The past few days have been an absolute whirlwind.  As of right now, schools in my area are closed until April 8 at the time this post goes live.  But honestly, it could change tomorrow. It is a confusing and stressful time for us, so I can’t even imagine how our students and families feel.  Luckily, I work with AMAZING teams and we have truly come together over the past week to do our best to provide resources and activities for families and students.   There are still SO many questions in regards to related services in this time of school closure. Jen linked to the most current guidance document in her post here. Honestly, we are just all trying our best to figure it out as we go along.  Today, I want to highlight what I have focused on for week one of OT during the school closures.  I also want to provide OT related resources and activities you may find helpful and finally, talk a little about next steps as we navigate this uncertain time.

Week One

So, what exactly have I been doing the past week?  My goal for week one was to connect with all families and share resources and ideas.  I primarily work in self contained classrooms, where therapy is fully integrated within the day.   The teachers I work are awesome, and sent home a general suggested daily schedule and suggested academic and functional activities. From there, each related service provider sent home specific information for each child.  

Activities and Resources

Attached to my email were just a few additional suggestions on ways families can support their child at home.  Many suggestions were specific to goals or sensory needs but explained in a way that could be realistically worked on at home within natural routines.  I teamed with teachers and therapists to streamline sending information home. I did not want to overwhelm families during this already  stressful time!

While I currently work mostly with older students, my colleagues work with students as young as three.  For the most part, we all followed the same plan for week one.  I thought it would be helpful to compile some of these OT resources  into one place. You may find them useful for your students or even your own kids!  While by no means does this list encompass every single activity idea or resource available, there should be something on this list for everyone. I, along with my colleagues, have turned some of these suggestions into a ‘calendar’ with one or two ideas per day to make it easy to follow. 

I recommend highlighting activities that are cheap or free and very easy to implement within natural routines.  On top of everything else parents do, they are now being asked to homeschool their children with special needs which can be very overwhelming to think about (check out Holly’s recent post here for some great parent tips).  Within many of the activities listed below, I have linked to websites and additional resources related to that activity.

Fine Motor Ideas

• Carry items with two hands around the house: laundry basket, tray
• Stringing beads, small pieces of cut up straws, or cereal on string

• Coloring
• Dot marker art
• Pick up items with tongs or clothespins
• Squeeze a spray bottle to water plant

• Play with playdoh and playdoh mats
• Use scissors to snip and cut paper
• Qtip painting
• Check out OT Toolbox for more!

Handwriting and Visual Motor Activities

• Write a letter to a friend
• Drawing with Mo Willems!
• Play with paper!

• Free and paid handwriting resources at Tools to Grow OT
• Free and paid handwriting resources at Your Therapy Source

• Simple mazes
• TAH Copy and Trace Cards

Gross Motor Ideas

• Outdoor scavenger hunt
• Figure 8 walks: you can use painter’s tape to make the shape on the floor
• Cosmic Kids Yoga

• Mirror game: have the child stand in from of you and imitate your movements
• Play with a ball
• Midline Exercises

• Set up a simple obstacle course – jumping over items, crawling under tables or chairs
• Balloon volleyball!
• There are a TON of gross motor resources over at Pink Oatmeal!

Sensory Ideas

• Zones of Regulation Book Nook
• Body scan meditation
• Listen to nature sounds or white noise

• Make a sensory bottle
• Put dried pasta or rice in a bin with items for the child to find

• Play with putty or playdoh
• Do heavy work activities!
• Check out my sensory series for even more ideas for each sensory system!

Daily Living Skills and Executive Functioning Ideas

• Send an email
• Plan out daily schedule
• Plan out weekly schedule

• Cook or bake!  Try the visual recipes on Accessible Chef.
• Indoor daily living item scavenger hunt

• Participate in household chores as independently as possible
• Participate in daily hygiene routines, like handwashing and toothbrushing, as independently as possible

What’s next?

Once all the initial contact and resources were sent out, my team started discussing the next step – videos and teletherapy! We are going to start by creating videos to make our tips and strategies come to life, support parents and engage students as much as we can.  From what I have been reading, there is a lot of support for therapists moving towards the teletherapy model. HIPAA regulations have been relaxed, the national therapy associations are very supportive, and while I don’t deal with insurance at school, I have heard that insurance companies are going to reimburse for teletherapy sessions. 

While there are still so many questions as to what elearning videos and teletherapy will look like, especially for our students who need a lot of support to engage, I am hopeful.  Over the past week, I have learned just how strong our community is.  Teachers, paras and school staff are amazing. Therapists are amazing. Families and students are amazing! We will get through this together, one day at a time.  I’m looking forward to thinking outside the box to meet the needs of students and families as best as I can in the coming weeks.

This blog is for informational purposes only.  Please supervise children appropriately and contact your OT for specific recommendations.