Discriminating Coins and Stringing Donut Shapes

Some of my clients  are unable to discriminate coins from other round objects. So I decided to work on this basic visual discrimination skill by providing a container with a slot to push pennies through. I used the clear plastic container that tennis balls are sold in and put yellow tape around the opening to make it easier to see. The donut shapes cut out of detergent bottles are a bit larger and do not fit inside the slot opening.

I show the individual how to lace the donut shapes onto the cord. I designed these so that one needs to pull quite hard to get them on- so that they work on hand strengthening and receive sensory input at the same time.

If they try to string the penny through the cord, obviously it won't work and if they try to fit the donut shapes through the slot they won't fit. I provide verbal and/or point cues so that they don't get frustrated as they learn to stop and think about what to do so that the activities are successful.

Teaching How to Zip

I have been thinking about how to teach zipping better.  Many children and adults learn to pull up the slider when the 2 ends are connected for them. but the motor planning to connect them seems to be quite difficult because they need to sequence some complex steps:

Zipping is difficult because there are all of these aspects:
1. one hand pulls one  zipper side downward to stabilize it while  the other hand connects the slider.
2) it takes very good coordination to fit the slider onto the zipper
3) Some jackets have 2 sliders, one above the other. I suggest not buying those!
4) Sometimes the tab to pull is very small, but we can always attach an object to make it larger, or tape to create color contrast.
5) Zipping takes good bilateral coordination as one hand pulls downward while the other pulls the zipper upward to close.
6) One needs to have good strength and coordination between the "tripod fingers" index, middle and thumb in order to squeeze that tab while pulling upward.


I like adapting teaching materials so that the most difficult aspect can be repeated several times. Connecting the slider to the zipper is a splinter skill, but a necessary one in order to zip independently.
Since people normally zip once when needed and are usually eager to go out rather than struggle, I thought that maybe the following activity would remove the stress and enable practice.

I bought the zipper repair case shown above at a craft's store. It cost $10.99 and came with 8 sliders. There is the option of  collecting old clothes and removing the sliders. One also has the option of throwing out a perfectly good but very stained windbreaker as shown in the photo. I cut off the sleeves so that any person of any size can fit in it. The person has the option of zipping it closed after practice time.

The activity can be performed by teaching how to zip the sliders up or removing them to put into the pocket-thereby practicing opening and closing the zipper on the pocket.  The person you are teaching may learn how to attach the sliders and still have difficulty zipping his or her jacket, but its a good start in developing the motor planning needed to zip one's own clothing.


Source: How to Teach Zipping Skills by RecyclingOT on Rumble

Deflated Ball is Great for the Wiggles

 I found a deflated ball in the storage closet at work. It wasn't quite deflated enough to sit on so I found a bicycle pump pin to insert and deflated until it felt just right. I enjoyed sitting and wiggling on it for several hours while writing reports. I plan on giving it to a client when I figure out who needs it most, but meanwhile I am thoroughly enjoying it.....

Pushing for Sensory Input

Here are 2 very different activities that both involved using a very large plastic container with a hole cut into the lid.Both of the clients have much anxiety and difficulty motor planning. the individual in the video is pushing golf balls through an opening and he had to use force to push it in. This gives sensory input while also developing hand strength.
The photos shows an individual pushing socks through the opening. He has to motor plan how to push to make them in to fit. The socks are filled with either sand, lentils or just plastic supermarket bags.
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Source: Creating Push and Squeeze Activities for students with Sensory Processing Disorders by RecyclingOT

Spiral Stringing

I have always loved Slinky's and use them a lot to create fun and functional activities. I also like making a similar spiral shape out of shampoo or other thin, plastic cylindrical bottles. The video shows how easily and quickly I can cut one. I have made a variety of sensory activities out of these because its fun to watch it move or objects to travel down the spiral. Its bouncy. You can add color. these are free, versatile, fun, visually engaging and safe since they will never be sharp when broken-like a real Slinky is.
You can cut bottles of various sizes, but the larger bottles won't have the same springy quality as the smaller bottle does.

The shapes that are strung can have one or two notches. Some individuals may weave them on and others may remove them- depending on the skill level of the child or adult.

This activity encourages use of two hands together as the child weaves the plastic pieces on and promotes active range of motion because the person needs to raise one end high while stabilizing the bottom end in order to watch the shapes spiral downward.

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!