Pediatric Occupational & Physical Therapy

Maximum Potential

Pediatric Occupational & Physical Therapy

Specializing in Sensory Integration

25 Devonshire Place, London, W1G 6JD

Telephone/Fax 020 7486 4747 Mobile 07980 311960
Email: Web

HOME PROGRAMME

Aimto improve upper body stability

to improve balance skills

to improve bilateral coordination skills

to improve motor planning and sequencing

to improve handwriting and fine motor skills

to improve attention and concentration

Ball warm-ups

10 walk-outs or roll-ups (start with 10 repetitions and work up to 15)

10 side-dives on each side

Wheelbarrow Walks

Assume the wheelbarrow position with the help of a partner and walk across the room.. If this is difficult, then support should initially be given close to the hips.

Wheelbarrow Games

Assume the wheelbarrow position across a low chair or stool. The child can now put puzzles together, build a tower with blocks, throw bean bags at a target, etc. (alternate hands). You can also put a bowl of grapes, whipped cream, jello, etc. for the child to retrieve as he/she does “push-ups.

Crab Soccer

You need a ball, a partner and boxes/chalk lines for goals. Get into the crab-walk position and kick/dribble the ball with your feet.

Half-Kneeling & High Kneeling

Play ball catching/ throwing while in a half-kneel and high-kneel positions. Alternate legs.

Also try, hitting the gym ball back with open palms- this is great for ‘waking up’ the hands in prep for fine-motor and handwriting tasks.

Ball Games

Throwing & catching a ball against a wall- start with a large ball and work up to a tennis ball.

Try different patterns- Throw, Bounce, Catch

- Throw, Clap, Catch

- Bounce, Wall, Catch

Cobra

Lay at the top of the stairs (carpeted) and place your hands on the first step down – do not lock your elbows. Do one mini-push up and then ‘walk’ on your hands down to

the next step. Repeat all the way down the stairs.

Trampoline Games

Jumping patterns on the trampoline- mix up combinations of STAR JUMPS, SCISSOR JUMPS, KNEE TUCKS, TURN AROUNDS, and CLAP JUMPS

Eg. 5 star, 2 turn arounds, then 5 clap jumps.

Ball hits on the trampoline- child jumps up and down and hits back the large gym ball with open hands. This is also a great game for ‘waking up’ the brain and hands for sitting down and fine motor tasks.

Vestibular in a chair

Have the child sit in an office chair with your legs criss-crossed. Place 4 bean bags in

his lap, and 4 targets on the floor around the chair. While you are spinning the child in the chair (one revolution per second), call out which targets he is to hit with his bean bags. Spin to the right until all the bean bags are thrown, and then repeat the task spinning to the left (wind up and then unwind)

You can also just spin in the chair without doing a task – but remember to spin in each

direction.

Therapy Putty

Hide ‘treasures’ in putty and retrieve/hide the treasures from the putty.

Roll the putty into a long snake.

Pinch along the putty (making scales) with index and thumb.

Poke into the putty (give snake spots) with index finger keeping all finger joints straight.

Roll putty into a ball.

Squash putty into flat pancake.

Timed Fine Motor Games

Time yourself with each game, and try beat your times over each week/session. You can have a special ‘kit’ for all the pieces for your fine motor games:

-Safety pin chains- making a chain of 20 pins, then undoing.

-Pegging 20 pegs onto a line and then taking off.

-Tying 10 knots in a piece of string/rope and then undoing.

-Stringing 10 or 20 beads (depends on age) onto string

-Doing up, then undoing 20 nuts & bolts.

-Flipping 20 coins from heads to tails, then back.

Finger Soccer

Use a scrunched up piece of paper. Have a goal for each player. Players need to dribble and ‘flick’ the paper with their fingers to shoot for goal.

Drawing Games

Buy books of mazes and find-a-words for child to complete on plane/car trips.

Mazes are great for developing pencil skills, and the hand-eye coordination needed for ensuring letters can better fit within lines etc.

Find-a-words- help develop visual perceptual skills of finding particular objects in busy backgrounds, and also the scanning sequence needed for reading (left to right, top to bottom)

Handwriting Practice

Sadly, nothing beats sitting down and practicing.

Try keep it fun by getting child to write a story about an outing/weekend/holiday and then doing the illustrations for the book.

Try copying sentences/paragraphs from books, then underlining letters/words which could have been written neater.

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