Equipment

Triwall is cardboard that is 3 layers thick.  In therapy we use it to make floor sitters and other positioning devices.  It is nice and strong, and easy to cut and glue together.  Here is a video I found on the web about how to make your own triwall.

These cardboard bricks are a large motor building toy that creates fun during other activities by incorporating the building and knocking down element. The best part about these bricks is that they are so much fun to knock down. When building with these bricks, a young child has to use both hands because the bricks… [Continue Reading]

Chewy tubes are the perfect shape and texture for practicing chewing and working on decreasing oral hypersensitivity. The long skinny shape is able to go back to the molar area in the mouth. A lot of baby toys are able to be gnawed on at the front of the mouth, but due to safety reasons… [Continue Reading]

Mature and refined grasp patterns, as well as in hand manipulation, require use of the small finger muscles. Similar movements are used with chopsticks as are used in writing with a mature dynamic grasp. Many therapists recommend using tongs or tweezers to work on fine motor skills, and this is good if the person is… [Continue Reading]

I haven’t used Dycem for years since I haven’t been in a clinic for years. When I work on my own and in other people’s houses, I tend to use whatever is available there. For those who don’t know what Dycem is, it is a sticky non-slip rubber that can be placed to stabilize objects,… [Continue Reading]

Here is a therapist who created the fasten-ator.  Her website is www.school-ot.com, and the page for her fasten-ator is www.school-ot.com/My%20Products.html.  Her name is Jennifer Dodge.  Here is what she says on her site about her product. “I designed and sewed up the prototype (in the picture above) for this after trying to work with a… [Continue Reading]

I really love the activities that they come up with at the adaptions 4 kidz blog.  Here is another one.  It is for a vertical puzzle board.  Basically, you put flannel over a piece of foam core, and small pieces of velcro on the back of puzzle pieces.  That way you can put the puzzle… [Continue Reading]

A hammock swing is wonderful for strengthening in many different ways.  My favorite position in a hammock swing is prone with just the head and arms sticking out.  This position forces weight bearing on the arms, and works on full upper body strengthening as well as core strengthening.  I usually place things around under the… [Continue Reading]

I just read a blog post by a woman who has athetoid cerebral palsy. She tested an Ipad and bought one once she confirmed that she would be able to type on it, even with her athetoid movements. It is inspiring that this new device is making her more independent without being different. It is… [Continue Reading]

As I have been perusing the blogosphere, I have come upon several sites that comment on the Ipad and using apps for special needs.  The touch screen on the Ipad is really easy to activate so it makes it easy to play the games on it.  It almost acts as a sensitive switch.  I will… [Continue Reading]

Another post about the ipad for disabilities.  This one is written by a mom who got one for her son.  Go read the whole post on their blog, better than normal.  He has done some great things using it.

The Kid-O Bilibo is a toy that is the shape of a turtle shell. It reminds me of one of the large pieces of equipment that I use in therapy to balance on, but on a much smaller scale. It couldn’t be used exactly the same, but it has its own uses, and imagination can… [Continue Reading]

Another OT Blog that I enjoy reading is OT Tools for Public Schools.  She recently posted about using scrabble tiles for a student to write his name and do his spelling words.  She added velcro to the back of the tiles so that the student could stick them to felt.

Most of the kids that I work with that have oral sensory problems avoid oral stimulation, and avoid food. I just started seeing a young fellow that is the opposite of what I am used to. This little guy is a sensory seeker, and he seeks oral sensation. He chews on everything, and he even… [Continue Reading]

This is kind of a cool article on a walking device for paraplegics. http://abledbody.com/techtalk/2010/07/16/robotic-suit-helps-paralyzed-walk-again/ You can read the full article.

Have you wondered if the Bumbo seat is useful enough to bother getting? I can’t tell you specifically if it is worth it to you, but I can tell you how I have used it in therapy. What it does: It is a little bucket seat that holds a baby’s bottom in a very stable position…. [Continue Reading]

The therapy ball is great for therapy. Don’t you love the obvious. You can turn work on the therapy ball into fun play. Have the client lay on his stomach and you stand by their feet. You roll the ball forward until their hands touch the floor. Keep rolling forward and have them walk their hands… [Continue Reading]

As a traveling school therapist, I would be lost without my rolling cart that I drag along from school to school, carrying the essentials to do my job. This is the third and best crate that I have had. The first one I had for years and never really used because I wasn’t traveling. When… [Continue Reading]

Wheeee!! Scooterboards can be such fun, but they are a lot of work. There is some serious upper extremity strengthening going on. Using the rope is good for kids who can’t quite propel themselves on the scooterboard yet. Knots tied in the rope make it easier for the kids to hold on. The easiest is… [Continue Reading]

A toy shopping cart is a very necessary piece of equipment when working with pediatrics. It can be used for many things during imaginative play, and makes the child forget that they are working. When you go shopping, you can work on walking with the cart assisting. You will have to squat to pick up… [Continue Reading]

I have talked about using a scooterboard for activities, and often suggest just using a skateboard if you can’t get a scooterboard.  Here is a family that has done that. Check out the full post about using a skateboard.

This is a little chair that I made over a year ago for one of my clients.  I had it posted somewhere else, and thought that I would add it here.  Honestly, it takes a long time to make, but it is cheap, and did exactly what I wanted it to do.  Unluckily I don’t… [Continue Reading]

Rose-Marie has a blog titled Adapting Creatively, and she created a rain poncho that can cover the person and wheelchair.  It looks like it would be incredibly useful.  Here is a little bit of what she posted, but you need to go over to her site in order to get the full instructions on how… [Continue Reading]