These interventions are categorized by the main skill I used them for, additional skills addressed will be bulleted underneath each activity.
I often combined some of these activities to work on multiple skills at once – such as completing a desktop fine motor activity while seated on a yoga ball to work on core stability/postural control. Or collaborating with another OT to have our kiddos work on an activity or play a game together to work on social skills on top of the skills that the game or activity addresses.
Bilateral Manual Coordination
- Knitting Loom
- Visual perceptual skills, finger isolation/fine motor skills, following directions, task endurance
- Paracord Bracelet making
- Fine motor skills, following directions, memory, task endurance
- Dribbling ball with alternating hands (basketball, playground ball, tennis ball)
- Cutting/Writing/Drawing tasks
- Make sure child is using non-dominant hand to stabilize paper
- Lacing
- Visual perception skills (finding the next hole to lace), pinching
- Origami
- Visual perception skills, finger strength, fine motor skills, pinching
- Walking up/down stairs with reciprocal steps
Visual Skills
- Q-Bitz Visual Puzzle Game
- Pinching, visual discrimination, direction/orientation
- Puzzles
- Fine motor skills, impulse control, visual memory, figure ground, form constancy, visual discrimination
- Blink
- Executive functioning, fine motor skills, visual processing
ADLs
- ADL Boards
- Playing dress up
- Practice shoe tying on their own shoes
- Hygiene in the bathroom – used visual steps on mirror to guide process
- Washing hands
- Teeth brushing
Handwriting
- Handwriting Without Tears
- Practice writing in shaving cream
- Sensory integration, finger isolation
- Painting
- Sidewalk Chalk
- Crossing midline (drawing rainbows), spelling, sensory integration (powdery chalk)
Fine Motor Skills
- Yeti in My Spaghetti
- Pinching, pacing, modulation of strength, turn taking, social skills, impulse control
- Operation
- Pinching, smooth motor control, sensory integration (loud buzzer, vibration)
- Threading beads, large and small
- Bilateral coordination, attention, visual perception skills
- Mancala
- Palm-to-finger translation, counting, following rules, executive functions (planning out moves and strategizing)
Muscle Strengthening
- Scooter Board in prone
- Strengthens extensor muscles
- Scooter Board in seated position and propelling with feet
- Strengthens hamstrings and quads
- Disc Swing while picking up bean bags from the floor
- Strengthens hand grip, core muscles, hip adductors
- Standing on a rocker board
- Increases ankle stability
- Monkey Bars
- Bilateral coordination, grip strength
- Pedalo
- Bilateral coordination
- Table top activities while seated on yoga ball
- Works on core stability/balance
Sensory Integration
- Platform swing
- Bolster swing
- Disc swing
- Slide
- Trampoline
- Sensory bins
- Rice, beans, marbles
- Jumping on crashpad
- Deep pressure input via yoga ball
- Weighted vest
- Interactive Metronome
- The clinic I was at had this amazing program that I had the opportunity to learn about!
Social Skills
- Any board game that requires 2+ players
- Collaborate on building structures out of toothpicks and gummies (or any type of food) as a competition or game – the highest structure wins
- Impulse control, bilateral manual coordination, collaboration with another person, trying new foods
- Kids Yoga
- Muscle strengthening, core stability, working with a partner, frustration tolerance
OT Caroline 