[blindkid] never stands still

[Richard Holloway]

Exercise balls are certainly good too. For a while we used them a lot  
and there was an unusual style worth mentioning-- it is not really a  
proper ball but more of a slight "peanut shape" such that it only  
wants to roll back-and-forth in a straight line. That can be really  
handy for a kid to go forward and back on a tummy or back with a  
greatly reduced chance of them sliding off to one side by accident.  
Kendra especially liked you to hold her feet and roll her out and back  
over and over. (That would never have worked on a round ball!...)

Brandy's post also reminded me of something called a "Dizzy Disk"  
which is a spinning table with a wedge cut across the base so you can  
adjust the table from level to a pretty steep angle in increments with  
a simple twist of the base. Spinning uphill and down like that seems  
to make some kids laugh a lot so we figured that was a good thing.

As with so many things, the above aren't really cheap. We borrowed the  
ideas from a former OT. (Those people seem to have pretty decent toy  
budgets!)

I'll mention one more thing that was a bit of trouble but really  
worthwhile. In the kids playroom, I mounted a 360 degree spinning  
mount to the ceiling joists along with several eye bolts all very  
firmly on a big mounting plate (with a half-dozen heavy lag bolts to  
the joists-- If you're not comfortable doing this yourself, hire it  
out.) This was basically what our OT's had in their places for hanging  
equipment they used, then we came up with all sorts of swings to swap  
around. Some would use inline options others could spin. One favorite  
swing option was just a number of yards of stretchy fabric tied to a  
pair of big snap hooks (mountain climbing carabiners actually). We'd  
use eye bolts for this that would not spin, then we'd wind her up in  
the fabric and get it tighter and tighter. She'd usually ask us to  
keep winding and winding, but we would only go as far as seemed safe,  
then we'd let her go and she's spin like crazy. We would do this over  
and over until our arms and backs ached! Later, thankfully, she  
learned to do this on her own with her feet on the ground. She rarely  
wants to do that anymore, but we got years of excitement, and MOTION  
from all of that.

If you're curious to see the first items, various peanut balls are on  
this the first page along with a lot of related options.
http://www.sensoryedge.com/therapyballs.html

And here is a Dizzy Disk.
http://www.toysforautism.com/dizzy-disc-jr.html

In the totally opposite direction from setting up a room full of gear,  
you may also want to take your kids to "Monkey Joe's" or "Bouncin'  
Bob's, or some other local inflatables emporium now and then to  
bounce, slide, and climb. Our kids love them except for the noise. Or  
maybe try our latest find, the huge bungee jumpers in your local mall.  
Ours is called "Slingshot".

As others have mentioned, there is no single correct answer for how to  
get kids in motion. It is all about whatever works for each kid.

Have fun!

Richard




On Jun 10, 2010, at 8:52 PM, Marie wrote:

> The sensory toy may not be completely meeting her sensory needs.  
> Different people have different needs--some tactile, some  
> vestibular, some fast, some slow. Maybe try a trampoline like Kendra  
> or one of those bouncing balls. Jack loves jumping, swinging,  
> rocking, and bouncing (sitting on my lap) on an exercise ball. And  
> oh our neighbor got us one of those big wheels that you blow up and  
> sit inside and somebody spins or rocks you. He loves that too. These  
> are all categorized a vestibular stimulating activities I think. You  
> can read the Out of Sync child has fun for ideas and of course you  
> could consult an OT (occupational therapist)
> Gotta bounce!
> Marie
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>
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