Lacing to Decorate Ring Stacks

My clients love ring stacks. But they love them even more when they have pictures or decorations on the materials they are stacking.

 I have been working with the higher functioning individuals to lace around the edges to make rings. Then I had the idea of attaching pictures to the larger plastic pieces used on the bilateral ring stack and then attach them by lacing. You can see in the photo how fancy some of the art work was when lacing for the single dowel ring stack. This ring stack is made by inserting a water blaster inside a bottle. Then I can pull up the handle to make it shorter or taller.

Many individuals avoid using their hands together and the bilateral dowel ring stack works on developing these skills. The lady in the picture loves photos so she will enjoy the end product with pictures on the materials she uses . ......

Note that the rings that I sliced from shampoo bottles are more challenging to lace. The flat rings or plastic pieces are easier to lace, so plan accordingly....

Bilateral Ring Stack

Bilateral Range-of Motion with Fun Bead Insertion Task

I had this blue tubing given to me by a mom who has a daughter that uses it for suction. However, I think it can be purchased where sold for a variety of uses. I secured the bottom end with duct tape to a bottle. Then I cut a hole in a screw cap lid and pushed the top end of the blue tubing through it. Then later when the beads are removed the bottle is screwed onto the cover and they flow safely into the original bottle that is attached with duct tape. You can see the clear bottle waiting on the table to be used.  the beads can easily be poured into any container to be used by the client to insert inside the tubing.

This activity worked on many skills. First of all using hands together and reaching high, above the head. So many of the individuals I work with need to improve reaching and upright posture. This young many uses some nice problem solving to stretch the tubing making the beads go down when they get a bit jammed. This pulling also provides sensory input to muscles and joints. They had a good time and rest assured although I blurred the faces for privacy they are all smiling, Including some individuals who typically do not want to be engaged at all....