We tried this fidget idea in a classroom for high schoolers with mild cognitive disabilities and it's working pretty well for one guy who likes to run in short spurts around the room and keep active while he's learning. He still needs verbal reminders to use the band to get his feet a-movin', but sometimes it helps him stay at his desk a little longer so he can get more work done.
Here's a brief video of his feet in action--
https://youtu.be/yADLlCh4Jno
Update 5-5-2016: Visiting the classroom this morning I learned from his teacher that he has recently begun using the foot fidget more frequently and it seems to help with focusing on in-class work--Yippee!
So glad to hear that your foot fidgets made a difference in the classroom. I haven’t had the opportunity to use this strategy yet, but I always have a box of resistance band ready. It comes in handy for proprioceptive hand and wrist work. I tie it in small loops for kids to do warm-up their fingers and wrists. I also use it for lacing homemade pool-noodle beads.
ReplyDeleteHave you used the tubing at all? I wonder if there is any difference between the band and tubing.
Thanks for sharing your success with this strategy.
Denise Knapp OT
Denise: Thanks for your comment and extra ideas. I've only used the real skinny tubing with kids for hand strengthening but I recall the more resistive tubing from my previous life in orthopedic clinics and bet it would work well instead of the band for fidgeting, if the person's foot doesn't slip off too easily while they are b-bopping around. Karen
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