10 Ways to Play With. . . Part 4 of 4

Many of the children we see at our clinics have difficulty with motor planning.  Motor planning is a complex skill which allows a person to generate an idea for a motor action, efficiently time and sequence the movements necessary, grade the force required, and execute the action.  Children who have a hard time with the ideation phase of motor planning may tend to play the same activities over and over or struggle to come up with multiple solutions to a problem.  Open-ended free play is a great way to stretch this ability; however, a child who truly has a motor planning deficit will likely need some guidance and encouragement along the way.   Here are some suggestions to help you look at novel ways to play with toys or items you may already have in your home.   As you’re playing, ask your child questions like “What else could this be?” and praise their efforts to think outside the box.­­­

10 Ways to Play with a Beach Ball

1. Set up a goal to kick the ball into, or for something new, challenge your child to use a different body part, like an elbow, to knock the ball into the goal.
2. Grab a laundry basket and play a target game.
3. Take on a multi-step challenge. The first person picks an action, such as bouncing the ball one time.  The next person bounces the ball one time, and then adds a step, like turning around holding the ball. The game continues, adding on more and more steps.  How many can you remember?
4. Set up an obstacle course to maneuver the ball through.
5. Kangaroo kicks: Have your child lie down on his back and prop up his body on his elbows.  Stand a few feet away (more if you have a child who tends to use too much force) and toss the ball for him to kick with the soles of his feet back to you.
6. Write sensory diet activities recommended by your therapist on different areas of the ball. Toss the ball back and forth a few times, then do the action written on the area facing upward.
7. Stand up some blocks and go bowling.
8. Play the game ”keep it up”. How many times can you tap the ball up before it falls to the ground?
9. Team work relay. Can your child and a friend work together to get the ball across the room by holding the ball between their hips?  Behind their backs?
10. Pool noodle hockey. Have any pool noodles that survived the summer?  Repurpose them into hockey sticks for the beach ball.

10 Ways to Play With. . . Part 3 of 4

Many of the children we see at our clinics have difficulty with motor planning.  Motor planning is a complex skill which allows a person to generate an idea for a motor action, efficiently time and sequence the movements necessary, grade the force required, and execute the action.  Children who have a hard time with the ideation phase of motor planning may tend to play the same activities over and over or struggle to come up with multiple solutions to a problem.  Open-ended free play is a great way to stretch this ability; however, a child who truly has a motor planning deficit will likely need some guidance and encouragement along the way.   Here are some suggestions to help you look at novel ways to play with toys or items you may already have in your home.   As you’re playing, ask your child questions like “What else could this be?” and praise their efforts to think outside the box.­­­

10 Ways to Play with a Jump Rope

1. Remember any jump rope rhymes from your childhood? If not, here’s a list .
2. Wiggle the rope along the ground like a snake. Don’t let it bite you!
3. Tie the rope between two chairs and play limbo.
4. Have one person stand and slowly spin holding the rope so that it drags along the ground in a circle. The other players need to jump over the rope as it comes by.
5. Pretend to be pirates and use the rope to tie up your captives.
6. Pretend to be a cowboy. Learn to tie a lasso here.  Wrangle up some stuffed animals before they escape the ranch.
7. Lay the rope on the ground in a circle and play a target game.
8. Arrange the rope on the floor in different shapes and have the other players guess what the figure is.
9. Stretch the rope out on the ground. Can you walk across the tightrope without falling into the canyon?
10. Have a three legged race.
    

10 Ways to Play With. . . Part 2 of 4

Many of the children we see at our clinics have difficulty with motor planning.  Motor planning is a complex skill which allows a person to generate an idea for a motor action, efficiently time and sequence the movements necessary, grade the force required, and execute the action.  Children who have a hard time with the ideation phase of motor planning may tend to play the same activities over and over or struggle to come up with multiple solutions to a problem.  Open-ended free play is a great way to stretch this ability; however, a child who truly has a motor planning deficit will likely need some guidance and encouragement along the way.   Here are some suggestions to help you look at novel ways to play with toys or items you may already have in your home.   As you’re playing, ask your child questions like “What else could this be?” and praise their efforts to think outside the box.­­­

10 Ways to Play with Pillows

1. Pretend to be frogs and jump lily pad to lily pad.
2. Arrange the pillows as targets and toss crumpled up paper or balled up socks.
3. Make a pillow path on the ground and walk on top of them, making sure you don’t fall off and step in the lava.
4. Have a red light, green light pillow fight. Everyone has to stop when “red light” is called and swing the pillows in slow motion during a “yellow light”.
5. Grab some couch cushions and build a pillow fort.
6. Substitute pillows for chairs and play musical pillows.
7. Make an obstacle course with pillows to jump over, skip around, roll across, etc.
8. Use the pillow case for a potato sack race.
9. Sing the “Wonder Ball” song and substitute a pillow.
10. Have a snowball fight with crumpled newspaper. Defend yourself with a pillow shield.

10 Ways to Play With. . . Part 1 of 4

Many of the children we see at our clinics have difficulty with motor planning.  Motor planning is a complex skill which allows a person to generate an idea for a motor action, efficiently time and sequence the movements necessary, grade the force required, and execute the action.  Children who have a hard time with the ideation phase of motor planning may tend to play the same activities over and over or struggle to come up with multiple solutions to a problem.  Open-ended free play is a great way to stretch this ability; however, a child who truly has a motor planning deficit will likely need some guidance and encouragement along the way.   Here are some suggestions to help you look at novel ways to play with toys or items you may already have in your home.   As you’re playing, ask your child questions like “What else could this be?” and praise their efforts to think outside the box.­­­

10 Ways to Play with a Blanket

1. Make a fort by draping the blanket over a group of chairs.
2. Create a quiet reading tent by draping a large blanket over a table.
3. Use it like a parachute. Place small stuffed animals in the middle and have each person hold a corner and bounce the animals around.
4. Pretend to be the king or queen with a long royal robe.
5. Pretend to be a super hero with a cape.
6. Play a memory game. Spread 3-5 objects on the floor and see how many your child can remember when the blanket covers them up.
7. Go on a magic carpet ride. What do you see as you fly along?
8. Have a tug-of-war battle.
9. Guess the mystery object. Have your child put his hand under the blanket and without him seeing the object, place something small in his hand and ask him to guess what it is.  Cotton balls, coins, buttons, lego pieces, and paper clips are great for this activity.
10. Go for a sled ride. Have your child sit on a blanket and gently drag him through the house.

Bouncing off the Walls

“My child is bouncing off the walls and you want me to do what?”

Sometimes we as occupational therapists have to start our conversations with the families of our clients with “I know this is going to sound crazy, but I’ve seen it work for your child.” The natural instinct when we see a child running and quite literally bouncing off the walls (and the couch, and the bed, and his brother), is to try and calm him down by getting him to stop moving. Sit still! Stop jumping! Stop watching TV upside down! There are times when children do in fact need assistance to slow down their “engines”, take a break and relax. However, as Gwen Wild, the creator of Sensational Brain puts it: “there are times when children need guidance in how to burn off the extra fuel in their tanks.”

Children who are under-responsive to sensory input, particularly movement and body awareness, may constantly fidget and change position. This is not just a subtle pencil tap or foot wiggle that most children will display from time to time. This is more like spontaneous somersaults across the living room and gravity-defying chair tilting on a constant basis. The vestibular system is the sensory system which helps monitor changes in head position and movement against gravity. Children who are under-responsive to this input need more intense and frequent stimulation than same-age peers. Everyday movement activities such as walking, playing or swinging are simply not enough to be satisfying and regulating. These lower intensity movements feel bland and leave under-responsive kids craving more (and higher! and faster!).

This is the reason your child’s occupational therapist may recommend sensory diet activities that provide intense vestibular input for a child who is constantly on the move. Tools such as sit-n-spins, trampolines (with appropriate supervision and safety precautions), scooter boards, animal walks or structured exercises that include inverting the head may be useful in helping your child meet that high threshold that he needs to feel regulated. Our goal in suggesting these types of activities is to provide your child with safe, structured activities to take the place of body slamming the couch at Grandma’s house. If you have questions about sensory diet activities that may be beneficial to your child, talk about it with your occupational therapist.

Apps We Love: Super Stretch Yoga

App Name: Super Stretch Yoga

Why We Love It:

This is a great introduction to 12 simple yoga poses. Super Stretch is a yoga superhero who guides the children through each movement. Each pose is described in kid-friendly, positive language, then a video is shown of real children — not actors with perfect form — as they attempt the poses. The sequence moves from alerting movements with head inversion, to organizing movement with flexion and static positions.

Why Kids Love It:

Super Stretch is narrated by a young boy with an energetic voice. The cartoons representing each pose, such as an elephant dipping his trunk in water, are easy to carryover into the movement. The fact that the app developers used children who look and act like peers learning the movements is empowering for children who struggle with balance and coordination.

Available: iTunes FREE, Also available in Spanish

Water Games to Support Sensory Diets

Summer is the perfect time to use water games to support your child’s sensory diet. Most water games primarily provide proprioceptive input, which is often calming and organizing in nature. Activities that involve lifting, pushing, pulling, dragging, squeezing or crashing all provide proprioceptive input. However, if your child has tactile sensitivities, they may find small water droplets to be alarming, uncomfortable or even unbearable. Let your child explore water games on their own terms and be flexible with the rules and expectations.

• Play catch with water balloons. After each catch, have each person take a step backwards.

• Make a water obstacle course. Set up obstacles for your child to go over, under, around, etc., but increase the challenge (and fun) by having him carry a cup of water through the course to dump into a bucket on the other side. Continue until the bucket is full.

• Have a pool? Blow up a dozen or so balloons and place them in the shallow end of the pool. Have your child compete against a sibling, friend, or their own best record to see how many balloons they can grab and hold under their bodies in 30 seconds. (When you’re done, make sure to clean up any broken balloon pieces.)

• Car washing sponges are a great way to add some weight to a scavenger hunt. Have your child fill a sponge with water and hunt for objects you have hidden in the back yard. When she finds an object, she should “tag” it by squeezing out the sponge and soaking the object, then head back to fill the sponge again.

• Print out pictures of monsters, cartoon villains, or another character your child is interested in. Hang them from trees or a fence (try weighting them down by taping a clothespin to the back so they don’t blow too much in the breeze). Have your child use a water blaster to take aim and soak all of the “bad guys”. The tube-shaped water blasters that squirt water out by pushing a handle are great for this.

Apps We Love: Relax Melodies

App Name: Relax Melodies HD and Relax Melodies Oriental HD

Why We Love It:

These apps are some of the best white noise apps we have found. While there are many white noise apps on the market, it is rare to find a free app that allows you to layer sounds together. These apps have relaxing melodies that can be paired with sounds from nature, such as ocean waves, birds chirping or underwater bubbles. Both apps are supported by ads, however premium versions, which feature ad-free screens, timers and additional sounds, are available. Many children who are easily distracted by auditory input may benefit from using a white noise app with a steady, constant level of auditory stimuli while completing work or while falling asleep. We also use these apps when creating a quiet, cozy place for a child who is dysregulated.

Why Kids Love It:

These are not apps that children at our clinics tend to specifically request, however we utilize these types of apps as tools in the child’s sensory diet. Just as vestibular and proprioceptive activities are often components of a sensory diet, the auditory system is a powerful tool to help a child become more regulated. Older children enjoy choosing sounds and music to layer and experiment with how some types of sound are calming and other sounds are alerting.

Available: iTunes: FREE; Premium Edition $0.99
Android Market: FREE; Premium Edition $2.99