Vibrating Stringing Activity

I have been thinking about how to make a stringing activity that vibrates for a long time because the sound and vibrating sensation can be very motivating. It makes an ordinary activity exciting!

I cut that long white cord from a shampoo bottle, cutting it in a spiral direction, round and round. I attached a children's electric toothbrush to the top of the plastic cord by cutting a hole in the cord and jamming the head of the toothbrush into it. Then I covered it with duct tape. I cut the donut shapes to string out of detergent bottles and made them very small so that the person would have to push and manipulate with effort to get it over the motor. I had a particular person in mind who needs resistive activities with push and pull. The man in the photo is actually a different person who has hemiplegia, I would have preferred if the shapes fit on easily, but he was quite persistent and didn't mind putting effort into it.
Notice that I attached a little Velcro to the bottom, creating a loop so that the shapes dond't fall off while the person is stringing. When finished its easy to open the velcro to remove the donut shapes...

People often joke about me when I adapt activities to vibrate, but in the end-- these sensory activities work great and are well worth it!!!  



Source: How Vibration Helps Children with Autism or Sensory Processing Disorders by RecyclingOT

Glitter Bottles

I've seen some beautiful bottles filled with water, glitter and glitter glue on-line recently had to give it a try. I found it difficult to get good photos, but did my best. They have been recommended to use is visual timers. When the glitter falls to the bottle the time is up.
I see many uses for these with children and adults during therapy. First of all they can be heavy if you use larger bottles. So the person will be working on strengthening and bilateral hand use as they lift them up to shake or turn over.

The provide lovely visual stimulation for people with profound developmental delays or dementia. They are simply fun to watch. I put some plastic toys inside the larger bottle to see if they would float around.  The did sink but not as quickly so its fun to watch them go down after the glitter settles.
They can be used as part of an exercise program, simply moving them from one location to another or stacking them onto a cart to push.

I added the bells to the smaller bottle to encourage turning the head to see the bottle. I can envision incorporating them into various games that involve turn taking, naming colors, passing the bottles or seeing who can wait for the glitter to settle before speaking....

 You can also wrap them up in tape or rubber bands so that the person works on manipulation skills while removing the coverings. The bottle and glitter provides a natural reward after using the hands!

Suspending Sensory Items

I am lucky to be working with someone who also enjoys making activities for the clients and better at carpentry than I am.

Program coordinator Jeff Baehrend at Shore Educational Collaborative made a frame that clamps onto the wheelchair. He attached the cord to the 2 pcv pipes and then attached a sock filled with a supermarket bag and cat toy that makes sounds when hit.  

I plan on making a variety of objects that feel and sound good when the individual swats at them.

The close up of the clamp shows a bit of how he attached the pcv pipe. There is a hole in the clamp where the pipe meets it. He attached a bolt to the bottom  of the pipe and then attached it to the clamp with a nut.

I am hoping that he will make more in various lengths so that the clients can use it as a ring stack while either sitting or standing. I plan on making some rings made out of socks with a bit of sand and foam inside.

They will have to use both hands and a bit of force to push them down. 

Adapted Hanger

A young man I work with  appears to want to hang his jacket up with the other clients but he does not have the motor planning skills to attach a jacket to a small hook on the wall or use a hanger. I noticed that  in another program room, the manager had these attractive hooks attached to the wall that are easier to use.   The client can push the jacket's collar or a hood on top of the loops (shown in the photo). He bought them at Ikea.

(Please excuse the fact that this blog does not let me rotate the pictures.)

Below is my attempt to see if my client can attach his jacket using a bottle that has a nice wide opening to push the jacket collar onto. Fortunately the coat wrack is located in a little nook where few people will see my weird adaptation. I still had to use hand-over-hand training so that he grasps the collar with both hands, but there are very few steps involved in positioning and then pushing the collar downward. It stayed quite securely.

I made this adaptation by cutting below the bottle's handle so that I could slip the handle over the bar in the closet. Then I wrapped a fabric strand around the handle and bottle to hold it more securely in place.

I think that one major hurtle in teaching someone to hang up a jacket is that they so easily slip off and fall to the ground. I think that this adaptation may  solve that problem. 

Cardboard Box Bowling Alley with Motorized Cylinder to Push

In my last blog post I shared the table-top bowling alley I made using a small wedge and cardboard box. It was so popular that staff wanted their own for their programs. I knew that I wanted to try making one out of only a large cardboard box , but I didn't expect it to be so easy and fast to make... I cut along the edges so that one side of the box can be pushed into the box at an angle as shown in the picture. You can now make the bowling alley any size or angle you choose as you look for boxes.  I secured in place with some contact paper, but it really doesn't look great yet. Individuals at work will be decorating this one.  Also shown is an electric toothbrush inside a tennis ball container. I put a little bit of foam at the end where the toothbrush is vibrating to soften the sound. But the container has a nice gentle vibration that makes pushing it down the bowling alley fun. You can fill these up with ping balls to shake and then roll down the "alley"...

Table Bowling

If you have a small wedge around your school o r facility consider using it as a bowling alley. I found a box that it fit inside of and can always take the wedge out to use for positioning.

Just add a little Velcro to attach the balls so that children or adults with developmental disabilities can simply give it a push. I like using this in a group because each person can take a turn going 2-3 times and then watch someone else take a turn.  It worked really well when I asked a lady with hemiplegia to take turns pushing with right and then left. She usually refuses to use the spastic arm, but she didn't seem to mind when I kept moving the bowling alley so that she alternated which arm she used.
I used 2 balls that each made fun sounds when rolled.

Source: Bowling for Children Who are Unable to Grasp by RecyclingOT

Fun Activities to Promote Using the Weaker Hand

My client is able to stabilize with his left hand but avoids doing so. He has a nice comfortable arm rest that he also avoids as he positions his arm close to his body  wedged below it. Today I was successful in introducing 3 activities that he enjoyed and did quite well stabilizing with left side.
 I made this vibrating ring stack by wedging the swim noodle inside a hole in a box. I pushed a small motor from a cheap electric tooth brush I found on Ebay inside so that it vibrates. The rings are cut from coffee can lids.

Unfortunately, I held the camera at a funny angle, and the blog does not accept a rotated picture.

This 2nd vibrating ring stack is made by using a small, very clean, brand new plunger with a round massager attached below it. It vibrates when the person pushes the rings (swimming noodle sections)  onto it. Again he enjoyed the vibration. He has very good range and motor control in his right hand and I positioned his left hand to grasp the plunger near the bottom. 

 Finally, realizing that this gentleman enjoys vibration, I set him up with a cushion that vibrates when pushed. I positioned his arm on top of it so that he could enjoy the benefits of having his arm raised (to reduce edema) while using his hands together. He has also been doing great at self-range-of motion. but these activities provide another opportunity to raise the involved upper extremity and train him to use it to stabilize materials. .