Stabilizing to remove Rings

When I first starting to work with this young lady about a year ago she avoided using her left hand to stabilize materials and kept it on her lap while using her right hand to do puzzles and other activities she could perform using one hand.

 She learned how to stabilize a Velcro bottle on her lap and then on the table, gradually tolerating working on using the table surface.  Now she automatically stabilizes materials with her left hand, often while working with materials on the table. She has developed the motor control to stabilize the handle shown in this video without using the table or lap surface for support. This is very good progress. She prefers to remove objects rather than attach which is fine with me. (The cord is simple a long strip of fabric attached to holes in the handle. I added duct tape for the strining end). 

Sometimes she tries to remove rings in the middle of the cord rather than from the end, so I am hoping to teach her the cognitive concept of pulling the donut shape closest to the removal end first.  Also because one end has a handle on it to grasp, it is more obvious which end to grasp. If she were given a cord with just a knot on one end, she would try to remove the rings from that end. 

Hippity Hop Scanning, Sensory, Fine-Motor Activity

I may have to buy some of these. They look very fun and therapeutic as shown in the video !!!

Getting Heavy.....

 Here is the result of team effort at work. One person donated her old socks which are rather pretty (middle picture). I managed to shovel some beach sand into plastic bags before the bad weather began last year and someone else made this extra large, tall ring stack on a wooden base (bottom picture).

The gentleman sitting loves the feel of the weighted bags inside the socks. He has learned to pick up the socks to insert into a large container and also to stand up and bring each one into a container in the middle of the room during a sensory motor group. This is a perfect activity for someone who enjoys deep pressure but does not tolerate wearing a weighted vest or blanket. He typically sits with arms folded against his chest avoiding hand use.

I used the same socks with a different individual by placing them in the hallway, so that he could walk, pick each up to insert into a shopping back. So he received sensory input from moving high/low as well as picking up the weighted socks. He seemed to enjoy this a lot. He avoids using hands together so placing each in the bag worked on that skill.

I noticed that this same person used only one hand when putting the rope rings on the stack shown below. But he had better motor control and used both hands when placing the adapted heavy sock ring over the stack.