DIY HOME PROGRAM

DIY HOME PROGRAM

We hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s DIY projects. We have created this fun home program for you to incorporate all of your new tools and integrate the different sensory systems we discussed. All of our DIY Instructions can be found on our blog. 

Home programs are a vital part of managing your child’s Sensory Integration and a key part of their success. Consistent home program use provides the beneficial exposure and repetition that produces lasting results. Additionally, and maybe most importantly, implementing a home program is a great way to bond with child. That precious one-on-one time is such a valuable way to get to know your child and to show them that you are there.

First, set up your home program stations. Setting the stations up in a sort of loop makes a home program “course”. This allows your child to go through the course multiple times and provides a lot of versatility. If you have an area at home where the stations can remain set up all week that works even better.

Suggested items for this home program:

DIY 2X4 BALANCE BEAM                 BUCKETS OR BOWLS TO TOSS BAGS IN

DIY BEAN BAGS                             TEXTURES: SPONGES, YARN, BRUSHES, SHAVING CREAM, ETC

DIY TACTILE BIN                            SMALL TOYS/NOVELTIES TO HIDE IN THE BIN

DIY OBSTACLE COURSE SUPPLIES:  SIDEWALK CHALK, PAINTER’S/MASKING/DUCT TAPE, CONES

	SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
1	JUMPING JACKS	BUNNY HOPS	CRAB WALKS	WHEELBARROW WALKS	HOP ON ONE FOOT	FOLLOW THE LEADER	SIDE STEP OR GRAPEVINE
2	SET UP BOWLS OR BUCKETS ALONG THE BEAM TO TOSS THE BAGS INTO AS YOU WALK THE BEAM	TOSS BEAN BAGS ON DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE BEAM THEN WALK THE BEAM STEPPING OVER THE BAGS	PLACE BEAN BAGS ALONG ONE SIDE OF THE BEAM. ARMY CRAWL ALONG THAT SIDE OF THE BEAM, TOSSING THE BAGS OVER THE BEAM AS YOU GO	ZIG ZAG HOP (BOTH FEET TOGETHER) OVER THE BEAM UNTIL YOU REACH THE END	SET UP BOWLS OR BUCKETS AT THE END OF THE BEAM (SKEE BALL STYLE) AND PICK UP BAGS ALONG YOUR WAY DOWN THE BEAM TO TOSS IN	WHEELBARROW WALK ALONG THE BALANCE BEAM (HANDS ON BEAM OR ON EACH SIDE OF)	WALK THE BEAM BACKWARD
3	TRADITIONAL HOPSCOTCH	LAY TUMMY DOWN ON BALANCE BEAM AND TOSS BEAN BAGS ONTO HOPSCOTCH SQUARES	HOPSCOTCH ON ONE FOOT	HOPSCOTCH LIKE A BUNNY (ON BOTH FEET)	WALK THE LINES OF THE HOPSCOTCH HEEL-TO-TOE	HOPSCOTCH BACKWARD	HOPSCOTCH WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED *WITH SUPERVISION
4	HIDE X’S & O’S IN A TACTILE BIN AND DIG UNTIL YOU GET 3 IN A ROW	FILL A COOKIE SHEET WITH SHAVING CREAM AND WRITE YOUR NAME IN IT USING EACH FINGER	HIDE COINS IN A TACTILE BIN AND DIG UNTIL YOU GET $1	PULL DIFFERENT ITEMS FROM A BUCKET OR BIN AND IDENTIFY THEM WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED	HIDE LETTERS IN A TACTILE BIN AND DIG UNTIL YOU MAKE A WORD	FIND THE “MEATBALLS” (ANY SMALL ITEM) IN A POT OF COOKED PASTA (COOLED)	USE A TURKEY BASTER TO TRANSFER WATER FROM ONE BOWL TO ANOTHER
5	USE CHALK LETTERS TO LILLYPAD HOP YOUR WAY ACROSS A WORD	WALK HEEL-TO-TOE ACROSS A PIECE OF TAPE	BEAR WALK YOUR WAY AROUND THE BEAN BAGS YOU TOSSED OVER THE BEAM	DRAW DIFFERENT SHAPES AND HOP TO MATCHES TO MAKE YOUR WAY ACROSS	JOG BACKWARD THROUGH YOUR OBSTACLES	LOG ROLL, STAYING IN BETWEEN TWO LINES OF CHALK OR TAPE	USE YOUR BEAN BAGS AS “CONES” AND ZIG ZAG YOUR WAY AROUND THEM

For a free printable PDF version of this Home Program, CLICK HERE

SENSORY SYSTEMS: TACTILE

SENSORY SYSTEMS: TACTILE

This is our sense of touch.  It is our largest sensory system and it plays a vital role in human behavior, both physical and mental.  Tactile information goes just about everywhere in the brain.  It’s connections to the limbic system make it very important for bonding and developing relationships with others. Children who are hyperresponsive to touch may be very picky about clothing, food, being touched by others, and getting dirty. Children who are hyporesponsive may seek out excessive touch and have a high pain threshold.  Offering a variety of tactile activities is very important for all children.  Good tactile activities include making letters/shapes out of cooked spaghetti, playing in bins with a variety of textures like sand/rice/beans/birdseed, playing in shaving cream, and playing with playdough.  Also include your child in cooking, especially when they can mix food with their hands such as cookie dough, meatloaf, and rubbing oil on vegetables.  Do not force touch if your child is fearful of it.  Let them watch you first and gradually introduce the idea/activity.  Deep pressure into the hands prior to the tactile activities (wheelbarrow walking and animal walks) can be helpful.

SENSORY SYSTEMS: VESTIBULAR

SENSORY SYTEMS: VESTIBULAR

The vestibular system is our sense of movement and gravity.  This system is important because it is a unifying system which forms the basic relationship of a person to the physical world.  Because gravity is our anchor, all other types of information are processed in reference to basic vestibular information.  Good vestibular processing is key to developing hand dominance, bilateral coordination, balance, and complex motor planning. It supports reading fluency and enables us to sequence components of actions, thoughts, and speech.  Vestibular information also helps us to understand right side up, upside down, left, right, horizontal and vertical which helps us manage both two- and three-dimensional space.  Providing a variety of movement activities helps to develop this system.  Good activities include swinging, log rolling, somersaults, and spinning as tolerated by your child.  If your child seems sensitive to these activities, introduce gently and follow with jumping or other proprioceptive activities.

SENSORY SYSTEMS: PROPRIOCEPTION

SENSORY SYSTEMS: PROPRIOCEPTION

Proprioception is one of our senses that we tend to be less educated about.  It is our sense of where our body is in space, including joint position.  It is mostly processed in unconscious areas of our brain, so we don’t often think about it.  We don’t consciously process that we raised our foot up 7 inches and forward 5 inches when we are climbing steps, we just do it.  

We have many joints in our hands, so proprioception is important for fine motor development and control.  Because the information is processed in the lower parts of our brain, it also heavily influences other processes going on there.  It impacts things like self-regulation of behavior and attention.  If there is an issue, it generally lies with under registration of proprioception which results in issues in one or all the above areas.  Helping a child find the “just right” amount of this input is very important.   

Fun ways to provide proprioception would include animal walks, wheelbarrow walks, playing tug-o-war, jumping, hopscotch, playing with weighted objects, and using weighted blankets.  Remember, proprioception can easily part of family chores and discipline.  Have the child carry out garbage, carry in groceries, polish furniture and appliances, and carry laundry baskets.

SENSORY SYSTEMS: BILATERAL COORDINATION

SENSORY SYSTEMS: BILATERAL COORDINATION

Good bilateral coordination is important for age appropriate participation in daily living activities and peer play.  Bilateral coordination involves our ability to use our extremities both symmetrically and reciprocally, on same side or opposing sides, and to cross the midline.  Bilateral coordination is grounded in vestibular processing. The vestibular mechanism is located in our ear. When our head registers movement and gravity it allows us to respond with appropriate body movements, balance, and posture. Activities that support bilateral coordination include jumping, skipping, swimming, riding a bike, jumping rope, and catching a ball.  Some fine motor bilateral coordination activities would be knife/fork use, cutting with scissors, tying shoe, and buttoning. If bilateral coordination activities are difficult for your child, try starting with vestibular activities and follow with bilateral coordination activities.  Remember, the job of a child is to move and play. Find fun and interesting ways to help them accomplish this.  

SENSORY INTEGRATION

SENSORY INTEGRATION

Sensory integration refers to our ability to organize and process sensory input and to use that input to respond appropriately to a particular situation/ Although we are all taught about our senses as children (hearing, smell, vision, taste and touch,) we are not made aware of the importance of our senses working together to help us get through each task in our day. We also have other senses that affect the way our brain work--our ability to sense movement and gravity. 

Over 80% of the nervous system is involved in processing or organizing sensory input for our use. Sensory systems use receptors to pick up information that is then processed by the brain. Every sensation is a form of information. The nervous system uses the information to produce responses that adapt the body and mind to that information. Our brains are like computers. Sensory information is the data that goes in and, based on that data, we act appropriately or not within the environment. If the data is improperly entered into the computer. or there is a problem with the way the software processes the data, the computer cannot provide the correct solution. It is very much the same with our brain and nervous system. If the sensory information (data) is not perceived and interpreted correctly, our brain may also not provide the most correct or appropriate solution. 

Although inadequate sensory "nourishment" can occur from inactivity (TV, computer, video games) more often this contributes to the problem and is not the cause. Most children with sensory integration dysfunction do not have brain damage. They have about as many neurons as other children; their problem is caused by interconnections that work in an irregular way. Therefore, sensory integration dysfunction will not show up on an MRI or other type of test that looks for brain damage or disease. It represents malfunction, not absence of function. 

Sensations are processed at a; the different levels of the brain and can influence any response. Children who have issues processing sensory information can look very different from one another based on the specific processing issue they may have. Good sensory processing is important for self-regulation of sleep cycles, mood attention, behavior and eating. So, issues with sensory processing may result in children who have difficulty sleeping, that are moody or anxious, extremely fussy or frustrated, inattentive, have difficulty transitioning, or may have increased difficulty separating from their parents or interacting with their peers. These children may appear more intense or "high maintenance." Issues with sensory processing may also result in different types of learning issues or difficulties at school. There be language delays, articulation disorders, reading delays, difficulty with math, problems organizing their desk, keeping up with homework assignments, etc. Since the majority of children with sensory processing issues are average intelligence or above, this can be extremely frustrating for both the parent and student and may result in low self-esteem. Motor skills may also be problematic with sensory processing issues. There may be problems with gross and/or fine motor skills. The child may have issues may present as difficulty with dressing/buttoning, scissor skills, or handwriting difficulties. Issues with sensory processing may be very specific or very broad and general. Although there are similarities in children with sensory processing issues, each child presents a little differently. 

A good foundation of sensory integration is important to guide appropriate behavior, learn efficiently, sustain attention. and easily cope with the ordinary demands of everyday life. Children with sensory processing issues generally have to work harder to achieve the necessary outcomes desired. Sensory processing is dynamic and may result in fluctuating performance or behavior which may also be frustrating. It often leaves the false impression that it is the child's "choice" and that they could do better if they just try harder.