RecyclingOT

Here are a few strategies that help children learn to form vertical and horizontal lines. But let’s start with scribbling…. Babies typically learn the joys of scribbling between 13 and 18 months of age. Provide lots of large paper, dry erase and chalk surfaces to scribble on, as well as sensory-based “scribbling” in pudding, whip cream, wet sand or shaving cream inside a zipped baggy. The 18 to 24 months old toddler is typically ready to learn how to form lines with the pointer finger. Demonstrate drawing vertical and horizontals during messy play and using fun, easy to see and feel boundaries such as those shown in the video! 1. Mermaid pillows 2. Dry erase boards 3. Plastic, cardboard or carpet squares with window cut-outs 4. Bottles and other surfaces with grooves 5. Long thin boxes to draw on top of or inside Try cutting strips of sandpaper or bubble wrap to draw on. Start out with large pieces and then narrower as the child develops motor control. These early “pre-writing” experiences prepare children to form the vertical and horizontal lines used to form letters and have fun doing so! Learn more about activity adaptations on my website and blog: http://www.RecyclingOT.com http://www.RecyclingOT.blogspot.com http://www.fromflappingtofunction.com

The "sensory pull bottle" is a fun way to help young children develop hand strength, coordination between right and left hands and to develop a hand preference. I incorporate this activity when working with children with developmental disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders, sensory processing disorders or other impairments that impact developing hand skills. It can be used while the child is sitting, kneeling, standing, riding a horse or moving in other ways. The combination of movement, pulling and vibration helps to motivate and engage children.

Children and adults with autism and/or other types of developmental disabilities often love materials that involve pulling, squeezing or pushing. These materials are sensory-based because they stimulate the muscles, joints and skin. I attached retractable clips that hold name IDs to a book stand. They are really fun to pull! I cut lots of ring shapes out of plastic containers, but you can use other small objects with openings that can be strung onto the clips. I tied pieces of fabric to the ends so that the rings won't easily fall off. The thicker the fabric, the more challenging the stringing will be. Have fun adapting! Learn more about activity adaptations on my website and blog: http://www.RecyclingOT.com http://www.RecyclingOT.blogspot.com

Children or adults with developmental disabilities often love to manipulate by shaking, pulling, pushing or rolling. This video demonstrates how to make and use a simple make-your-own "busy bottle" activity. It works great for this client because she cannot throw it off her tray or choke on any small moving parts. It was free to make and individualized just for her…. Learn more about activity adaptations on my website and blog: http://www.RecyclingOT.com http://.www.RecyclingOT.blogspot.com

This video demonstrates how to cut fruit shapes out of plastic bottles to make fine motor activities for children or adults with autism or other developmental disabilities, as well as typically developing children. Connecting and separating the bracelets from the plastic is a fun sensory experience and develops eye-hand coordination.

People who have difficulty grasping a paintbrush perhaps...due to hand weakness, arthritis pain or spasticity may be able to grasp this adapted Handle for sponge painting. This is one of the many adaptations described in my book: THE RECYCLING OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST. Learn more at http://www.RecyclingOT.com

Painting on an easel is fun for children and adults. I made this easel out of a cardboard box. Its easy to make and replace when someone accidentally throws it out! I use easels with children and adults with developmental and other disabilities because they make it easier for the client to reach and see how to move the brush. They also sit more upright when looking and reaching in the vertical plane. The client in the video is unable to grasp the paint brush unless it is attached to his hand with the cuff sold at EaZyHold.com. Now he is all set to enjoy painting....Learn more about activity adaptations at RecyclingOT.com

Many people including myself enjoy the feeling of rubbing a brush against the arms and hands. I received training decades ago on how to administer the Wilbarger Protocol that involves rubbing with a surgical brush every 2 hours to decrease tactile defensiveness. I find the hair brush purchased from the Dollar Store much more calming. The hair brush provides a greater amount of stimulation. I can barely feel the surgical brush when I rub it on my arms. I tied one of these hairbrushes to a client’s table so that he can decide when to rub it on his arms and hands and how much pressure to use to meet his sensory needs. This hairbrush also feels good when squeezed! The video demonstrates the same stringing activity used by 2 clients with very different abilities. The blind client has very good motor planning skills and is able to push the fabric pieces with slits onto the brush to slide down the cord. When I first started working with him 5 years ago, he refused to touch most objects. He is so tactile defensive that he refuses to eat! (he has a GI tube). Now he enjoys pushing golf balls through a small opening so it takes force to make it go down. This has helped him tolerate deep pressure to his palms and tolerate touch in general. Notice how flat his hands are because he has avoided grasping inside his palms all of his life! The second client has motor planning challenges. He loves to fidget with objects to meet his sensory needs, including this hair brush. He wasn’t eager to slide rings down the cord but realized that he was able to fidget with the hair brush as he pleased while working on this task. I only offer large plastic rings to string because he does not have the motor planning skills to manipulate the fabric squares with slits that you see the first client using. I really love how I am able to individualize activities for my clients to meet their sensory and motor needs…. This activity may be adapted using different types of sensory items such as a Koosh ball or motorized tooth brush tied to the end of the cord. Explore using cord of shorter or longer lengths, larger or smaller rings according to the individual’s abilities to help them achieve easy success and gradually add challenge. Learn more about activity adaptations on my website and blog: http://www.RecyclingOT.com http://www.RecyclingOT.blogspot.com http://www.FromFlappingtoFunction.com

Children with autism, sensory processing disorders or other types of developmental disabilities often find heavy pressure from using heavy or tight squeezing materials calming. They may seek this type of sensation by crashing into cushions or people! This video shows how to make "sensory rings" out of socks and supermarket bags. They are virtually free and quick to make. Moving the rings over the body develops body awareness and coordination while meeting the child's sensory needs. Learn more at RecyclingOT.com

Many children with or without disabilities find connecting a zipper to be tricky! This video demonstrates a few fun adaptations that develop the bilateral coordination to open and close zippers. It usually helps to attach something like a pipe cleaner or toy to the zipper slider so that it is easier to grasp while pulling. When I teach hand skills to children or adults with disabilities, I always make sure there is a lot of REPETITION. The young man in the video is learning how to zip his own jacket for the first time in his life because he practiced attaching 5 zipper sliders every day for several months. A different client loves to insert objects into containers so I created a task where he needed to close the zippers before inserting them. I put a motorized toothbrush and some bells inside the container to add some sensory stimulation. Let me repeat…..repetition and adding some sensory stimulation help motivate my clients to engage in some challenging hand activities.

When my son was little he loved helping me make activities such as this for my occupational therapy clients. Many of these clients had developmental disabilities, including autism and challenges such as weak hands, short attention spans and poor coordination. The bottle tops are attached to the big detergent container with strips of stretchy fabric. Pulling on the fabric provides sensory stimulation to muscles and joints. Screwing or unscrewing the covers develops strong fingers and coordination. Matching the covers to the bottle tops develops visual perceptual skills. Learn about other activity adaptations at http://www.RecyclingOT.com

This activity is very easy to make and fun for typically developing children as well as children and adults with autism or other developmental disorders that impact attention and hand skills. Individuals need to use both hands to position the rings with notches cut in the center on top of the “spiral sensory ring stack”. Then they let go and enjoy the visual stimulation of the shape spiraling down. I bought the helicopter toy at the Dollar store. The spiral piece is wedged and taped inside a bottle opening. I cut the colorful plastic rings out of detergent and dishwasher soap bottles and cut notches in the center. This activity promotes visual attention, eye-hand coordination and using hands together. Learn more about activity adaptations at http://www.RecyclingOT.com

Students or clients with sensory processing disorders often engage best when using materials that require force. These activities provide "resistance" and heavy pressure sensory stimulation to muscles and joints. The video shows how motivated and fun it is to get sensory stimulation while also strengthening hands and developing coordination. Please visit my website for more information at RecyclingOT .com

Form boards are designed for young children to learn how to fit shapes into corresponding openings. My older clients with developmental disabilities are also working on these skills. However, this form board is made with meaningful, age-appropriate pictures that I printed and laminated. Learn more about activity adaptations at http://www.RecyclingOT.com

Collect caps or covers to screw on or off the threaded tops and make the following repetitive fine-motor activity. The young man in the video is blind and loves to match, sort and use his advanced cognitive skills. He used to avoid using his hands together but has gotten quite good at it because I keep creating variety and challenging manipulation tasks that he enjoys.... Some children or older individuals may enjoy matching a variety of covers/caps to the corresponding threaded pieces. These may come from detergent, dishwasher soap bottles, vitamin jars, juice or milk cartons or countless other sources. The covers may be screwed on lightly at first and later on more tightly as skill and hand strength develop. Visit my website for more ideas and adaptations: http://www.RecyclingOT.com

Individuals with autism and/or sensory processing disorders may find it challenging to engage in hand activities. The "paint roller ring stack" is fun, often motivating people because it meets their sensory needs while developing eye hand coordination and visual attention. It is made by wedging a paint roller handle inside a bottle; then secure in place with duct tape. As you see in the videos, it can be used in a variety of ways to meet the different needs of individuals. Please visit my website RecyclingOT.com for information about my books, CEU courses and blog.

I made this video almost 10 years ago when I was providing low vision services in home care settings. I hope that this information continues to help other therapists and patients. The best part is that Medicare pays for these services! If you or someone you care about has low vision, please share this video packed with information about home care services that may help them to be more independent and enjoy life. I found that many eye doctors (ophthalmologists and optometrists) did not know that these services were available- so be sure to ask to get a referral! Learn more about activity adaptations on my website and blog: http://www.RecyclingOT.com http://www.RecyclingOT.blogspot.com http://www.FromFlappingtoFunction.com

It takes force to push these rings down the sturdy tube used as a ring stack. I had a surplus of Frisbees at work and cut out the centers to make the rings (using heavy duty leather shears). My clients with developmental disabilities including some on the autism spectrum love this adapted ring stack. They receive sensory feedback from muscles and joints as they either push the rings down or pull them off. They are encouraged to use both hands in order to be successful. This activity can be performed from a wheelchair or while standing. It can be a solitary activity or performed with a social partner. Reaching to eye level strengthens the arms, promotes visual attention and an upright posture since they are not hunched over looking downward. Learn more about activity adaptations at: http://www.RecyclingOT.com

Some children with Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD) avoid crossing midline. Imagine a line running down your body dividing it into right and left sides. This line is called “Midline”. Sometimes your right hand will cross over left of this line and your left hand will cross right of this line. We describe this as "crossing midline" (CML). Children with SPD often avoid crossing midline. They may only reach for objects on their right with their right hand and only reach for objects on their left with their left hand. This is not very efficient, especially when they color with whichever hand is closest to the crayon rather than the dominant hand. Activities such as the one in the video are designed to promote CML. Ask the child to alternate using right and left hands while sequencing the letters and at times they will need to cross midline. Learn more about activity adaptations at http://www.RecyclingOT.com

Children or adults with developmental disabilities may enjoy matching as they screw bottle caps onto the corresponding size threaded pieces. Write numbers, letters or glue pictures to caps and threaded pieces to make matching fun! Materials needed: 1)Threaded pieces cut from plastic bottles 2) Caps or covers that screw onto the threaded pieces 3)A long strip of fabric 4) A container to insert the lids into (optional) Cut 2 holes in each threaded piece in order to string them onto the cord. You will see in the video that some clients preferred to sit. However, I adapted the materials to encourage reaching or standing. Some clients not only enjoy standing, they crave movement and this activity enables them to retrieve materials located on the floor or across the room. Screwing or unscrewing the lids strengthens hands and develops bilateral hand coordination. Making this activity costs virtually ZERO $$$$ Learn more about activity adaptations on my website and blog: http://www.RecyclingOT.com http://www.RecyclingOT.blogspot.com

Many children and adults with Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD) and/or autism spectrum disorders find weighted vests, blankets, collars and lap pads to be calming. This video demonstrates how to make them! This was a great way to put my old sweat shirts, pants and socks to use. Here are the steps: 1) Put sand into a plastic bag and tie the end. 2) Put the plastic bag inside a sock and tie the end 3) Put the sock inside a second sock so that the outer sock can be washed 4) Place these double layered socks either inside an extra long sock or bag for insertion/removal tasks OR 5) Place bags of sand inside the sleeves and body of an old pair of pants or sweatshirt. Tie up all openings so that contents stay inside 6) Place the filled pants or sweatshirt into a second one so that the outer layer can be washed. Learn more about activity adaptations on my website and blog: http://www.RecyclingOT.com http://www.RecyclingOT.blogspot.com

This video explains how to use sensory reinforcers to help children or adults on the autism spectrum or people with other developmental disabilities to develop hand skills. Many disabled individuals have sensory processing challenges and avoid using their hands. They may decrease anxiety and self-regulate by rocking, spinning, flapping or shaking objects in front of their eyes. While this is OK, it becomes a problem when people do this all the time to the exclusion of learning functional hand skills such as grasping a spoon to eat, placing objects into a container or rings on a stack. A reinforcer is a reward or an event that increases the likelihood of a behavior occurring. The term positive reinforcement refers to a behavior that we want to encourage such as pointing or signing “more” to indicate that the individual wants the horse to resume trotting. Sensory reinforcers provide the type of stimulation that helps one’s brain to organize the sensory information received from the sense organs and use it to perform motor skills such as walking or cutting a sandwich. The sensory systems related to movement (vestibular), body awareness (proprioception) and touch (tactile system) are of particular importance because people with sensory processing disorders (SPD) often crave these sensory experiences and are motivated to work to receive them. In the video you will see a young man who seeks movement by rocking, swaying or waving objects in front of his face. He also seeks vibration and the sensation of a heavy cushion on his lap. Weighted materials, vibration and activities that require force such as tug of war all stimulate the muscles, joints and tendons to increase proprioception. Another young man in a video needs to move all the time. He also engages in maladaptive behaviors including spitting on his hands and rubbing them on everything. He likes materials that are heavy, vibrate or require force. He uses force to push balls into a small container opening. The sequence of walking across the room to retrieve a ball from a vibrating container and returning to his table to push it into the container meets his sensory needs and makes him happier as well as more hygienic. Learn more about activity adaptations on my website and blog: http://www.RecyclingOT.com http://www.RecyclingOT.blogspot.com http://www.FromFlappingtoFunction.com

Children or adults with autism and/or sensory processing disorders often love the sensory feedback provided by pulling. This video demonstrates how to make a "Sensory Pull" activity that motivates children to visually attend as they develop postural control and strengthen their hands while receiving the type of sensory stimulation they seek and love.

Shoe bag organizers are great for sorting activities when working with young children or adults with developmental disabilities. I sewed a different color object to the outside of the shoe sections. My philosophy is that if a client has the skills to sort, identify pictures or read then I should try to incorporate using these cognitive skills. The video shows 3 different clients: 1. One has great color matching skills but he is unable to read 2. Another is able to sort the colors AND read the color names in order to put the paper into the matching color pocket and 3. The last client shown is unable to match or sort colors, but he enjoys removing the items from the sections and inserting them into a container. This activity also works on using hands together, reaching and motor eye-hand coordination. Many of my clients love repetitive tasks such as this and find it relaxing. Fortunately, its easy to find small colorful objects or to cut your own from paper, magazines or plastic containers. Learn more about activity adaptations on my website and blog: http://www.RecyclingOT.com http://www.RecyclingOT.blogspot.com http://www.fromflappingtofunction.com

Here is a simple to make and use fine-motor activity for children or individuals with disabilities of any age. All you need is 1) A magnetic surface 2) Small magnetic pieces 3) A stencil I happened to have flat magnetic puzzle boards that were too difficult for many of my clients to use so I cut them up into the small yellow, red and blue pieces that are shown in the video. You may purchase pretty magnets or plain ones that you pretty up with tape. Individualize according to your child or client’s fine motor abilities. I made very easy to use fish and heart stencils to fill up with magnets. However, you can increase the challenge by using more intricate stencils and/or smaller magnets. Perhaps the individual will create designs with the colors. Easter eggs would be perfect if working on a theme! Obviously small magnets create a choking risk for the very young and others who put objects in their mouths. For the safe users- peeling small magnets off surfaces is a great way to strengthen fingers and develop dexterity---the motor control required to use a pencil. Use stronger magnets to increase challenge! Working in the vertical plane strengthens the arms and shoulders and promotes visual attention. Consider working on a refrigerator or metal file cabinet, magnetic white board attached to a wall or place a small magnetic white board on a book stand. Removing the magnetic pieces when finished also works on finger dexterity. The one drawback I found was that once this activity is finished there is no remaining work to hang on the wall. I took photos of my clients holding their finished products (at their request) so that they could have a memento. A few other bonuses to this activity: 1) There is no paint or other mess, not that anything is wrong with messes, but this is so easy to clean up! 2) Materials can be used repeatedly. Consider laminating homemade stencils if you want to reuse them. 3) Making new stencils is super quick and easy and your child or client may help you make them…. 4) This activity teaches individuals to discriminate correct and incorrect since the magnets will not stick if the wrong side (black magnetic side) is showing or the magnets are piled up on top of each other. 5) This activity can keep an artist busy for a long time when using a large stencil and many small magnets. Some children and adults love to be busy. Adapt according to their attention span. I love the “WOW” factor when the stencils are removed. Adapt this activity for your child or client’s needs and you will all have a fun, learning experience! Learn more about activity adaptations on my website and blog: http://www.RecyclingOT.com http://www.RecyclingOT.blogspot.com http://www.FromFlappingtoFunction.com