Teaching to snap

Part of spring cleaning involves throwing out the clothes my son has outgrown. Seen here are the pockets that I cut off his shorts. Amazingly, one pair of shorts has 6 pockets with snaps. I painted orange nail polish on the spot where the snap needs to be pushed. I ask children to open them, remove a toy, and push the orange spot to close them again.
I work with a particular child on the autism spectrum who is able to do many fine-motor tasks such as closing buttons, snaps and container lids but doesn't seem motivated to do tasks with accuracy. I asked him to push the lid on a yogurt container so that it would be completely sealed and sand would not fall out when turned upside down. He seemed to understand and was interested when I did this (above a baking pan). We were both thrilled that nothing fell out!



Barbara Smith, M.S., OTR/L author of, The Recycling Occupational TherapistRecyclingOT.com

Visual motor activities using Paper towel tubes

There's 2 visual motor activities on Your Therapy Source web site that I like using a paper towel tube. One uses a towel tube such as this with an opening that shows a a bead inside. The child has to control the tube, keeping it level in order to see the bead through the opening. This is great for bilateral hand use, motor control and visual fixation.

I have done an activity similar to this one using a clear plastic tube. I drew two lines near the center and asked the child to keep the bead or superball inside the lines by balancing the tube- first while stationary, then while walking.

http://www.yourtherapysource.com/visualtubefree.html

Barbara Smith, M.S., OTR/L author of, The Recycling Occupational Therapist

RecyclingOT.com

What to do with Rubber bands

I have been collecting rubber bands from newspapers and produce for some time to use in making rubber band balls with kids. I just saw an ad for a book called Rubb-Origami that has some fun ideas on things to make out of rubber bands. You can also send your old rubber bands to them and have them make a new creation (for a fee).




The authors teach how to make little people and animals out of rubber bands. Info at; smattworks.com

Barbara Smith, M.S., OTR/L author of, The Recycling Occupational Therapist

RecyclingOT.com

Plastic Bottle Earrings

I am tempted to try this:

How to Make Beads from Recycled Plastic Bottles
A quick and easy way to turn plastic bottles into beautiful beads.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1574071/how_to_make_beads_from_recycled_plastic.html

Building Skills By Building Toys

Photo coursey of Advance for OT and Donna shaman

The article - Building Skills By Building Toys in Advance for Occupational Therapists. Occupational therapist Donna Shaman explains the therapeutic benefits when children make their own toys. Many of the toys are made of recycled materials (hence my big interest) such as cardboard, styrofoam and a tofu container. The activities promote sensory and motor goals ( since the projects are 3 D), social and play skills and develop cognitive learning (i.e. literacy) since many of the toys have signs on them to read.
Enjoy!

Barbara Smith, M.S., OTR/L author of, The Recycling Occupational Therapist
Horseot.com

Water Bottle Peg Board

Check out my newest video to learn how to make a peg board out of the plastic bottles used for contact lens saline water and cardboard boxes. Enjoy!



Source: Sensory Pegboard for Children with Autism and other Developmental Disabilities by RecyclingOT

Trash 2 Treasure Video

Here is a video that explains how Trash 2 Treasure, a non-profit in Florida, collects recycling products to make crafts and other projects. A lot of the supplies can be used by teachers and students. Some of the treasures include: paper, wire, fabric,tile,wood scraps, glass for mosaics, paint, notebook binders, pens from out of business supply companies,foam, styrofoam, tins, prescription bottles, corks, containers, envelopes, tubes and Cd spindles. People can join, paying a membership fee and then take whatever they need. What I love best about such an enterprise is the recyclist doesn't have to store all this trash in one's own home!





Barbara Smith, M.S., OTR/L, author of The Recycling Occupational Therapist
RecyclingOT.com