Between sessions, give clients small, doable homework like brush-and-squish practiced daily. Use tracking sheets and rewards for harder tasks. Involve parents, troubleshoot what you don't have, and always expect progress reports at the next visit.
Okay, we are on number eight of our 11 points of adding value to our sessions. And this one is to give next step instructions. So basically giving them a little homework, something that we expect to hear back on when they come back. And you can do this on the little paper that we give them that says highlights homework and. And keep it, you know, keep it pretty simple and keep it doable. But we want to, you know, always have something that they can be doing at home that they can report back on when they come back. And this really adds a lot of value because they're going to progress a whole lot faster. And if it's something that's not real exciting, like, say, the starfish exercise, it helps to give them a little tracking sheet, like our little starfish chart, and they can get a prize out of the prize box for completing it. And we found that it really is helpful if the kids actually know what they're working for. And they pre pick out a prize, and we put their name on it, keep it in a special spot on our desk. They can visit it once in a while, and then they know what they're working for. We pretty much do that with the things that are more hard to do, like the starfish. But most of the things, you know, we just have the expectation that they're going to do them at home. Our first thing that we always teach is the brush and squish. Usually teach that on the second session and expect them to do it a few times a day for a few weeks, and then they can just use it as a tool. But we set the, you know, we set the expectation right off the bat that they are going to do things at home to help. And the beautiful thing about having the parents in our sessions is that they're very invested because they see the kids change right before their eyes, and they want to know, oh, how can I do that at home? That really worked. And then we're always figuring it out. If they don't have a say, spinning really calms them down and they don't have a swing. Well, figure out with them how they could do it at home, maybe do it in an office chair. And so you always want to give a little bit of homework, next step instructions, something that you can follow up on the next session. And that way we're always being notified, which is another point of value. Notified, notified of their improvement, that they have the expectation. A lot of times when they're getting ready to leave, I'll be like, oh, I can't wait to hear when you Come back how that went and just set that expectation that you can expect that they've improved, that you've expected that they're going to follow through and always keep it simple, keep it doable. I'll never forget when I was, when I was early in my career and I'd give these elaborate home programs and I remember this mom one time looked at me and she said, do you have any kids? And I'm like, oh no. And she's like, oh, it just gave me this look like oh, now I get it. You don't have a clue what it's like that you're giving me all these things to do at home. And the truth is when you're parent, it's a big deal just to get to go to the bathroom by yourself, to put on a clean shirt that doesn't have like burp on the shoulder or you know, like spit up on the shoulder. You know, going to the bathroom, getting a shower by yourself is just insanely amazing. So anything we expect them to do, we really have to think of, you know, how they can fit it into their daily routine. Make it simple, just give them one simple thing to do. Don't give them a lot of things to do and try to figure out how it can be successful. Be easy and just have that appreciation that just accomplishing day to day regular activities is a pretty major accomplishment. Especially if the, if the parent has little ones that are under five years old. It's a lot of work being a parent. So have that appreciation. All right, so now you know what to do. Give next step instructions, a little bit homework, make it easy and fun, practical and then expect to hear back when they come back. Okay, Aloha.
