upper extremity strengthening Archives

Activities, bimanual, featured guest, OT, Resources, Therapy techniques

To cast or not to cast? Constraint Induced Movement Therapy

This is a guest post, written by: Corey W. Stone, MS, OTR/L; Treating Therapist – UAB Pediatric Neuromotor Clinic When people ask me about constraint therapy I never feel like they truly understand what I am talking about. “You mean…

Activities, child, elementary school age, motor planning, pool noodle, preschool, Range Of Motion, toddler, upper extremity strengthening, visual perceptual

Pool Noodle Batting and Hitting Suspended Balls

Pool noodles make great bats, and have several factors that make them perfect for the job in therapy. You can cut them to just the right length for the person using them They are soft so if you get hit by it, it won’t hurt you They…

Activities, bimanual, child, Duck Tape, elementary school age, fine-motor, hand strengthening, Motor Planning, OT, Reach and grasp, tween - middle school, upper extremity strengthening, visual perceptual

Pool Noodle Ball Run

I saw these pool noodles at the grocery store, and they had extra large holes in the middle. I just knew that they would work for an activity. I made a frame out of four pvc pipes, using duct tape to hold them together at the top. I then…

Activities, child, elementary school age, equipment, Motor Planning, OT, preschool, Range Of Motion, Reach and grasp, Sensory, sensory motor, toddler, tween - middle school, upper extremity strengthening

Hammock swing for strengthening

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…

Activities, child, Crossing Midline, favorite toys, fine-motor, Motor Planning, OT, Range Of Motion, Reach and grasp, toddler, upper extremity strengthening, visual perceptual

Using a ball ramp to work on fine motor and visual perception

I have a little girl that I work with who needs to work on her fine motor precision and visual perception. The perfect toy for her to play with and work on these is a marble ramp, but she puts things in her mouth, and I am afraid that one…

Activities, bimanual, child, Clothespin Activities, elementary school age, fine-motor, Handwriting, OT, preschool, sensory motor, upper extremity strengthening, visual perceptual

Bugs With Tongs

Spring is here and bugs are fun. I found these bug boxes at the dollar spot at Target, and they had packages of bugs too. I put the bugs into a pop up tunnel, and had the students crawl in, get a bug with tongs or pinch clips, and bring…

Activities, bimanual, child, elementary school age, Motor Planning, OT, preschool, Range Of Motion, Reach and grasp, Scooter board activities, Trunk strengthening, upper extremity strengthening

Scooter Board Fishing

When Scooter board fishing, your hands are the paddles and you have to move your boat around the ocean to catch all of the fish. The fish can be anything that you can put on the floor for the fisherman to collect. I used paper fish that…

Activities, child, feeding, oral motor, OT, toddler, Trunk strengthening, upper extremity strengthening

Why bouncing is good for eating skills

When talking about oral-motor skills and eating, you don’t usually think immediately of bouncing on a ball as a treatment technique. Well, think again. Bouncing on a large therapy ball, either supported or unsupported, stimulates muscle co-contractions.…

Activities, bimanual, child, elementary school age, equipment, favorite toys, gross motor, lower extremity strengthening, Motor Planning, motor planning, OT, preschool, PT, toddler, Trunk strengthening, upper extremity strengthening, visual perceptual

Cardboard Bricks

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…

Activities, child, Crossing Midline, elementary school age, fine-motor, games, in-hand manipulation, OT, preschool, Product Review, Reach and grasp, upper extremity strengthening, visual perceptual

Connect 4

An Occupational Therapy clinic can not function without this game. That may be an over statement, but Connect 4 certainly does work on a lot of OT skills. You have to pick up the checker-like pieces and reach up and slide them into the slots…

equipment, featured guest, fine-motor, Motor Planning, OT, Range Of Motion, upper extremity strengthening, visual perceptual

Feature Friday: Puzzle Board

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…

Activities, child, Clothespin Activities, Craft, Crossing Midline, elementary school age, fine-motor, games, hand strengthening, OT, preschool, upper extremity strengthening

Clothespin Uno revisited

I have created my permanent clothespin UNO board, and had my daughter help me paint it and put the Velcro on it. I used $1.00 wood craft frames from Michaels so that when pinching the clothespins it will be easy to do because of the hole.…

Activities, child, elementary school age, favorite toys, gross motor, Motor Planning, motor planning, OT, preschool, Product Review, PT, Reach and grasp, Trunk strengthening, upper extremity strengthening

Toss Across

Toss Across is a tic tac toe game that is played by throwing bean bags at the squares which turns them over to reveal X’s and O’s. You throw the bean bags, and if they hit the square on one side an X would be turned over, but if you…

equipment, featured guest, Motor Planning, OT, PT, Range Of Motion, upper extremity strengthening

skateboard

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.

Activities, child, Crossing Midline, elementary school age, fine-motor, hand strengthening, Handwriting, OT, preschool, toddler, upper extremity strengthening

Let’s Write On the Door

The sliding glass door that is. With washable markers please. I will not be held responsible for the permanent marker on your walls. Writing on a vertical surface is great practice because it puts the wrist into extension and strengthens…

Activities, child, Crossing Midline, elementary school age, favorite toys, fine-motor, in-hand manipulation, Motor Planning, OT, preschool, Product Review, Range Of Motion, toddler, upper extremity strengthening, visual perceptual

Marble Maze

Keep in mind that marbles are a choking hazard so you have to watch little ones around them. That said, little ones love watching the marbles go down the ramp. There are some ramps with larger balls that are safe for the younger set. There…

child, Craft, elementary school age, featured guest, Motor Planning, OT, preschool, Range Of Motion, upper extremity strengthening

Yo Yo Ball Painting

This is a cool blog by a family with special needs kids, and this painting activity that they did looks really fun. Go check it out. Here they painted with a squishy yo yo ball, and it looks like a lot of fun. I will be going back to…

bimanual, child, favorite toys, fine-motor, Motor Planning, OT, preschool, Product Review, toddler, upper extremity strengthening, visual perceptual

Mr. Potato Head

I’m a married spud, I’m a married spud. Sorry, quote from Toy Story. Mr. Potato Head has many levels of therapy. It helps a child learn body parts. Visual Perception and motor control are worked on when trying to get the pieces into…

Activities, child, elementary school age, equipment, Motor Planning, OT, preschool, Range Of Motion, Scooter board activities, toddler, upper extremity strengthening

Scooter Board Rope Pull

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…

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