Does your child accidentally break things often, appear clumsy and uncoordinated, and/or have an excessive need to crash and bump into objects, walls, and people. Is your child disruptive, full of excess energy, or even unsafe? Is your child a crasher, jumper, mover, and shaker?
If the above describes your child, he/she is likely seeking out excessive proprioceptive input to calm and organize his/her nervous system.
Proprioception is a form of sensory input to the muscles and joints which makes us aware of our “position in space” (i.e. where we are in relation to other objects or people). Children who have difficulty interpreting proprioceptive input have trouble grading and planning their movements and regulating their level of arousal. Proprioceptive input is the performance of tasks that involves heavy resistance and input to the muscles and joints, and is essential in helping our bodies assimilate and process both movement (vestibular) and touch (tactile) information
BIG Question: How Does Occupational Therapy Help My Child?
BIG Answer: Heavy Work
Heavy work activities (i.e. proprioceptive input) are used for children with sensory processing difficulties to help increase attention, improve muscle tone, decrease defensiveness, and modulate arousal.
Heavy work activities your child can do at home include:
ü Whole body actions involving pushing, pulling, lifting, playing, and moving
o Carrying objects such as groceries, animal backpacks, watering can; stacking moving chairs/books
o Pushing/Pulling toy shopping cart, wagon; tug of war, mopping, vacuuming, sweeping, raking,
o Jumping and bouncing on trampoline, pogo stick, hippity-hop ball; horseback riding, jump rope, hopscotch, gymnastics
o Crabwalk relays, Crab soccer/volleyball
o Climbing/Hanging on jungle gyms, monkey bars, zipline, rock wall, ladder, rope
o “Sandwich” or squishing activities; bear hugs
o Wheelbarrow walking, animal walks
o Working at vertical surfaces such as easel, chalkboard; washing windows; paint with water on side of house
ü Use of hands for squeezing, pinching, or “fidgeting”
o Resistive tools/toys such as clothespins, spray bottles, cutting thick paper, play doh presses and molds, paper punchers
o Fidget or play with stretchy/squish items such as theraputty, play doh, silly putty, rubber bands, stress relief balls
o Resistive surfaces such as sidewalk chalk on driveway, dig and play in sand
o Cooking activities such as stirring, pressing, kneading, pouring, scooping
ü Oral actions such as chewing, sucking, and blowing
o Chewy foods such as dried fruit, gummi bears/worms, licorice, bagels, cheese, granola bars, gum, raisins, taffy, soft pretzels, popcorn, etc.
o Resistive sucking using krazy straws, lollipops, popsicles, drink milkshake with straw, hard candies, peanut butter, etc.
o Blowing activities such as wind instruments, bubbles, balloons, whistles, kazoos, etc.
For additional activities and to answer any questions, please consult with you Child and Family Development Occupational Therapist!