Brady's Page

Easy Therapy Ideas…

Spectrum kids can be indestructable in some ways and extremely fragile in others.  Knowing your child’s sensitivities can help you design a series of tools for the child to use for fun and for therapy.

1.  A hammock.  I saw a lady on the Today Show redesign an autism kids’ room with a hammock instead of a bed inside. Many autism kids love that feeling of both swinging and that “cocoon” sensation, the feeling of being wrapped up and feeling a little pressure around them.  If it’s well designed and the child has enough balance to not fall out, it could be a great idea.

2.  Weighted vest.  I know therapists try this with younger kids in particular who enjoy deep pressure stimulation… it also helps build some strength, much in the way an athlete would wear a vest in training.

3.  A recorder…. you know, the plastic toy flutes.  If your child is non-verbal, it’s a great way to get them to use their mouth to blow through the instrument, and they get the benefit of learning to make differently pitched sounds.  Some kids can learn the differences between the pitches, and if they’re not incredibly sensitive to sound, will find it an entertaining instrument.

4.  A BOSU or exercise ball.  Great for developing balance, especially among youger kids, and teaching self-awareness as they learn to balane themselves.

5.  Brushing.  I learned this one from Brady’s Occupational Therapist.  It’s a technique where you brush the skin of a sensory-needs kid.  Use a soft hair brush, and many kids find it a relaxing tool and also enjoy having their nerve endings triggered in their skin.

Any ideas you can share with our readers that kids will enjoy?

Thanks
JEROD

My sons OT used an inflatable seat cushion to help cut down his ‘wiggles’ when doing seated work. The cushion was made for therapy purposes and had one side with little bumps for sensory input and one side that was smooth. He could shift his weight back and forth while remaining seated, and in a subtle way.
Bean bag chairs might be comforting for a child that likes pressure around them, but make sure the zipper cannot be opened so that the child can’t get hurt ingesting contents or suffocate in a solid vinyl beanbag.
If you have a solid surface floor or large driveway, a mechanics creeper can be good to have the child lie on and pull themselves around with their hands(outside I recommend gardeners gloves if the surface is rough)this increases upper body strength.
For learning to ride a bike for young kids, there is a wooden bike without peddles that can help them learn to balance and glide, this helps with core strength(central muscles of the trunk)coordination, balance.
Tossing games for hand/eye coordination, you can use soft nerf-type balls or the squishy fabric ones made for using in pools to throw balls into laundry baskets.
Set up a simple yarn or thin rope clothesline with small nails or pushpins(always take down to not be a hazard)and put laundry pins with springs on it. Have the child ‘hang up’ and ‘take down’ various items as a game( hang up the yellow glove?“ “take down the blue sock”)have a little chart like a bingo card and when it is full(move a picture copy of the item to a space with the word on the card)child gets a ‘prize’. This teaches names, colors, direction following, etc. Using the clothespins builds fine motor skills, having to match the picture of the item to the word builds word identification(for younger kids it can be a picture to a picture)

For building finger strength, put little plastic figures into therapy putty or playdoh, having to dig out the little toys increases finger strength.
It’s fun for the child to discover new ‘treasures’ and you can vary them.
You could even make a ‘bingo card’they could match to place a variety of items on if seveal little toys are hidden. Be aware small toys can be choking hazards.
Shaving cream on a table top is fun to doodle in.
You can use it to trace numbers in(make a few dots, write a number 1,2 or 3 to match)make faces(happy face, sad face)and identify the faces and emotions.
Make ‘guess the emotion’ cards of family members making a variety of expressions and work with the child to learn to identify the feeling of the perosn, work up to matching to a word that names the emotion independently. Reward correct matches, explain the reason you can identify the emotion(eyebrows are going up, mouth is turning down at the sides). Help the child learn to recognize them, then imitate the expression, using hand mirrors and make a game it fun, exaggerating a lot at first to make it easier.
“Air brush” using a few drops of food coloring mixed with water dripping a few drops in different colors onto paper. Use a drinking straw, have the child blow the colored water around, making various sprays of color, this is fun and it can strengthen muscles in the face and tongue and improve breath control and coordination of muscles in the mouth area. These may all assist with speech production(I am not a professional but have seen something similar done by one).

The inflatable seat cushion, I am using it myself and it helps me a lot with my back problems. Sitting is also more comfortable.