What Bread Making Taught Me About Occupational Therapy (Again)

Bread making is deeply tied to timing, pacing, sequencing, and patience. Bread simply doesn’t care about your schedule. There are steps you cannot rush. Stages you must wait for. Moments where your only job is to trust the process. When you bake bread, you’re naturally engaging in the same skills occupational therapists support across the lifespan: Executive functioning, Sensory processing, Fine motor skills, Regulation and pacing, Problem-solving, and Learning through trial and error.

Aya PorteMay 17, 2026Occupational Therapy, OT, OT Skills, Koi Wellness, Lessons, Building Resilience

Building Resilience in Multicultural Kids

How multicultural, multilingual, and third-culture kids (TCKs) navigate their sense of identity, belonging, and communication in a complex world is important for resilience building. We face unique challenges that can be hard to see from the outside, but with the right support, we can thrive across cultural environments.

Aya PorteOctober 31, 2024Occupational Therapy, TCK, Lessons, Building ResilienceComment

Back to School: Turning Nerves into Opportunities!

For some children, returning to school means reconnecting with familiar faces and routines that make them feel safe. But for others, it can mean stepping into a new world—new teachers, friends, and systems. It’s easy to feel like this uncertainty will lead to chaos, but it’s possible to transform this nervousness into excitement, or as some like to call it, "nerve-citement."

Aya PorteOctober 17, 2024Occupational Therapy, Koi Wellness, School, LessonsComment

Navigating Challenges with Your Child: Lessons from the Kitchen ⏲️

Today we’re going to discuss the time I imprisoned a child and parent in their kitchen…Okay, so that’s not what actually happened, but it did feel as bad as it sounds. Let me take you back several years ago.

In early 2020, I collaborated with a family aiming to enhance their child's self-help and independence at home. This child was brilliant and creative, but he was tethered by the invisible strings of his neurodivergence and a fresh ADHD diagnosis.

Aya PorteApril 14, 2024Occupational Therapy, Challenges, Lessons, Impact versus IntentComment