Kid from Missouri travels

When we learned Christian needed Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy, but understood insurance constraints, we knew it was going to fall to me and some of my training. One thing I was thankful for was his Occupational Therapist, and the print-outs she would send home.

Below, I will list some of the things we did at home. I will try to organize them in order of the sensory issue we were working on and the goal of developing greater attunement, agency, and ability.

For Vestibular Sensory training:

We would use this game: he would hold the ball in his hands (large enough to take two hands) as he twirled it three times, then stopped and rolled the ball toward the object. In our case, it was my stove. As he became more stable, he would hit the target. When we started this exercise, he would roll the ball in different directions and never hit the target.

I have added a few links below for the items we used.

We also used balance steps: https://a.co/d/02B5sRdE

Balance beams: (My father was able to make one; we also used landscape ties outside)

Hurdles: these were homemade- you can use concrete blocks and put landscape ties or plank wood on them, or in the holes on the blocks

A wobble board: https://a.co/d/03mbjzh3

Balance trainer: https://a.co/d/02GKNKwm and/or https://a.co/d/0iJE8JAr

The games we played were: Simon Says, Red Light, Green Light, balance on pillows, walk on chairs, and different obstacle courses. At school, he would spend time on the swings, slide, and climbers to help with the end of his school day.

Christian struggled to make it through the mornings at school, so adding these exercises before school was helpful. It gave him balance, a sense of understanding, and strength. Below you will find some of the videos we made with his occupational therapy help and skills.