Good-smelling Pumpkins and Blurry Bats

We traced, cut out and spiced up some Halloween pumpkins and bats this morning, then turned them into a decorative garland for the classroom.  We practiced tying half knots, too, to keep the bats from flying into the pumpkins.
This was our joint OT-Speech-Academic group in the classroom for highschoolers with autism.  Some of the students surprised their teachers and aides by how well they traced around the pumpkin and bat templates and also with how well they cut around the shapes.  Lots of opportunities to practice hand strength when squeezing the glue on the shapes prior to dusting them with cinnamon or ground cloves.

Teeny Tiny Connecting Squares

These 1/3' squares come in handy when you're working with a student who really needs to practice better pinch.  Of course, they can always trick you and use their thumb and middle finger for pinch instead of their index finger!  Oh well, we took turns guessing what letter the other person was creating and that added to the interest. 
This student works real fast and her in-class handwriting shows it.  When you have lots of anxiety about life you tend to rush through things so you can check them off your to-do list.

Changing Planes

It's the Friday before Halloween--definitely a day to rise up from our chairs and get moving.  We stood up to draw Halloween-ish shapes but kept the markers and eraser on the floor so everyone had lots of opportunities to change planes during the session.  An easy way to incorporate vestibular input into a classroom activity.

Yes, the drawing surface it a bit too high for the students, but this encourages them to tilt their heads back a little farther than usual and experience a alternate angle of their head in space.

If you look closely, and recruit a little imagination, you can see that some bat wings look like the letter, "M," and some look like the letter, "W."  This helps you get started in drawing their basic outline.

When Nothing Else Will Do



It's a good idea to keep a little bit of latex-free Theraband on hand.  Especially when you draw a smiley face in the middle of it.



When a student needs to strengthen those instrinsic hand muscles and other muscles related to hand strength just ask them to stretch the smiley face.

Varying arm positions help sustain the student's interest in the activity.

Finger Warm Ups

Many elementary school students seem a little confused when they are asked to attach paperclips to sets of class papers or clip their homework together.  It's easy to show them the two "smiles" in the paperclips and remind them that one "smile" goes in front of the paper and the other smile goes behind.

If you're working with a student who doesn't mind being silly, invent names for the groups of different color paperclips--the "Peppermints," the "Bumblebees," and so on.  Ask the student to sort the paperclips into groups/families and then slide them onto different sides of the "table."

Now, the student is better at using a typical classroom "tool" and their fingers are warmed up for other fine motor activities at school.

Online stories read by professional actors

What a wonderful way to engage reluctant readers in "reading."

James Earl Jones takes a turn reading

Website for the stories:

http://storylineonline.net/

Using Music and Visuals to Aid with Concentration and Transition Times

YouTube videos for elementary classrooms

The teacher who uses his smart phone for spelling review shared his YouTube channel with me. 

He writes:
"The music list is used also throughout the day as music for the room. The video itself is minimized as I do other work on the board.

The relaxing fish or beach scenes are sometimes used during math stations... but I primarily use them for a few minutes of transition...and as a good way to calm down at the end of the day."