PRE-ORDER: The Impulse Control Curriculum: An Occupational Therapist’s Guide to Developing Impulse Control

Impulse control is a foundational skill that supports a child’s ability to participate successfully in daily life. From waiting their turn during a game, to stopping their body before bumping into someone, to resisting the urge to grab or shout, impulse control affects how children move, learn, interact, and regulate themselves.

This curriculum was created to give occupational therapists, teachers, mental health counselors, and parents practical, engaging ways to build impulse control through movement and play. The activities in this book combine motor challenges, sensory input, cognitive engagement, and reflection to help children practice pausing, planning, and adjusting their actions. It includes 260 pages of instructional content and overall the book is 333 pages long.

In this curriculum you will find:

• Instructions on how to adapt various games for building impulse control skills with various methods to grade up or down based on child level.
• Examples of movement games that require stopping, delaying gratification, and inhibiting one’s automatic response.
• Progressive balance challenges that encourage body control and slower, more intentional movement.
• Instructions for ways to clearly model impulse control skills in a way that builds positive self-esteem.
• Strategies to promote regulation and readiness to build impulse control skills.
• Actionable steps to build in impulse control opportunities to one’s daily routine.
• Reflection-based tasks that help children reflect and consider “if… then” conditional thinking concepts and apply these for future experiences.
• Real-life case studies outlining progression of impulse control curriculum aligned with progression of functional skills.

The activities are designed to be flexible and adaptable. They can be used in therapy sessions, classrooms, or at home, and can be modified for different ages and ability levels.

By combining movement, play, and thoughtful reflection, this curriculum aims to help children build the internal skills they need to pause, plan, and participate more successfully in the world around them.

Take this $5 course to learn how to implement this program!

Please note, this is a pre-order! Keep an eye on your inbox for the digital version to use in the meantime! You will be notified of your shipping confirmation via email.

Emily Bourque, MS, OTR/L, graduated from the University of New Hampshire with her master’s degree in 2016. She grew up with a younger sister who has Down syndrome. Attending IEP meetings and advocating for her sister molded her occupational therapist’s mindset long before graduation.

Emily participated in the Leadership in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities program in her final year of college, where she worked on projects with the Parent Information Center of New Hampshire, New Hampshire Family Voices, and the Institute of Disability at the University of New Hampshire. She has volunteered for many special needs organizations including Special Olympics, the local recreation department, and various therapeutic riding centers.

Emily has worked in a variety of settings including skilled nursing, inpatient rehabilitation, schools, early intervention, and outpatient pediatrics. She has created resources and interactive activities for her clients and collaborated with local optometrists to implement a pediatric vision program. In addition, she is an adjunct faculty member at the University of New Hampshire OT department, teaching for three years nonconsecutively. She coordinates a life skills group for young adults with disabilities.

Emily enjoys laughing with her patients and most of all seeing their continued progress. She strongly believes that parent education and collaboration are paramount to successful OT services. She believes in inclusion for individuals with disabilities.

Disclosures

• Financial: Emily receives a speaking fee from Sensational Brain LLC. She earns profit from resources she’s created and shared on her Teachers Pay Teachers Site, EmilypediOT: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Emilypediot
• Nonfinancial: Emily’s blog is at https://emilypediot.wordpress.com

PEEK INSIDE HERE! 

Please note, this is a pre-order! Keep an eye on your inbox for the digital version to use in the meantime! You will be notified of your shipping confirmation via email.