Ms.+Young

﻿Shelby Young

I am the occupational therapist at Asbury. My students refer to me as "The Muscle Lady" or "Miss Shelby". I have been working for DPS for 13 years, and have been at Asbury all of those years. I have seen many changes, and learned a great deal from my time here at Asbury. I have had the priviledge of working with our autism students since the programs began (both the ELC and the MI-A). I enjoy helping kids use their muscles to accomplish tasks that are a functional part of their everyday performance. That means, when the kids work with me, they get to have a lot of fun! We work on sensory needs by utilizing equipment such as the swing, rocker board, spinner board, trampoline, steam roller, adaptive bikes, therapy balls, rodeo barrels, and many others. I also assess and utilize various adaptive devices and materials depending on the needs of each student. In addition, we work on improving motor pathways to make it easier to do things such as write, get dressed, tie shoes, perform visual and fine motor tasks in the classroom, walk in a line, and many other skills!

We do a lot of handwriting practice, and I am a big advocate of utilizing strategies based on the Handwriting Without Tears program. The link is: [|www.hwtears.com]. This program focuses on building foundations for writing before ever placing a pencil in hands that aren't ready for it. It also focuses on preparing children for writing by giving them an internal sense of organization. Afterall, if you don't have an internal awareness of body-in-space, how can we expect you to be able to put anything down on paper?

I am happy to give any suggestions on locating therapy items such as Chewelry, Move-n-Sit Cushions, hand fidgets, fine motor activities, sensory equipment, special paper, pencil grips, etc. Below are just a few of the links that will lead you to finding what you may need: [|www.pfot.com] (Pocket Full of Therapy)

In my free time, you can find me hiking with my dog (Max), camping in my teardrop camper, hanging out with friends, fixing up my house, working in my garden, traveling to Europe, listening to music, reading a good book, or just relaxing! I consider myself honored to be at Asbury. It's a great school! -Miss Shelby

﻿Blarney Castle in Ireland~Yes, I kissed the Blarney Stone! :)