The wheelbarrow walk is a great upper extremity strengthening activity. You can make it easier or harder depending on where you put your hands that are holding their legs. Holding at the hips is the easiest position for the client, and at the ankles is the hardest. You can then hold anywhere in between to get the best results.
To make a game out of wheelbarrow walking I put a puzzle at one end of the mat or room, and the puzzle pieces at the other end.
You start at the pieces side, pick out a piece and put it in their pocket or on their back. Then the client has to wheelbarrow walk down to the puzzle end, fish the puzzle piece out of the pocket and put it in the puzzle. Go back for more pieces until the puzzle is finished.
It takes visual perception for the puzzle, and upper extremity motor control to get the puzzle piece in and out of a pocket.
Materials:
- Puzzle
Skills:
- Upper extremity strength
- Visual perceptual
- Upper extremity motor control
- Heavy work
- Proprioception
Latest posts by Therapy Fun Zone (see all)
- Getting Started with Distance Learning OT - August 21,
- Current Monthly Specials - July 28,
- Making button letters and names - October 27,
- Finding your letters on a keyboard - September 22,
- Prickly Animals for Fine Motor - August 18,
[…] Glad you got the info you need. Think of things as layering and overlapping so one issue impacts all the others. For now, lots of wheelbarrow walking on his hands. Crab walking, bear walking Lots of manipulative tasks–play doh, digging in the dirt/making sandcastles (lots of hand digging and patting); put together a container of rice and put small items in it that he has to dig through and find. Can also you a beans or other dried items. Wheelbarrow walk | Therapy Fun Zone […]