Using Pool Noodles to Adapt Ring Stacks

I have been making a variety of different ring stacks over the years. I also use swimming noodles a lot when creating activities. The PT at work recently brought in some very nice old noodles while cleaning out her basement and I ended up making some rings to stack out of them.

They also work well when stringing them onto thick cord. I happened to have this plastic cane left over from some other activity. I wedged it inside the oatmeal container. The cane is very long and extends all the way to the bottom. Inside the container the cane is wedged inside a section of noodle that is wrapped up in a bag of sand. So this is now heavy enough to not easily topple over. I also added a bit of the red duct tape to make the tip of the candy cane softer.  

Below is a photo of a very simple noodle ring stack, obviously made by wedging the noodle inside a box. The rings can be cut out of various round cardboard containers such as the oatmeal box or  use round plastic cut out of detergent bottles or coffee can lids. 

One wonderful thing about these noodles is that you can push a motor from a pen or toothbrush inside it.Here is a picture of a vibrating ring stack with the blue noodle wedged inside an OJ bottle.  I had this pink spiral shaped object hanging around in the attic for years. It was originally part of a toy helicopter that involved pulling and shooting something into the sky.  There must be a lot of little toys like that around with such a spiral shape to use in a spiral ring stack like the one shown below. I wedged  and taped the pink spiral into a tube I had and then wedged that inside the noodle. Add tape to secure all in place and you can certainly adapt to the height and size that you need. 

Weighted Bottle Activities

I was very impressed to see the how the staff at my new adult day services program integrates movement and proprioceptive input into the day using plastic containers filled with sand.


Unfortunately , you will need to turn your head if on a computer or turn your tablet or phone to see the photo correctly. But as you can hopefully see, they used a lot of plastic coffee containers and some detergent bottles (not show in the photo).

The containers are lined up on the floor against the wall and the individuals pick them up to place onto the cart. Sometimes they walk across the room to do this. I have also put bands around the containers that they need to stretch to remove. These activities not only give sensory feedback, helps with sensory modulation and decreasing problematic behaviors, they also strengthen and increase physical endurance overall. 

The "LIKE" Box

Here is an activity designed to develop motor planning skills since the person needs to move the shapes first horizontally and then vertically to make them go down. Some of my clients were able to color match.

One young  lady named this activity the "Like box" because she liked it. She has cerebral palsy and uses her left hand to stabilize materials. This activity also benefited another client who avoids using his hands together- he did this well to stabilize the plastic strip while inserting the shape. I think that some of my blind clients will like this, too. Some will add the shapes-other will remove them to insert into a container.

I cut the strips from large bottles so that there is an L shape on one end and a flat base on the other. After I cut a notch into the top of the box, I inserted the tip of the L shapes and the larger base of the strip  presses against the bottom of the box. I taped the bottoms in place from inside the box. After all the color strips are attached I crammed pieces of cardboard so that all is snug inside and also this added weight to the box to prevent sliding on the table. Then I covered all sides with the black contact paper.

Placing Swirly Bottles into Box Sections

 I knew that the little plastic pieces that are punched out during production of my Weavable Toys would come in handy. I asked my friend the designer/manufacturer to save them. You can see the process in the first photo. then I inserted some inside a water bottle filled about halfway with tap water (after I drank the spring water up). I secured the cap in place with duct tape. My clients have been enjoying shake, swirl and then placing them inside the box sections. These boxes are readily available at liquor stores, so  if they are destroyed they can be easily replaced.  

 
 
 
 

World OT Day !!

 World OT Day!

I am offering these blog posts to be used on the Blog Carnival in celebration of : World OT Day.

This year is going to be the third annual World OT Day Blog Carnival! World OT Day is celebrated on October 27th every year, which is coming up fast!
http://www.barbarasmithoccupationaltherapist.com/theraproblog.html

They are:
http://blog.therapro.com/post/2013/09/04/Using-Movement-to-Motivate-and-Develop-Hand-Skills.aspx

http://blog.therapro.com/post/2013/10/01/Using-Weight-to-Improve-Body-Awareness-and-Motor-Skills.aspx

These posts relate to how occupational therapists love using movement and weighted adaptations to promote body awareness and skill .

Thanks to Linda at http://www.lindasdailylivingskills.com/2013/10/third-annual-blog-carnival-for-world-ot.html

Card Holder

I evaluated a woman today who has hemiplegia and no use of her left hand. She said that she wanted to be able to play cards without everyone seeing them.

I told her that I would try to adapt something out of an egg carton, but realize that I do not have an empty one.

Instead, I cut  3 sides of a small cardboard box and taped to create the triangular shape. I cut another piece of cardboard that had a folded side attached to it. then I taped it all in place so that the cards rest on the rim created by the side of a box. 

I love how boxes are so readily available and I can choose the size that enables me to create the type of angles I want. This one ended up being pretty stable. I think that she will like it !

Ring Stacks

Its fun to explore different types of ring stacks to use with older children and adults with developmental disabilities. I recently evaluated a young man who uses a lateral grip and it was easier for him to grasp flat donut shapes than 3 dimensional rings.

I wedged the motor to the Sguiggly Wiggly motorized pen inside the noodle  and the sound and vibration helped him to focus on the task and make it more interesting.

The photos show a tall pole ring stack made out of PCV pipe. It is sunk into a coffee can (now old and rusted) to stabilize. I was able to push a swimming noodle over the pipe to add a nicer texture and color. I then taped the additional blue noodle to the top because I wanted it to be higher- to use with the client while standing and then was able to push the motor inside the noodle opening.

You can also use fabric rings as shown in the picture but my client preferred the flat plastic ones. I have made many rings by filling socks with plastic bags and stitching closed. I added that colorful duct tape to a few spots where the noodle ripped.

If you are working with an individual who needs to sit while working, try pushing a dowel or noodle inside a bottle so that the person can grasp the handle with one hand to stabilize while placing rings.

I did a little experimentation with this one- I wedged a small plastic bottle to the top of the plastic tube. This small bottle (sold holding saline water) is filled with water and colorful plastic pieces. I can shake it to get the person's attention.    The person I used it with today LOVED it.

You can purchase a long clear plastic tube to cut up and use in making ring stacks. They are sold in hardware stores to hold long florescent light bulbs. I fill these with colorful objects.

Lastly, I share a photo of a ring stack made by wedging part of a pool noodle into a box. This is a very fast and easy activity to make and you can use cardboard or plastic tubes if you have them available instead of the noodle.

The individuals may then decorate the box with paint, gluing  tissue paper, stickers or contact paper. then when the box gets lost or breaks, its very easy and inexpensive to make a new one.......