OT Tools for Public Schools

It's Finally Here

2013-06-14T06:21:00.002-04:00

We made it! Time for summer fun and work--catching up on the horribly-maintained perennial gardens, brushing Stewey and Coco until their fur shines, actually preparing some home-cooked meals and traipsing around town with girlfriends. It'll be a blast.

Where's Stewey?

There he is.

Cleome (Spider Plant) ala Betsy

Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens

One thing I won't be doing is blogging about fun at school. We'll have to wait until late August for that. My home blog is out of date for now, but check it out toward the end of June to see how things are progressing at home: What OTs Do In the Summer

Celebrate! We made it!

Keeping Those Pencils Sharpened

2013-06-13T20:22:00.002-04:00

This teacher has really thought long and hard about the status of sharpened pencils in her room:

Elementary School Pencil Management

Tight Spaces

2013-06-13T12:07:00.001-04:00

Our "natural environments" group of 2 year olds celebrated the end of school at Chick Fil A this morning. After practicing self feeding they colored their little aquariums and put on their sea life critter stickers, then headed for the indoor "gym" in a separate part of the building.

Lowly Occupational Therapist Stuck in the "Maze"

We had our little integrated therapy session with the students, early childhood teacher, speech-language pathologist and lowly occupational therapist climbing through the tight spaces and going higher, higher and higher to reach the entrance to the tunnel slide. The parents stood close by and cheered us onward and upward. My target student was initially fearful of going into the maze but he ended up climbing up about three levels. Success!

Almost at the End

2013-06-12T21:28:00.002-04:00

Two more days until summer vacation!

Hello Kitty is a Great Motivator

2013-06-12T15:33:00.001-04:00

This little girl worked hard all year with me to earn her Hello Kitty stickers. At the end of our last session this week, she got to take them all home.

This is the second year she's been putting her reward stickers in little Hello Kitty notebooks. Over the summer I'll be scrounging through my favorite thrift stores for one to use with her next year.

Deep Blue Sea

2013-06-11T17:09:00.004-04:00

It was supposed to be really cool. Baking soda, cornstarch, washable paint and a little water. Just mix it up together, it directed on the website. It'll look really cool, they said. Well, I fell for it.

It mixed up like "gak." That was okay, but the color looked a little weak. So, I added a little more paint. That made it look marbleized, but once I stirred it there was that weak, pasty color again. And, it was clumpy. Sigh. All the staff said nice things, "Oh, what a pretty light blue..." I knew better, sigh. We hurriedly used magic markers to add whimsical sea creatures, to make the non-deep blue sea look better. Ugh.

Clearly, not my finest hour. If you're working with students who have visual impairments or limited attention to task, like the four students in this elementary classroom for students with significant intellectual disabilities, pastels are not the way to go. Sigh.

Virtual Practice with Self Help Tasks and More

2013-06-10T12:01:00.000-04:00

This site looks very promising:

LearnFree.org Everyday Life

Rolling into Summer

2013-06-09T13:36:00.002-04:00

Our usual spot was taken up by a recorder recital, so we worked in an available, empty room. What luxury to have a clean carpet to sit on and refine our fine motor skills.

Each of the two guys sketched and cut out three foot shapes, then dictated some "summer" words to me (beach, underwater, sun). They copied the words onto their "feet" and we made a memory game.

Since we were sitting on the floor anyway, we first crept and then rolled to find our matching words (which are the tiny pieces of green paper at the far edges of the carpet.)

It got a little silly, but it was the end of the day and there are only five more days of school left...

Creative Activity to Celebrate a Retirement

2013-06-07T07:21:00.000-04:00

Who doesn't like candy??? Who doesn't like being told how wonderful they are??? This is an excellent, inexpensive way to let a colleague know how much you appreciate them.

The "wings" of the poster have student photos, taken throughout the years that "Miss Barbara" has been working with them. Very personalized and thoughtful.

Cause and Effect Sensory Light Box

2013-06-06T13:01:00.000-04:00

Several teachers have show me this app during the school year. Might be a suitable leisure time activity for students with severe cognitive disabilities as well as younger students with physical disabilities who are practicing their reach in various planes.

Info on Cause and Effect Sensory Light Box

Only 7 More Days 'til Summer Break

2013-06-05T18:05:00.001-04:00

I'm trying hard not to shout with excitement, but we only have 7 more workdays until summer break!

Ten Tokens to Aid Desk Organization

2013-06-04T14:52:00.002-04:00

One of my elementary school students has Asperger's Syndrome and finds it very difficult to keep her desk organized and distraction-free. Once a month we work together when her class goes to computer resource or library, when the classroom is quiet and we can break down her messy desk and get it back in shape, so she can be more efficient in class.

Except for the few people in the world, like me, who love to organize... Blog of an Organizing Nut ...
most folks find any excuse to avoid the task. This third grader is no exception and she discovers all kinds of reasons to walk to and fro in her classroom to do things instead of sticking to the task of cleaning out her desk. So...last month we started using 10 tokens to keep her on track and today we upped the ante.

Before we dragged any papers or notebooks or broken crayons out of her desk, I gave her 10 tokens. They weren't fancy, just little pieces of scrap paper with the numbers 1-10 written on them, stacked on top of each other in reverse numerical order. When she walked across the room to bring over the trash can to her desk, she handed me token #10. When she went to the sink to retrieve damp and dry paper towels she gave me token #9. Her goal was to finish the whole desk and backpack organization routine we had practiced all year, before she ran out of tokens. All year long she had been increasing her independence with the routine but she needed to break the habit of scurrying around the room instead of staying at her desk and working.

At the end of the 45 minute session she had 2 tokens leftover. Pretty cool, I say.

Great Source of Summer Activities for Young Students

2013-06-03T10:37:00.002-04:00

One of our staff OTRs (Thx, Lynn K!) sent this excellent website along to her OT buddies:

Letter Learning Activities by Jamie Reimer

Great hands-on ideas to keep the learning going at home over the long, hot summer.

Memorial Day Cards--A Little Late

2013-05-31T16:07:00.001-04:00

We really did these last Friday. Some kind soul donated these small stencils to the grab-and-take stash in the teacher's lounge...just perfect for me and the long-suffering students I see.

Let's make Memorial Day cards to give to our families. What letters do we need?

How do we plan the letter arrangement so the words fit across the page?

How quickly do little finger joints become fatigued while tracing within the stencils for 10+ minutes?

Add a design, or two, of your own choosing.

Peace on Memorial Day, or any day, would be wonderful.

Sensory Board Ideas from Pinterest

2013-05-30T19:20:00.001-04:00

Sensory Board Ideas

No, I'm not addicted to Pinterest.

Thank you, Amy Gatlin, for collecting these ideas.

Fidget Ideas on Pinterest

2013-05-29T17:29:00.002-04:00

Fidget Ideas on Pinterest

I've never seen some of these items; very cool.

Online OT?

2013-05-28T20:24:00.002-04:00

Article about on-line OT for Special Ed

I like working 1-1 with students but I bet it's hard to find enough OT practitioners in different spots.

Last "College Cooking" Session for the School Year

2013-05-28T12:25:00.001-04:00

What's a de-lish concoction for the final session of the year? Hmmm...summer is almost here---it's getting pretty hot and muggy in Richmond---how about---fruit pops?!

Our basic ingredients--frozen strawberries, pineapple and already-mixed orange juice.

Haven't seen too many right-handed students opening a package in this fashion.

Pour in about 3 ounces of orange juice.

Add your favorite fruit (for our second batch we realized that we needed to add more strawberries than pineapple, since too much pineapple made the mixture taste too tart.

Pour the blended mixture into tiny cups for later freezing. Of course, we all tasted a little sample first.

Use the power blender to mix up Batch #2.

More strawberries=more pink-ish color.

One of the teachers sacrificed her ginger ale to add in with the other ingredients. It also reduces the tartness of the orange juice and pineapple combo.

Our batches went into the freezer, but the hard-working OTR had pre-made some at home for a tasting after the session.

Not quite popsicle-like, but the frozen fruit pop was goooood.

Our fresh batch went into the same container as the fruit pops I had made at home the night before. The Saran Wrap is kept in place with a rubberband around the perimeter of the container. Little slits were made above each cup center and a wide wooden stick was inserted through the top. A few hours in the freezer and these will be ready to enjoy.

Hopefully, the students will mix up some of these at home over the summer. Not a bad idea for us grown-ups, either.

More OT2OT Tips on Improving Scissor Skills

2013-05-22T09:41:00.001-04:00

Kathryn W. Mason, one of the OTRs on our staff, shared this info on improving scissor skills:

Encourage a variety of fine motor activities like bead stringing, tearing paper strips, play doh, “Simon Says” and water "squirt" toys to encourage hand development which will help with scissor use.

Hand position:

Photo by Kathryn Mason

Hold the scissors with the thumb on top. (Children initially try to cut with the hand palm down until 3 1/2-4 years old.) Place a sticker on the side of the thumb hole, so that the student sees the sticker when the fingers are in the correct holes. The scissors should be on the middle finger bones, not right next to the palm. The index finger should be in front of the loop. The assisting hand should be thumb up to encourage the scissor hand to have the same position.

Paper Selection and Cutting Progression:

1. Start by cutting straws. This provides a non-floppy item to cut and there is success after just one stroke. Encourage the child to support his elbows on the table rather than having his arms entirely up in the air. This will provide more stability and help him to align the scissors and the item being cut. (The straw pieces can be threaded on string to make necklaces.)

2. Progress to snipping along the end of tagboard, cardboard cereal boxes or other moderately firm paper. Junk mail envelopes are perfect for this use. Thin paper can be folded in half to make it stiffer. Start with narrow strips that can be cut with one snip. As the child gets better at cutting, provide longer strips of
thinner paper, and teach the child to keep his assisting hand at a location where he can keep the paper from flopping.

2. Fold green paper ½ inch from one edge. Teach the students to snip repeatedly to the fold in the paper, making “grass.” Do this as often as you can during art projects.

Photo by Kathryn Mason

3. Make the strip thicker, so the student has to advance the scissors once to cut across the strip. Continue to widen the paper so that the student learns to advance the scissors. Chant “Open, slide, cut.” Also have the student snip to a sticker or highlighted dot so he starts to aim with the scissors.

4. Make thick lines across one inch strips of paper. Help the child to line up the scissors at the start of the line and snip across. Again progress to wider strips of paper, helping the child to remain close to the line.

Photo by Kathryn Mason

More tips to follow!

Did'ya Hear About "Q" and "U"--They Got Married!

2013-05-20T13:19:00.000-04:00

Last Friday I hit upon a gold mine at one of my elementary schools--Q and U got married and the kindergarteners got to be guests at the wedding.

Student "guests" lined up in the hallway and entered the wedding hall individually, holding their letter "gifts."

Everyone sat very quietly. Sorry I can't show you that photo!

"P" is for purse.

"Z" is for zebra, of course.

Toy Story!

The letters kissed after the ceremony, but not the students!

The creative teacher was incorporating phonemic awareness the entire time, but in a very fun way.

Chocolate Chip Day

2013-05-17T11:02:00.000-04:00

May 15th was National Chocolate Chip Day, or so I was happy to believe. Our class for middle school students with severe intellectual disabilities celebrated by making chocolate chip sugar cookies and peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips.

While we were waiting for all the ingredients to get on the table, we enjoyed some old-fashioned butter cookies... Do you recall putting these cookies on your fingers like this? You eat the "petals" first, then the inside ring.

We cheated and used a mix for both types of cookies, but we still had to stir them up.

After placing a ball of cookie dough on the foil we used our fingers to put the chocolate chips on each cookie. Some chips accidentally fell into our mouths...

A few students squashed the cookie dough balls by pressing on top with a flat bottom glass.

The more chocolate chips you add, the better the flavor.

We didn't have to wait too long to enjoy the results. It was hard not to sample them before they cooled.

Sandpaper Letter Bits

2013-05-16T14:04:00.002-04:00

I finally remembered to bring my fine grit sandpaper into school last Friday afternoon.

If you write on sandpaper with a pencil it makes a wonderful mess all over your fingers and the table.

However, if you write on sandpaper with scented crayons it isn't messy at all, and the room smells like roses, or oranges, or limes or...

Cutting through fine grit sandpaper is a little bumpy, but nothing like cutting through coarse grit. Yes, yes--the student should have his index finger touching the scissors so he can steer it better while he cuts.

Hmmm, we made a lower case "b."

This circle has a bit of a square top, but you can still tell it's round.

Each student drew and cut out the same shapes, a straight line and a circle, but must make different letters...

Of course, "d" and "b." The "d" looks like a quarter note to me but let's not get bogged down in details.

Improving Scissor Use--OT2OT Tips

2013-05-15T13:12:00.000-04:00

My fellow OT buddies are so helpful... Here are lots of ideas for improving scissor control:

• Remember hand anatomy and ergonomics when looking at scissor use. Look at desk height, body stability in chair, student's control of paper as she holds it with her helper hand.

• Use stickers for start-stop points to increase visual attention.

• Wind rubber band or pipe cleaners around inside edge of loops to prevent blades from closing completely (for students who have difficulty opening blades.)

• Experiment with a variety of paper thicknesses to prevent paper bending too easily (cereal boxes, greeting cards, manila folders, tagboard.)

• Challenge students with a variety of approaches, “How many cuts will it take to drive across the road?”

• Review handbook(s) on scissor skills in the OT-PT library. Does your OT dept have a library with great books--we do. Guess which OT in our dept sends in the most requests for books???

• Review the scissor use handouts posted on our intra-county web portal page regarding scissor tips.

• When you develop handouts for parents, share a digital copy with your fellow OTs.

• Ask our musical OTR on staff to teach you her “Cut Like an Alligator” jingle…

Sherry--I will ask Frances, our musical OTR, to record the jingle so I can post it. K. 5-19

Haven't checked out all the links but there seem to be some good ideas for developing scissor skills on this list: Scissor Skills Development Ideas 5-20

Embedding Sensory Opportunities into the Classroom

2013-05-14T15:39:00.000-04:00

During IEP meetings parents often ask how we OTs incorporate sensory experiences into the school day. Here are some examples I share, according to the particular classroom:

Note: Some of these are “out there” so sift through for any helpful ones...

1. Put yesterday’s classroom library books in the M-W-F box and arrange the Tu-Th books neatly on the library shelf in the classroom. (Heavy work—sequencing—spatial orientation)

2. After doing “wall push-ups” on the chalkboard, practice drawing a simple sketch from a drawing book which relates to a topic being discussed that day. (Working arms in anti-gravity position while drawing; joint compression and upper body strengthening which some students find calming; increase success in drawing to increase interest in journal writing or other academics which include student drawing)

3. Extra clean up of student desks, tables. Student or adult squirts thin line of shaving cream on table surfaces, then uses hands to spread it over the table. Student then uses thick cloth to wipe up cream from table, followed by using a drying towel. (This is not really a “cleaning.” Good for L to R sequencing, weight bearing through arms, sequencing of a task).

4. Classic chalkboard cleaning. An oldie but goodie for students who are not sensitive to chalk dust. Students wipe chalkboard with a thick, damp washcloth, with adult supervision to avoid slippery floors. May use spray bottle to dampen chalkboard if student can handle the responsibility. (Anti-gravity arm movement to strengthen arms; left to right sequencing; attention to detail)

5. One student assigned to sharpen pencils, manually. Keep a “sharp” and “dull” basket to avoid sharpening during the day. (Hand strength; attention to task)

6. Use magnetic clips to hold paper, or use blue painter's tape to temporarily attach paper to a classroom easel or whiteboard, for practicing handwriting formation, 5-10 minutes daily. Alternately, may use for copying homework from board. (Anti-gravity arm movement and pencil grasp refinement). Ideally, an adult or helper from an older grade should monitor to supervise correct formation. (This will pay off greatly as students may feel better about writing as the year progresses.)

Teacher Appreciation Day--OTs Benefit, Too

2013-05-13T11:53:00.004-04:00

This elementary school really does a nice job during Teacher Appreciation Week. Last Tuesday we were treated to a box lunch, yummy fruit and dessert. I passed on the raffles since I'm just at the school one day a week; didn't seem fair to take away a "chance" to win from the full-timers at the school.

Pre-ordered box lunches. Mine--chicken tarragon (and carrot cake...)!

Look at all these raffle opps!