stretch your pectoralis muscles!

A special thank you to Henry for being our model!

Alternate Seating Options & Focus Ideas

Occupational Therapist, Laura Harmasch, OTR/L, shares some additional strategies to help children who need extra help focusing! Headphones help and our recent blog post, covers how to help children with hearing aids use headphones and hear the best during remote learning sessions. Also creating a space with a trifold display board around the computer can help some children if they are easily distracted, have siblings playing or learning nearby to tune out all the other “noise” or activity around them.

Wobble stools may provide a good option for children who like to move around some when learning or working on assignments. I only recommend wobble stools or balls for kids with good trunk strength. Children with low muscle tone will fatigue too quickly using them, which may further limit their attention. A sit and move cushion is also a good option for children who need movement and have good trunk strength.

Additional Resources

Caring for a child during this pandemic is difficult, and it can be hard to know the proper supports for child development. Read our resources, find support and more here: https://www.easterseals.com/dfv/explore-resources/for-caregivers/covid-19.html.

Also if you need assistance documenting your child’s learning progress or needs, Matt Cohen and Associates, a law firm specializing in special education, disability rights, and school-related issues, provided a number of resources on our blog here.

By: Karyn Voels Malesevic, AuD, CCC-A, Audiologist & Manager of Audiology

Living under the conditions of COVID-19 has many of us becoming more reliant on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or other video conferencing apps than we ever thought we would be. Between conference calls for work, children learning at home, or catching up with friends or family, it’s apparent that these programs are here to stay. Using these video conferencing tools for an individual with a hearing impairment can be challenging. Below, I have a few headphone and room setup recommendations to make the experience successful for all. 

Considerations for those with Hearing Impairment

Using headphones with hearing aids

If you are the person with hearing loss and you need to videoconference, built-in speakers and mics are generally not going to cut it. When determining what headphones are right for you as an individual with hearings aids, you first need to recognize what type of hearing aids you use. Hearing aids are separated into two main categories, behind the ear (BTE) and in the Ear/Canal (ITE/C) hearing aids. Some ITC aids fit entirely in the ear canal and are known as Completely In the Canal or (CIC). These are the smallest and least visible hearing aid types. 

ITE/C and CIC hearing aids may give you the most flexibility when finding a pair of headphones. According to Audiologist, Brian Fligor from a consumer reports article, “BTEs are especially finicky because the microphone, which picks up outside sounds that are then processed by the hearing aid, is outside the ear canal.” “If you have a headphone that doesn’t sit up and over that, then you’re not going to pick up any sound through the hearing aid itself.” In either case, there should be an option that works for you and your specific style of hearing aids that can be found after some trial and error. 

According to Fligor “the key is to find a pair that’s comfortable and holds the headphone speakers a reasonable distance from the hearing aid microphone in order to avoid feedback. Fligor says a distance of 1 centimeter, if not a little more, is usually a safe bet.” It’s also important to note that some people who wear ITC aids may also comfortably wear on-ear headphones, which are typically lighter and more portable. For some users who wear CIC aids, which are the smallest, they may even be able to wear earbuds depending on the fit of their hearing aid. The end process will likely come down to experimentation as each individual, and their preferences will vary. 

The articles below share more information on the topic of hearing aids and headphone’s and will provide recommendations for specific headphone models.

https://www.consumerreports.org/hearing-ear-care/headphones-and-hearing-aids/

https://www.healthyhearing.com/report/52907-Using-headphones-with-hearing-aids

General Tips for Hearing-Friendly Video Conferences

Setup and Communication Style

The Hearing Journal addresses the importance of a successful video conference setup and recognizing communication styles. As a bonus, many of these tips help foster a better video conferencing atmosphere for everyone, not just those with a hearing impairment. The authors share:

1. Secure a strong internet connection and a reliable visual setup to enhance non-verbal communication. Turn on your camera and sit in a well-lit space to brighten your face and avoid backlighting, such as light shining through a window behind a workstation. Sit reasonably close to the webcam with the top of the head to your elbows seen on camera.
2. Foster high-quality audio and eliminate background noise. Use a high-quality microphone, headset/microphone combo, or earbuds. When you’re not speaking, put your microphone on mute to reduce background noise.
3. Practice respectful communication etiquette. Speak in turn and state your name before speaking. Project your voice succinctly and articulately, and avoid fillers such as “so” and “um.” People with hearing loss have a hard time keeping up with spontaneous discussions and details, so try not to sway from the agenda and type your questions or clarifications in the chat feature of the videoconferencing tool you are using.
4. Suggest these communication facilitation tips to the meeting host: Publish and stick to an agenda, request that questions, links, contact information, and other logistics be typed in the chat box that is visible to all participants, inform participants when the topic has changed, and give everyone, including the person with hearing loss, time to process the information and formulate a response.

For individuals with hearing impairment, adding real-time closed captioning can make a tremendous difference in their video conferencing experience. Many videoconferencing providers such as Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Skype now include an automatic live captioning feature.

Your hearing needs are important and our Audiology Department can help. Hearing loss is one of the most common conditions detected in infants, children, and older adults. We welcome people of every age, from newborns to adults, and offer a wide variety of services from basic hearing tests and evaluations to hearing aids and hearing aid fittings, all using leading-edge technology. For more information on our audiology services for all ages and help for hearing aid , please visit: https://www.easterseals.com/dfv/our-programs/medical-rehabilitation/hearing.html.

By: Sharon Pike, Parent Liaison, with Brad Dembs, J.D., Matt Cohen & Associates

Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley clinicians and staff provide information, education and support that address the concerns and stressors which may accompany having a child with a developmental delay or disability.  As a parent liaison at Easterseals, a highly trained parent of a child with a disability, we provide caregivers support from the unique perspective of someone “who has been there.” To provide more virtual support, we are connecting our favorite professionals to you through free webinars that answer your needs during this unique time.

Towards the end of the summer, we hosted a live Q&A event where caregiver’s asked questions to prepare for the complex upcoming school year with COVID-19 and how to best advocate for their children’s unique needs.

Now that school has been in session, join us for Part 2 on October 1 at 5:30 PM. Register for the Special Education: Remote, Hybrid & In-School Learning Check-In by clicking here.

Discussions was led by Brad Dembs, J.D., an Attorney with Matt Cohen and Associates, a law firm who specializes on special education, disability rights, and school-related issues. The following is paraphrased from the original discussion to provide insight to any who missed.

In general, caregivers for children who have an IEP are an essential part of their child’s education, now more than ever.

Q1: With so much conflicting information on education plans, and things changing so often, how can parents actually plan, or prioritize the most important parts of a child’s education right now?

The first step in answering this question would be to determine what’s the most essential part of your child’s educational goals. Ask yourself questions such as “What skills is my child learning and developing,” “Where was my child’s progress when remote learning started,” “Where did my child’s goals on their IEP expect them to be by now,” and “Has my child’s learning progressed, failed to progress, or regressed since remote learning started?” Asking yourself these questions can help clue you into what aspects of learning are most important to focus on. 

For many families, the most critical areas to prioritize are the development of threshold skills. For example, learning to read is a crucial threshold skill. Reading is used in all subjects and is one of the key fundamental building blocks of educational learning. If reading is something your child struggles with, that is something to prioritize when talking to your child’s teacher and about your child’s needs. Another essential threshold skill to focus on could include social skill development. It depends on your child and their disability, but in general, it’s helpful to think about the question “What does my child need now to take them to the next step” when thinking about educational goals to prioritize. 

Therapy Minutes & IEP

Q1: What are our rights in regards to e-learning and therapy minutes for remote learning?

A: As a parent, your rights have not changed. You are entitled to the same minutes that are in your child’s IEP. However, the reality is that school districts don’t have the same capacity to provide all those minutes or the ability to offer them in the same way they did in the past. Because of this, you must be flexible with your expectations even though your rights have not changed.

Q2: What should I expect for IEP minutes for OT & PT when a child usually received individual treatment. In the Spring, I was emailed a lesson, no Zoom tele-therapy offered. Is this correct?

A: No, and especially no, if there was not a discussion about it. This is what we would call a unilateral change outside the IEP process and is inappropriate. I would recommend putting a request in writing about the minutes that are needed and why those minutes are required. It always helps to have things in writing and to have additional support for what you’re requesting. If your child sees a private ST, PT, OT or mental health therapist and those clinicians provide a letter attesting to your child’s needs; it further validates your school district request. 

Service Minutes & Remote Learning

Unfortunately, not every school district will fulfill every obligation the way it is supposed to, and you may have to advocate for those services with methods discussed previously. Being flexible with your expectations is necessary as the guidance received from the State Board of Education is somewhat inconsistent and much is dependent on available funding and resources at each school district.

If you have any concerns about your child’s services, it is essential to request a meeting with your district and express your concerns. Start with what’s in the IEP and let them know what you have determined as a team for your child needs going forward. 

Again, make the process as collaborative as possible, be communicative in writing about what you’re looking for with your school district. If possible, provide documentation about why the request is essential and needed (more below and in resources). If you or another caregiver are home when your child receives remote learning, you have more insight because you have more opportunities to see what’s going on in your child’s education and see if what’s written in the IEP is being provided.

Q1: How do I communicate concerns with regression and remote learning?

A: Caregivers need to gather as much data as they can about how their child is performing. Because schools see their children less in remote learning, it’s essential for parents to be that resource and tell their child’s school what they can and can’t do. If remote learning is becoming impossible for your child, it is a tough position to be in.

In this situation, we recommend you talk to your school about having a teacher or service provider come to the home and provide service at a responsible distance. The accommodation is unfortunately unlikely, but it never hurts to ask. The end decision is up to the individual school district’s discretion. If you’re in a position where your school denies at-home accommodations, keep track of your child’s regression to be ready to advocate for more intensive services to make up for the regression when more in-person learning and services are available. 

This is called compensatory education, which refers to services that are needed above what has been provided to make progress that should have been made without a gap of service in the first place. This could include extra therapy minutes or more intensive instruction.

A Return to School

Q1: Some disabilities make it difficult to comply with COVID precautions, how can we navigate these to ensure the safety of all children but continue our child’s education?

A: This would need to be taken on a case by case basis depending on what the situation is. The Board of Education and Department of Public Health’s guidance is relatively general, and the end discretion is left up to the school district. In the case of masks, if a child cannot wear a mask, a face shield may be recommended as a reasonable substitute. Still, the child would have to practice social distancing as rigidly as possible because there is less protection with a face shield than a facemask. Not every school will allow children to wear face shields because it could be considered a significant alteration of their safety precautions. Some children who cannot wear a facemask may also not be able to wear a face shield. In other more extreme cases, a child who cannot comply with school safety procedures such as wearing a mask may be asked to remain in remote learning even when other children go back to school. 

Q2: How should students with disabilities who require one-to-one paraprofessionals be accommodated in a plan that emphasizes 6 feet of social distancing?

A: This may be a scenario where the support that’s written in the IEP may have to be changed due to practical considerations. The child’s individual needs need to be assessed alongside safety practices. This would depend on whether the child can attend school without the help of a paraprofessional. If they cannot, and it’s still possible to have safety protection in place via wearing a mask, it may be appropriate to have an aide closer than 6 feet. Schools should be training and updating their staff on safety procedures, particularly related to individual students with disabilities. Individual accommodations will need to considered by staff to make it possible for students with disabilities to attend safely. 

Q3: Can I request certain precautions to be taken if my child goes back to school in the Fall? My child likes to lick and put her fingers/hands in her mouth.

A: You have the right to request accommodations for safety. You should discuss this with your district and any outside providers your working with as they can help you determine what can be done to accommodate any safety issues or concerns. This is a challenging example because accommodations of gloves or other hand protection could quickly become contaminated as easily as bare hands. This is a case where a collaborative effort would need to be reached between your education provider and any other outside clinicians. If no attempts work, the school should be willing to accommodate and continue to provide remote learning. 

Resources

Matt Cohen & Associates provide a number of resources that can help document needs and open communication with your child’s education providers. See the links below.

This is a big topic that has many variables for each child’s needs and school district. For more information, there are recorded presentations on our website that go into detail at: https://www.mattcohenandassociates.com/presentations/. 

Parent Liaisons at Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley have firsthand experience with IEP meetings and are available to answer questions or provide resources on the topic. For more information, visit: https://www.easterseals.com/dfv/explore-resources/for-caregivers/iep-help.html.

By: Katie Kwiatek, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher at The Lily Garden Child Care

Will your child be five years old before September 1st, 2020? If so, get ready to send them off to kindergarten this Fall!

But, wait!

Since schools and day cares have closed, I’m afraid my child will have a tough time transitioning back to a school setting. What skills do they need in order to be kindergarten ready? There are so many new procedures for children to learn too! How can I help?!

Here’s what you can do to prepare your little one!

Create a daily schedule that mirrors the average school day.

It can be a rough transition from quarantine life to a school schedule. It’s so easy to fall in to the habit of staying in pajamas all day, being a couch potato, eating right when you feel hungry, etc. Once your child goes back to school, they will have to follow a schedule of: when to eat, when to play outside, when to sit still, when to be silly, and when to be serious. For everybody’s sake, create a structured schedule for the typical work week and keep weekends open and fun!

To mirror your child’s average school day, contact the teacher! They’ll be more than happy to send you an outline of a typical day. Make sure to keep your schedule consistent! Children need structure and consistency! They like to know what comes next and what is expected of them. If your child tends to feel nervous/anxious, having a consistent schedule will help ease them. Let your child know before you implement a new schedule- explain the new routine, make a chart together! Here is a resource for parents about creating structure and rules.

For all children’s success in this current pandemic, practice wearing masks at home and getting comfortable with wearing them for extended amounts of time. Practice frequent, good hand washing and reminders to limit touching of their face. We know this is easier said than done! Check back on our blog and social media for upcoming tips and resources around mask/face coverings and remote learning.

This is a challenging time for families and it is hard to know what the school environment and year will be like for your child. With some careful preparations and conversations, your child can have success. By sharing a positive attitude surrounding school, the new rules and the big change to Kindergarten for your child, it will help him/her feel ready to learn and ease some anxiety.

Work on social and emotional skills at home. 

Social and emotional skills are a key ingredient for kindergarten readiness. Your child needs to learn how to express and cope with their emotions appropriately and form healthy relationships with their peers and grown-ups. How can you work on social and emotional skills at home? Its very simple! Do your best to keep your own emotions in check and talk, talk, TALK!

Remember, your child is always observing your behavior. Think out loud, show them your thought process when you’re upset. When your child is upset, describe their face & body language, label the emotion, and provide a solution,  “I see your body is tense and your eyebrows are drawn. You are frustrated. Lets take 2 deep breaths and do 3 hand squeezes together.”  While reading a book or watching a TV show, describe the characters and ask questions, “That man is yelling at that girl and his face is red. He is very angry. How do you think she feels?”

Here is a resource about building social & emotional skills at home:
https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/building-social-emotional-skills-at-home

Click this link for a list of books about emotions:
https://www.pre-kpages.com/books-emotions-preschool/

Encourage your child to be independent! 

Being independent and having self-help skills is another key ingredient for kindergarten readiness. Your child will likely be in a classroom with over 20 students and 1 teacher and keeping distance between each other. This requires your child to be as independent as possible.

Here is a resource about self-help skills:
https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-concern/self-care/self-care-skills/

Click this link for the self-help development chart:
https://childdevelopment.com.au/resources/child-development-charts/self-care-developmental-chart/

To promote independence and improve self-help skills at home, work on these tasks:

• Picking out clothes for the day

• Getting undressed and dressed independently

• Putting dirty clothes in a laundry basket

• Brushing teeth & hair

• Take off & put on shoes

• Put on a jacket and zip/button it up

• 100% bathroom independent (potty trained & wipe independently)

• Properly wash hands

• Hang up a jacket & a backpack on a hook

Allow boredom 

Why do you want your child to be bored? From boredom comes imagination and creativity! Its essential for every child to have a lively imagination, to think outside of the box, and to express themselves creatively. They’ll be able to carry this trait through school to adulthood. Keep your child’s imagination alive! Provide them with art materials and encourage open-ended art, have them express themselves through music with pots & pans (put on headphones if you’re working from home ), encourage them to create puppets and put on a puppet show! Even chores can provide great lessons in executive functioning.

Here is a parent resource to fire up your child’s imagination:
https://www.parenting.com/activities/kids/10-easy-ways-to-fire-your-childs-imagination-21354373/

Make learning fun!

Each kindergarten has different standards and academic requirements prior to starting. Contact your local school district to get more information. Typically, your child should be able to copy upper & lowercase letters, recognize some-most letters, know numbers 1-10, classify objects by shape & size, and be able to use scissors & glue with ease.

Here is a resource of more skills your child should know:
https://www.scholastic.com/parents/school-success/school-life/grade-by-grade/preparing-kindergarten.html

With many kindergarten screenings cancelled this summer, you can use the Easterseals FREE child development screening tool, the Ages & Stages Questionnaire, to help measure and keep track of your child’s growth and development. This is a great tool to provide your teacher and child’s doctor on areas they may need assistance to grow.

How to make learning fun?

Create a pretend classroom for your child to play teacher and you play student! This area can serve as your child’s remote learning area too. This is an opportunity to grow your child’s love of learning. Give them assorted classroom materials: clipboards, pencils, paper, books, alphabet & number cards (use whatever you can find in the house or find free printables online). Are there certain letters, numbers, or shapes they have trouble with? Don’t focus so much on worksheets- instead find fun hands-on activities!

Click this link for letter activities:
https://www.pre-kpages.com/alphabet/
Click this link for number games & activities:
https://www.pre-kpages.com/counting-games-activities-preschoolers/
Click this link for shape activities:
https://www.pre-kpages.com/shapes-activities-preschoolers/

We know how agonizing the decisions for the next school year are for your family. If your child receives school therapy services, is unable to wear a mask, or if remote learning is not an option for your family, it can feel especially challenging. Whatever decision you make, we are here to support you. Contact our Social Services team for support and resources at socialservices@eastersealsdfvr.org. We will have more information on our blog around these important subjects in the months ahead.

We remain committed to providing the highest quality services to improve the lives of children and those who love and care for them. We understand that a child’s needs to succeed look different for each family. For over 75 years, our clinical team has provided individualized therapy plans to best achieve a child’s goals and support healthy families. This pandemic only solidifies our commitment. Let us know how we can help you in the comments.

By: Manager of Nutrition Therapy, Cindy Baranoski MS, RDN, LDN

Better Immunity is Achievable

What better time than now to start building your defenses against illnesses? With coronavirus or COVID-19 here, there is a lot of fear and a feeling of helplessness to do anything. But you should know that there are things you can do to help protect yourself and your family’s health overall.

As a human we are bound to become ill, but how that illness manifests in us, how extreme are the symptoms, how long does it last, when does it go away, and can we get it again, can be under a bit of our control if we do the right things to keep our body’s immune system and defenses strong.

What Protects Us From Illness

Many components make up our defense system, some we can control and others we cannot. A human body contains trillions of microorganisms or microbes that outnumber our cells by 10 to 1. The term ‘microbiome’ refers to the genetic material all of these microbes contain, and their total genetic material is 200x more than the number of genes in a human body. Many of these microbes are pathogenic, or able to cause disease, but coexist with a human body never causing disease. Consider that two to six pounds of a 200-pound person would be bacteria!!

The immune system

Our immune system is made up of cells that perform the ‘immune response’ to foreign invaders, such as disease causing bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites or any other foreign matter. B cells, T cells and Memory cells are all mobilized in some manner when they determine there is an antigen – a toxin or foreign substance – that has entered the body. The response is antibodies matched to an antigen, like a key in a lock, helping to neutralize or destroy the antigen.

Physical protection from foreign invaders

Our body has many physical systems in place to keep us healthy and protect us from foreign microbe invaders, or the ones living within us, from causing disease.

What we Have Limited Control Over

Chronic noninfectious conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease, inherited genetic conditions all play a role in diminishing the defense system of the human body. Those that are most notable include the following –

Heredity – is one of the greatest factors that influence our noninfectious disease risk. Our genes play an important role in what conditions, such as diabetes, cancer, hypertension, may occur in our lives. These conditions impact our immune system, and can leave us more susceptible to disease.

Age – after 40 years of age the human body is more vulnerable to chronic diseases, though very young children whose immune systems are still developing, or those over 65, are especially vulnerable.

Environment – and the ability to have clean, sanitary living conditions is key to keeping us healthy. Though our bodies need to be exposed to microorganism to help our immune systems develop resistance. Too clean doesn’t allow our systems to recognize good and bad microbes. Additionally, conditions that include the presence of drugs, chemicals, pollutants, waste in food and water, or the absence of medical care, increase risk for disease.

Microorganisms – severity of or resistance to pose challenges as well. For some, only one cell is needed to create drastic illness in the human body. Bacteria that become resistant to antibiotics from overuse by us have mutated to be able to bypass the antibiotic’s effectiveness.

What We Have Control Over

Though we cannot see most of the microbes that cause sickness, they are there, and we can create an environment within and outside of our body that prevents them from causing illness. Stress, personal hygiene, nutrition, fitness, sleep, substance use, environment, and behaviors are all under our control.

Stress, such as what we are experiencing right now diminishes our ability to fight disease. When we are stressed our body will divert its energy away from nonessential functions to those that are essential – the Fight, Flight or Freeze response. Our blood is redirected to muscles to run or fight, breathing is faster, heart rate increases, pupils dilate, and hearing is keener, ready to take on the Sabre Tooth Tiger that generally doesn’t exist. What our body prepares to fight remains invisible, but it is prepared at all times. This leaves body functions required to exist in an unstressed state diminished in their ability.

Reducing Stress

If you’ve not already received numerous emails or suggestions from friends, there are many ways to manage your stress. Any one of these should be done with care, intent, and in such a gradual manner a snail could pass you by. Safety is key, to not create an injury or situation that will cause you more stress.

Exercise is one way, and has more than just stress reduction benefits. A workout club or gym may not be available to you, but you have so much in your home that is available!

Walk out your door for 15 minutes, turn around and come home. You’ve just walked for 30 minutes.

Turn on some fun music and simply march or walk in place for 20 minutes.

If you live in a condo or apartment building, do the stairs (taking precautions with social distancing and face masks right now.)

If you don’t have weights, you can use cans, bottles, something of weight that you can use for dumbbells.

Floor exercises that are easy, safe and you do not over do such as sit ups, leg raises, push ups. You only need to do a few, or even just one.

Personal Hygiene is something we take for granted. We have soap, water, tooth brushes and toothpaste, showers, baths, shampoos, hand sanitizers and hand soaps. Just so many forms of how we can keep ourselves clean on a daily basis. We forget this is not available to everyone in our area or the world. But keeping ourselves clean is something we can do, easily, by washing our hands routinely – especially now.

Improving Personal Hygiene

Nutrition is one of the key contributors to the immune system. Remember, we are built on what we consume and do with our bodies. The ingredients for a great body include what we consume, and if all we eat and drink is lacking in nutrients, then that is who we become. Under nutrition or malnutrition is not reserved exclusively for poor families and children who are skinny and wasting away. Malnutrition is found in obese individuals as well as healthy weight ones too. http://www.MyPlate.gov shared by the USDA gives a basic outline of what should be consumed for variety of all the nutrients, including Carbohydrate, Protein, Fat, Calories, Fluid and 29 known vitamins and minerals. We are what we eat! To learn more about helping a child with nutrition or feeding issues, visit: https://www.easterseals.com/dfv/our-programs/medical-rehabilitation/nutritional-therapy.html.

Improving Nutrition 

• A balanced diet containing of all the different food groups is the starting place. Review your family’s diet, and see if you have foods representing Fruits, Vegetables, Protein, Dairy (animal or plant), Grains (whole) as well as fat. Is there enough fluid each day? Are there vitamin/mineral supplements taken already. Are there nutritional drinks being consumed each day, and what might these be replacing or supplementing if they are used regularly. What about processed foods, high sugar, fat and salty foods that are being consumed more than they should be. Are fresh foods represented well? And is one food group consumed in a much greater quantity than it should be? You need to review your diet before you know what to change to make it better.
• Protein is one of the most important nutrients, helping make antibodies of the immune system. We all need varying amounts of protein, but we also don’t need as much as we think we need. An average adult needs about 50 grams of protein a day, and consumes about 100 grams a day in the US. Children need less than this, yet often consume more than they need as well. Main food sources include meat, fish, poultry, egg, legumes, dairy.
• Malnutrition and under nutrition exists in this country, and includes lack of calories and protein, but often times our society consumes more than enough of these two nutrients, however, lack many vitamins and minerals. A recent government study shows potassium, calcium, Vitamin E, C, A, D and magnesium are all less than optimal in our diets. All vitamins and minerals are ingredients of our immune system.
• A few nutrients identified in research as key to the immune system and it’s response, that you should be sure you are receiving adequate amounts of, include the following –
  •  Zinc – found in tuna, beef, poultry, pumpkin and hemp seeds and dairy. Caution, over consumption of zinc, or taking large supplements, can interfere with copper balance in the body.
  • Selenium – found in Brazil nuts, tuna, sardines, salmon, chicken egg, brown rice.
  • Vitamin C – found in acerola extract, rose hips, camu camu, black currents, guava, lemons, limes, oranges, strawberries. Though higher doses can cause loose stools.
  • Vitamin D – does not have many great food sources. Fortified animal and plant milks will contribute when consumed in the right portions. Short periods of exposure to the sun without sunblock allows for production of Vitamin D beginning in the skin. However, with the concerns for skin cancer, sun exposure is limited. Supplementation of Vitamin D3 is the most reliable source.
• Probiotics are beneficial for the human body. Studies have shown their benefit to the digestive tract, and ultimately the immune system, by ensuring the line of defense in the gut microbiome is balanced and working well. They are found naturally in some foods, and more common are manufactured supplements taken orally. ‘Prebiotics’ are food for the probiotics and are found naturally in our gut through consumption of fiber, but can also be found along with probiotic supplements.
  Important Note on Vitamins, Minerals and Probiotics – Taking large amounts of any supplements, or consumption in large amounts of any individual or multivitamin/mineral supplement is not advised. If you are choosing to do this for you or your child, you are directed here to speak to a physician or dietitian.

Environment and Behaviors could be discussed in so much more detail than this post can provide. But know your behaviors are under your control. What you do impacts anyone and everyone, including our world. The environment is not just something that happens, but is changed by everything we do. Being thoughtful of ourselves is so important, but if we become so self absorbed and focused in the long run, our world will become more skewed from what it should be, which ultimately comes back to our ability to be healthy in this world.

In summary
Creating a place in your world that is safe, clean, nutritive, and supportive of your immune system is totally within your reach, taking time and attention. The scary world of viruses and diseases that are out of your control can be managed, and the impact it has on health – yours, your family’s, friends, and society – is pretty significant. There is so much more, but I hope some of the thoughts and ideas mentioned here might stir you to rethinking your role in this world of immunity.

I wish you and your family the best health. For more information on our nutrition services, please visit: https://www.easterseals.com/dfv/our-programs/medical-rehabilitation/nutritional-therapy.html.