Sunday, September 28, 2014

Tennis Ball Mania!!! Therapy on a Shoe String Budget


The UTHSC Masters of OT students recently completed a number of awesome media projects! For the assignment, each student was given the name of a common household item.  They were instructed to design a creative, appropriate therapy activity for a patient with a specific diagnosis. They did an amazing job! This media project was submitted by Rochelle. Her common house hold item was a tennis ball!

Materials Needed:

Tennis Ball
Colorful Sharpies
Coins or Buttons
Decorative Pieces of Choice (markers, stick-on eyes, etc.)       

Directions:
-Cut a mouth in the tennis ball
-Decorate the ball

-Hold the ball with one hand
-Open the mouth by squeezing the ball
-Place coins or buttons in the mouth using the opposite hand

This activity addresses fine motor skills, bilateral skills, hand strength & motor coordination and addresses tactile awareness while providing proprioceptive input.

The project above was completed by one of our Master's of Occupational Therapy students at
 The University of Tennessee Health Science Center and posted with permission.

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Thursday, September 11, 2014

Easy Activity for Following Directions: Therapy on a Shoestring Budget

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center Masters of Occupational Therapy students recently completed a number of awesome media projects! For the assignment, each student was given the name of a common household item.  They were instructed to design a creative, appropriate therapy activity for a patient with a specific diagnosis. They did an amazing job! This first media project was submitted by Megan. Her common house hold item was a sponge!
Items Needed:
 Scissors
Different Colors of Kitchen Sponges
A Variety of Drinking Cups in Different Colors and Sizes
 
 Use a marker to form various shapes on the sponges and cut out each shape.
Tell the child which sponge (blue circle, red square, etc) to pick up and where to place it (under the red cup, next to the green cup, inside the yellow cup, etc.). This activity addresses memory, spatial relations and following directions. 



Posted with permission of the students

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