By: Barbara Smith, OTR/L
Copyright 2010, Barbara Smith. This blog post was reprinted with the express permission of the author as it appeared on her HorseOT blog
My son recently made this tall ring stack for me using pcv pipe and concrete in the coffee can. Its the perfect height for children to post in order to reach and place the rings. The “rings” are made of kids tights stuffed with plastic bags and they are great for those kids who resist using both hands together and need to work on motor planning.
My little guy with athetosis did a great job today. I gave him extra deep pressure squeezing at his shoulders to help him sit upright and grasp the handle. This was exhausting since I had recently done a lot of canoeing and my arms were already worn out.but after 15 minutes or so I was able to hold him more loosely and even briefly let go and he remained sitting upright with hands on the handle. In the past he would have started flinging his arms all around. He cried when positioned facing backwards with support at shoulders to bear weight but crying was to be expected. Eventually he transitioned back and forth between lying prone to bearing weight on forearms or hands-which was pretty good exercise for him.
Featured Author: Barbara Smith, OTR/L
Many thanks to Barbara Smith for providing us with this guest blog post for our newsletter and website.
From the Author’s Website: I am the author of The Recycling Occupational Therapist published by Pro-ed.Inc. and also sold at Therapro Inc. (Theraproducts.com) This is a guide to making activities for individuals with developmental disabilities. I am also the author of Still Giving Kisses: A Guide to Helping and Enjoying the Alzheimer’s Victim You Love. I wrote this book to share my many ideas for therapeutic adaptations and activities that help loved ones enjoy spending time with an Alzheimers victim.
Please support our contributing guest authors. Please visit Barbara’s blogs HorseOT, The Recycling Occupational Therapist and Geriatric OT