Conference Presentation

Using Visual Strategies to Support Daily Function

01 h 05 m

Visual strategies are helpful in school and therapeutic situations but are also pivotal for daily life at home. Visual supports are suggested in many of the NFXF treatment recommendations on best practices. This session builds on these suggestions and makes the concept of visual supports tangible and applicable across ages and stages of life for those with FXS. In this presentation, participants learn why visual supports are an essential facet of home, school, and therapy.

About the Webinar

Presented by Tracy Murnan Stackhouse, MA, OTR/L
Learn more about the presenters

Individuals with FXS often present with a strong visual aptitude for learning. They do best when visual information is available to guide and scaffold daily routines for familiar and new skills. We can take advantage of this strength and implement visual supports that serve to create predictability and consistency throughout the day, thus providing for improved ease of performance as well as improved learning.

Specific examples of visual strategies are given and range from simple paper & pencil versions to tech-based options. The audience is asked to participate in active problem-solving scenarios regarding more typical behaviors seen in FXS and what role visual supports might have in alleviating the difficulty. Participants are ideally prepared to implement visuals into daily life support engagement, learning, and participation.

About the Presenter

Tracy Stackhouse

Tracy Stackhouse

Developmental FX
Co-founder, Executive Director

Tracy Stackhouse, MA, OTR, is co-founder and executive director of Developmental FX in Denver, Colorado. She is a leading pediatric occupational therapist involved in clinical treatment, research, mentoring, and training regarding OT intervention for persons with neurodevelopmental disorders, especially Fragile X syndrome and autism. Tracy has a master’s in developmental psychology/neuroscience. She received her NDT (neuro-developmental treatment) training with Lois Bly. She is SIPT (Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests) certified and was the clinical specialist in sensory integration at the Children’s Hospital in Denver as well as the OT for the Fragile X Research and Treatment Center. Tracy continued her clinical and research work with Dr. Randi Hagerman at the UC Davis MIND Institute during its start-up year prior to starting Developmental FX.

Tracy has written several book chapters on sensory integration and neurodevelopmental disorders and teaches nationally and internationally on sensory integration, autism, Fragile X, and related topics. She is the lead author for the SpIRiT and STEPSI Clinical Reasoning Tools which are leading-edge evidence-based models in pediatric occupational therapy. Tracy is also a member of the Fragile X Clinical & Research Consortium and the NFXF Advisory Committee.