SALINE COUNTY, Ark. — Experts said many children have fallen behind on life skills over the last 18 months. That has local pediatric occupational therapists extra busy now.
Knox McDonald went to daycare ready to play Wednesday.
But hidden behind the fun, the 4-year-old is actually learning.
He's catching up on skills lost while staying home during the pandemic.
"Being in the home naturally, being cooped up doesn't push you out of your comfort zone to engage with other kids,” said Madeline Dunlap, owner of TheraPeds.
TheraPeds is a mobile pediatric therapy service that provides therapeutic intervention.
Knox is Dunlap’s client and he's working to regain social skills.
But he's not the only child. In fact, Dunlap said her list of clients has grown tremendously over the past few weeks.
"It has been insane to see the outcome that the pandemic has left on our kids,” said Dunlap.
Therapists have had to help re-wire many little brains, helping children gain back their focus, work on social skills, and refine their motor skills.
Dunlap said she's noticed children who were forced to learn in a virtual world are now having trouble with simple things such as writing.
"They were behind a screen doing everything in a 1D world and then they come into a 3D world and they are having some issues and challenges,” said Dunlap.
Therapists are encouraging parents to examine their child’s behaviors coming out of the pandemic.
If you notice a difference in your kid's attention span, behavior, or social interaction, Dunlap said reach out to the experts.
Many companies provide free screening for your children.
It’s important to know that early intervention is key.
"The reason is there are foundational developmental milestones that need to take place in order for them to be successful in school,” said Dunlap.
Dunlap said just within the past few week of working with Knox he's already shown great progress.