RecyclingOT

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

People with spasticity may have difficulty grasping or stabilizing objects. This video demonstrates how to adapt with handles cut out of detergent, dishwasher or other bottles. The handles can be attached to activities such as ring stacks, sorting containers or shape sorters using Velcro or tape. This adaptation enabled the little girl in the pink sweater to grasp the green handle attached to the coffee can while inserting picture cards. At the same time her little hand is opened up instead of fisted, helping to maintain her range-of-motion. Learn more about activity adaptations at http://www.RecyclingOT.com

Save your shampoo, vinegar or bleach bottles to cut in a spiral fashion to make lacing cord. I cut all types of shapes, such as hearts, Easter eggs or fish and make notches in them for lacing. This is a great activity to develop eye-hand coordination with very young children with or without disabilities and older individuals with fine-motor challenges. The young adult in the video loves this type of repetitive activity and has a picture of it in his daily visual schedule. Learn more about activity adaptations at http://www.RecyclingOT.com

The client shown in the video typically has her right hand fisted against her body. My goal is to maintain range of motion by reaching for objects to insert into the container with her left hand as she grasps the handle. The large blue container is tied to the table so that she is unable to pull it into her lap. This individual prefers to be busy, so this adaptation serves to 1) provide a repetitive task 2) maintain or improve range of motion 3) motivate to engage in bilateral tasks 4) Open up her fisted hand during a functional task. She refuses to wear a splint to prevent contractures. How to make: Simply cut an opening in a large detergent or kitty litter bottle so that the desired container can be wedged inside. I cut an opening where her knuckles were rubbing and then put tape around the edges. Learn more about activity adaptations on my website and blog: http://www.RecyclingOT.com http://www.RecyclingOT.blogspot.com

After hand surgery my hubby needed a waterproof cast cover so that he could shower and go boating. This video shows how he made an inexpensive cover out of a dry bag and Gear tie. After his injury heals and cast is removed he will find many other uses for these 2 products. Please check out my occupational therapy website and books for more clever adaptations to solve many types of challenges... http://www.RecyclingOT.com

Children with sensory processing disorders or developmental disabilities such as autism- may find it challenging to learn how to open and close buttons. The adaptations shown in this video are designed to make learning easier by using large materials and repetition. So parents, teachers and therapists consider making "button squares", "button stringing", "button rings" and "button boards" to develop these hand skills. Learn more on my website at RecyclingOT.com

Here is an easy to make activity that develops eye-hand coordination. Young children and older individuals with developmental disabilities such as autism may enjoy the repetitive nature of weaving the shapes together or taking them apart. This fun activity strengthens hands and helps to develop the motor control required to cut with scissors and write. Learn more about activity adaptations at http://www.RecyclingOT.com

Its easy to draw and cut out a simple stencil from a folder or other cardboard. Its so easy, I suggest making a new and different one every day for children or adults with or without developmental disabilities. The individuals may work at a table, on an angled book stand on the table, the floor or work while standing at a white board as shown in the video. This activity promotes the following skills: 1. Visual attention to the materials since they are directly in front of one’s face 2. Strengthening shoulders through reaching and pressing 3. Stabilizing the stencil while coloring (bilateral hand skills) 4. Eye-hand coordination 5. Sensory stimulation to eyes, muscles, joints, vestibular system while pressing to color and wiping the board clean, as well as walking side to side and high/low to reach all parts of the board. The client shown in the video loves pictures. She has a very limited vocabulary but “pictures” is one of her favorite words. Using stencils enables her to make her very own pictures while working on the above skills. It takes a lot of trial and error to find successful activities, but its very rewarding when you do! Learn more about activity adaptations on my website and blog: http://www.RecyclingOT.com http://www.RecyclingOT.blogspot.com http://www.FromFlappingtoFunction.com

Wrap and knot cord all over a weighted ball and then tie several black fabric strips all over them. Some of my clients love to untie the "spider legs" and then insert them into the "web". The weighted ball is calming to use on one's lap or table. Children and adults with fine-motor challenges will have a fun opportunity to develop strong fingers and dexterity as they repetitively tie or untie these knots. Learn more about sensory activities and adaptations at http://www.RecyclingOT.com

A "tripod" pencil grasp is considered most efficient during handwriting. The term “tripod” is used because 3 fingers- the index, middle fingers and thumb look like a tripod when controlling the pencil. Young children strengthen and develop coordination between the “tripod fingers” when squeezing clothespins, chip clips or tongs. This video demonstrates how to make and use similar "tongs" in repetitive fine-motor activities that young children or adults with developmental disabilities may enjoy. Learn more about activity adaptations at http://www.RecyclingOT.com

Pulling-apart these plastic pieces strengthens fingers and is sensory fun! I cut the plastic from bottles and other containers. Next, I attached Velcro Loop to both sides of the green ones and Hook to both sides of the red ones. Some children may be able to stack them up by alternating colors before ripping them apart to insert. This is a wonderful activity that develop eye-hand coordination and bilateral hand skills! Learn more about activity adaptations on my website and blog: http://www.RecyclingOT.com http://.www.RecyclingOT.blogspot.com