QCharm- An inspirational Story

Recently I had the opportunity to travel to the great state of Texas to present on  Therapals.com at the Texas Occupational Therapy Conference. After the presentation was over I received a letter from an Occupational Therapist who was in the audience. Her letter was full of passion and I could tell that she too had a special connection to the special needs community. After I returned home I began to do some research on her website . It is called QCharm.com, I was absolutely touched by her story and how she brought her idea to fruition.  This inspiring OT and entrepreneur’s name is Denise Meissner. She is the proud mother of 2 sons, 1 of which has autism. Her youngest son was the inspiration for her idea as he struggled with transitions and changes in routine on a daily basis. Denise with the help of EZBand owners Josh Bandes and Dave Levine formed the company QCharm and began changing the world together in their own way to make daily tasks a little easier for those affected with Autism. QCharm  offers an exclusive charm line that uses icons to represent activities, daily items and rewards . They offer 2 different colored and highly durable wrist bands for the charms to attach to. They suggest a yellow wristband to support activity/schedule charms and a green band to support positive reinforcement stars.  For those who prefer not to wear a wrist band, They offer a key chain version of the band. QCharm recognizes the imperative need for visual schedules and they are dedicated to providing a discreet and fashionable way for those with special needs to access a visual schedule. QCharm has nearly 200 Boardmaker images available for print onto their charms to slide onto their wristbands. If you would like to read more about QCharm and its founder, please visit http://www.qcharm.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=42

QCharm

Click on the link above to access a short video showing how to put on and take off a charm on the QCharm Portable Visual Cuing System

Therapals is now accepting Nominations

Do you know a child who has extraordinary talent or has an inspiring story. If so let Therapals highlight them in a featured story on our blog. Therapals will be accepting nominations each month . You can enter your child for a chance to win by simply emailing the Therapals Administrator at www.therapals@live.com, and put “Nominations” in the subject line. Simply tell me a little bit about the child and if possible submit a current picture of the child. This is a great way to introduce your child to the fast growing Therapals community! Once a child has been chosen – Therapals will notify the winner and then you can either submit a video with your child as the star or use a picture .

Meet Josh Herrmann- Therapals.com featured child for November

Novembers Featured Therapal – Josh Herrmann

Josh Herrmann- 13 years old

Click on the link above to watch a video submission from Josh Herrmann our featured child user for November. Josh is a 13 year old  8th grader from a middle-school in Ohio. Josh is new to Therapals.com and was nominated by his mother.  Josh loves the colors red, blue and purple. He enjoys shooting his new bow, playing soccer, running track and snow boarding. Josh likes to watch all kinds of documentaries and sport shows. Josh has visited Peru as an Exchange Student a few years ago and describes the experience has ” Awesome”. Josh collects coins and airplanes and he has a passion for playing the drums. Josh is really into exercising and has decided to submit fitness videos to be featured on Therapals Therapeutic Activity Center. Josh is an inspiring young man with amazing talents and abilities and he brings a smile with him everywhere that he goes. Josh is assisting Therapals with launching a new category on the site called “Fitness Buddies”. If you would like to be a Fitness Buddy like Josh and submit exercise videos please contact Josh online at www. therapals.com.

When asked what Josh is looking for in a friend, he said, ” I want to find someone who is cool, who plays the same sports and someone who is the same age”. Please join me in welcoming Josh and his mother Shelly to Therapals.com.

” Stickids” Greatest Sensory Program Ever!

While preparing for my upcoming conferences I knew that I had to include a video to show  how to utilize Stickids prior to interacting online on Therapals. Stickids is an amazing sensory program that allows the user to track progress, create planners, and customize sensory icons to meet the individual sensory needs of  a child. Stickids can be used on children of any age and ability. The Treasure chest planner, 15 magic pick and flips and the  theoretical reasoning behind each planner is  included in our exclusive parent home  manual. Watch our Stickids sensory video . If you would like more information on this wonderful sensory program please go to www.stickids.com.

Friendships on the rise in America

Therapals begins traveling across the country starting next weekend. We are full of excitement and ready to share our program. For those of you who do not know what Therapals is or what we can offer the special needs community, here is a break down of our services. Therapals offers children with special needs an opportunity to find friends who have similar interests and abilities and it provides parents and professionals a place to connect outside the traditional therapeutic environment. Therapals increases socialization between all users by taking away the awkwardness of face to face contact and it allows users to enter into the realm of socialization at their own pace.

Therapals also offers a Therapeutic Activity Center which I like to refer to as the TAC for short. The TAC provides parents with a cost effective option when traditional therapy services aren’t available. The TAC is  essentially a  library that is compiled of videos that include fine motor, speech, gross motor, sensory, visual perceptual, life skills and much more. Our activity center puts the parent front and center learning the same skills as their child so they can help their child maintain their skills while in the home environment. Parents and professionals can set goals,track progress and monitor sensory needs using our unique online sensory characters that engage children in heavy work exercises at random times throughout their online experience.Therapals believes that incorporating heavy work exercises and sensory options to the child while they are online, will in turn increase overall attention and provide a positive experience for a child that may be nervous or apprehensive about trying new skills or meeting new friends.

One of Therapals main goals is to provide an online communication hub that is fueled by the collaboration between professionals and parents to help those with special needs become as independent as possible. Safety and Security is at the top of our list as well. Therapals is a parent driven website, the parent is in control and they have unlimited access to their child’s history log that captures all online activities and interactions.