GRAPEVINE, TEXAS—
Sabrina Cooley is an occupational therapist at Our Children's House at Baylor Grapevine where the putty is fun but it's also work.Six year old AJ Chamness is on an Easter egg hunt of sorts as his tiny fingers dig through a pile of putty to find toys.
"Like can do different kinds of exercises with it," Said Cooley. "To get some different kind of fine motor skills going on and coordination inside the hands."
AJ's pre-school teacher noticed his handwriting wasn't up to speed so now he wheels down the hallway to build upper body strength and works on his hand-eye coordination by grabbing toys on the ground as he moved past on a swing.
Pediatric occupational therapy used to be for kids with severe disabilities but more parents these days use it to help their kids get a jump start on school.
"I think a lot of the kids we see are probably under the age of six," Said Sabrina. "We see a lot between three and six years old so there are a lot of younger ones, we even have a handwriting group that is starting next week that is for kindergarten readiness pre-school kids."
AJ's mom Sheri said he used to have a hard time buttoning his shirt, tying his shoes and writing, but not anymore.
"At first he really didn't want to work on handwriting because he had such a hard time with it, I mean he had a really hard time just grasping the pencil and everything and so now that he's worked on it, I mean it doesn't bother him anymore," Said Sheri.
AJ's dad Brian agreed.
"My handwriting had been horrible," Said Brian. "I probably could have used some help myself and I think he already writes better than I do, which isn't saying a whole lot but he does pretty well."
So look out fellow first graders, here comes AJ with a little help from Sabrina.
"It's very fun," Says AJ. "Because she helps me get my handwriting better at school."
AJ's parents say his occupation therapy is covered by insurance.
