Adapted Cup Holder

This adaptation was spontaneous and effective. The client tends to sit and stand hunched over. She does not want her dining equipment raised higher on a platform. I happened to have a cardboard tube from some packaging in my office and the cup fit inside it perfectly so that she can grasp the tube while eating. This set up is promoting a nice erect posture. I will be prettying up the tube with contact paper.

Reaching to String Words or Pictures

I designed this activity for an individual who is able to read and write. I wrote simple phrases on cards that I laminated and cut slits in the center for stringing.

There are 2 different products shown in the photos. One  has the end of the   cord attached to the top of a book stand using duct tape. I cut the flat plastic cord out of a shampoo bottle. There is another bottle attached to the board with black felt where the words are stored.

 Since the book stands that I ordered came with battery powered lights that clipped on, I added a few so that the activity can be performed in a room darkened for relaxation. 

The other photo shows the end of the cord attached to a green bottle handled so that he can tuck the end of the cord into it when finished. I just used the recycled materials, felt and duct tape that I had handy and this is how it turned out. You can use string or cord and make round holes in the word cards, but I have lots of plastic bottles available to use and these do not fray.

I love that he enjoyed reading the words. His eye hand coordination is pretty good so actually  stringing, although fun was not as important as the fact that he raised his arms repeatedly to strengthen his upper extremities and neck muscles. 

Weaving Loom made out of Book Stand

I feel like a super occupational therapist when i do weaving activities!!!

 I made this loom by attaching the fabric pieces to a very large book stand. The book stand can have the angle adjusted but it is positioned vertically even though it doesn't look that way in the video. If you don't have such a fancy books tand try cuttinb a heavy duty box and folding to create a triangular frame.

 I happened to have a lot of sticky back felt that was provided by a recycling center program. It is green and I used it to hold the red fabric strands in place. I also got the red felt (not sticky back) from the same recycling center. I sewed each red strand to a horizontal strip of fabric and taped securely in place across the top of the stand. You can't see it because it is covered by the green  felt. The blue plastic is cut from the bottom of an old tent. 

I wasn't sure whether to work on weaving from top to bottom or left to right  but working top to bottom seemed easiest to make and use.

 My goals were to improve visual attention, manipulation skills, learn  over and under concepts to weave and most importantly to sit up erect and reach upward for strengthening and to improve posture.

This is a great way to teach weaving concepts since the fabric won't rip easily like the paper place mats do. Once your clients learn weaving concepts, they can engage in a variety of crafts that require this skill. 

Light Box Insertion Activity

 These light boxes are great. The handle can be adjusted to make the light surface flat or various angles. Unfortunately, the nurses told me not to use them because the  bright lights might cause a seizure.

I made this insertion activity hoping that the light would not be too bright but bright enough to be fun and attract attention to the box opening during a simple insertion task.  

The nurses approved!! Hooray !!

The top photo shows how I covered a box with sticky back felt and used velcro to attach to the light box.

The other photos show a white box that still needs to be covered with felt to create some color contrast. But you can see the inside light is covered with some translucent stickers. I cut openings on the bottom and top of the box so that the light shows through.   

The man in the video is legally blind but he turns his head toward light so I think that this adaptation helps him to  find the box opening.

Enlarging Handle for person with Spasiticity

I recently adapted this cup holder for an elderly lady with spasticity. She was unable to open her hand enough to grasp the cup and was gripping it by the rim instead.  So I am sharing a simple adaptation that involves attaching a handle cut from a detergent bottle to a  cup-like plastic container that the drinking cup is inserted inside. The client drinks out of the regular red drinking cup. The white cup that holds it is a bottle used for contact lens solution. I have no idea whether that white plastic container is safe for consumable liquids but the white cup holder never touches her lips.

I also show a sponge holder that I made years ago so that people with spasticity can grasp the handle to paint.

I cut into the green handle to make the cup holder- in the same way I cut the tab shown in the yellow handle below. I cut a notch into the white bottle (holding the red cup) and pushed the green tab through it and secured with the gray duct tape. It works quite nicely and nothing wiggles while she drinks.


The tab of the sponge holder is pushed through 2 notches in the sponge.

The last picture shows another way to attach a handle to a plastic container like the green coffee one. I cut long notches to insert the handle flaps into and secure inside with tape. I use these in a variety of ways for insertion tasks with very young children and all ages of adults with developmental disabilities.
I use a variety of lids with different types of openings to create shape sorters.

Source: How to Make an Adapted Handle for Sponge Painting by RecyclingOT on Rumble

Sensory Play with Light Box

I recently received these wonderful light boxes to use at work but the nurse said that I should not use the lights because they can cause seizures. First she said that I should just not use it with people who have a seizure disorder but then decided it was too risky because even if a person without a disorder used it someone else can walk over and look at it.

So I am looking at ways to use it without any batteries, electricity or lights.... I like how the carrying handle moves to change the viewing angle. The light box cover is this white plastic and pretty bright even though not lit up. It looks cool when I put the striped plastic sheet over it.

 I  cut the plastic fruits to have an extended piece on the bottom that can be pushed into slits cut into the striped plastic. I am still experimenting with how I will use this.


But the fun news is that I was in a program room all set up for a 
Holloween sensory activity with cute  skeletons and pumpkins and other things to touch and look at, including  a container of goopy stuff (looks like blood)..... Nobody wanted to touch it until I put clumps on the light box screen. The video shows one of the individuals enjoying using it in a fine motor task of removing it to put in the container. He needed the structured way of manipulating it rather than just holding it in his hand to feel.

Bilateral Bean Bag Activity

 I have been working with a young man who avoids using his right hand. He has limited hand skills and attention and he typically transfers objects to his left hand to insert into a container. He has been working on this for a long time.

I decided that since he is relatively successful at grasping and moving bean bags I would make something similar that would require using both hands because it is too long, awkward and heavy to lift with only his left hand. I filled an old long socks with a plastic bag in the center and  small bags of sand inside each end of the long sock.

Then I sewed the smaller socks onto each end to create some color contrast. As you see in the video I am trying to have him grasp the 2 small sock ends one in each hand. The video is choppy because I edited out his face. I am also talking constantly int he video because I don't want the voices of other clients heard, to protect their privacy. You do hear one other staff person directing him to do the task. He did really well and its exciting to find a new skill we can develop that  is within his potential given the cognitive limitations.