Created in September 2008 by child neurologist Shafali Jeste and tennis professional Richard Spurling, ACEing Autism is an organization dedicated to making tennis “available to children with autism and to use tennis as a means to enhance health and fitness, hand-eye coordination and motor development and improve the social skills for children with autism.” There are already ACEing Autism programs in Florida, Tennessee, Texas, California, and more. This July, there will also be a program in New York, in Manhattan’s Riverside Park. To learn more about the program and see if it might be right for your child, click here. We LOVE it

At POTS we are always looking for fun ways to practice handwriting within the context of a game or daily activity. What better opportunity than Valentine’s Day! This valentine marshmallow snack, from The Decorated Cookie is adorable and can easily be adapted to various skill levels.

Materials:

• marshmallows
• baker’s twine
• tapestry needle
• shortening
• scissors
• red cardstock
• stapler
• edible markers

Instructions for marshmallows-on-a-string (to dunk in hot cocoa or tea) can be found here.

Controlling a marker to write on a little marshmallow is a non-threatening way to practice sizing and spacing of words, a skill necessary for legible handwriting. Children are encouraged to use two hands for a writing task. If the marshmallow is not stabilized by the non-dominant hand, it will run away!

Modifications:

• Threading twine through a marshmallow is great for challenging fine motor control and visual-motor integration. If it is too difficult for your child, try sticking the marshmallows on lollipop sticks instead.

• If your child is not quite ready to write tiny words on a marshmallow, start by writing one letter on each marshmallow. Then line them up to spell a word. For example “L” on one marshmallow, “O” on another, until you spell “LOVE.” Have each letter fill the entire space, to elicit consistent sizing of capital letters.

• Edible markers can be also be used for lettering on a larger surface, such as a cookie.

Submitted by Ariela Warburg, OTR/L

All photos from The Decorated Cookie

The cold winter weather poses a challenge to playing outdoors, and not many parents are keen about having their children use the house as an indoor gym. This DIY game gets your children moving in an organized manner and lets them practice building their gross motor skills in a fun way. It is simple to create, and offers portability, so you can take it with you when your family is on the go.

To make your own dice, you will need two over-sized plush or inflated dice. On each of the 6 sides of one die, assign a different gross motor activity such as: jumping, hopping, skipping, galloping, stride jumps, jumping jacks, crab walking and frog jumping. When the die is rolled, whichever activity is facing up needs to be done. Feel free to use any gross motor activity or movement that you feel would benefit your child or that your therapist has suggested for your child’s home program. For children who do not yet read, use a picture to depict each activity.

Roll the second die to determine how many repetitions of each activity should be done. One way to make the activity more challenging is by adjusting the repetitions. For instance, you may begin by having your child do their activity one time for each dot on the dice (i.e. if a 6 is rolled, your child will jump 6 times). Then, to increase the challenge, each dot on the dice can represent 2,3,4 or 5 times that the motor activity should be done (i.e. if a 6 is rolled, your child will jump 30 times).

Be sure to take turns! If you are part of the process the game will be fun, rather than “homework.”

Blog written by: Aviva Goldwasser, MS, OTR/L & Chaye Lamm Warburg, DPS,    Director of POTS
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This adorable craft project caught my eye while I searched for holiday projects to make with the children at P.O.T.S. (instructions adapted from www.busybeekidscrafts.com, photos by Busy Bee Kids Crafts). I was drawn to the multi-sensory components of this project, such as olfactory (smell) and tactile (touch).

Is your child hesitant to get messy or dirty? Adjusting to the sensation of feeling messy and gluey is particularly important for preschoolers, who are often presented with similar activities in the classroom. Practicing these types of opportunities at home is a great way to make him/her feel more comfortable when faced with them at school.

Adaptations for the Tactile Defensive child…
If your child is unsure about touching the glue, demonstrate for him/her that it is ok to be messy, and that hands can be washed immediately afterward. If that fails, allow him/her to wear disposable gloves at first to get used to the sensation of glue without actually touching it. As your child feels more comfortable encourage him/her to snip the fingers off of the gloves one at a time

Here’s what you’ll need…
• Pine cone
• Rice
• Green food coloring
• Zip-lock baggie
• Wax paper
• Glue
• Paper plate or bowl
• Embellishments to decorate your tree, such as sequins
• You may need a  small piece of paper tube, such as a toilet paper roll, if your pine cone will not stand up on its own

Here’s how you make it…

1. In a zip-lock bag mix 1 cup of rice, 1 teaspoon of water and 6-10 drops of food coloring. Seal the bag and have your child squish the bag around until all the rice is coated. All that squishing is a great way to give deep tactile input to the hands. Lay the rice on a sheet of wax paper to dry. It should dry very quickly.

2. To add an olfactory (smell) experience to this project, use a scented pine cone. They are often sold at supermarkets and craft stores at this time of year. Spread glue ALL OVER your pine cone- insides and outsides. Have your child use his/her finger to spread the glue into all the crevices rather than using a craft stick to give him/her the tactile experience.

3. Hold your pine cone over a paper plate or bowl and sprinkle rice all over the gluey pine cone. Press the rice down with your fingers so that it sticks really well! Shake off the excess into the bowl. Repeat until the whole pine cone is covered.

4. Now it’s time to decorate your tree. Glue on sequins for ornaments, rolled up bits of tissue paper (great fine motor challenge), foam, pom poms, or buttons.
If your pine cone does not stand up on its own just cut a small piece off a paper tube and place your pine cone inside (it will just look like the trunk).

Blog adapted by: Aviva Goldwasser, MS, OTR/L, Chaye Lamm Warburg, DPS, Director of POTS

Recently, I volunteered to do a craft project in my son’s preschool class. I chose this holiday themed craft (www.creativejewishmom.com) since the materials were readily available, the mess was minimal, and the directions not overly complicated. The children in the class did a great job!

If you are planning to do this project with more than two children at a time, I suggest that you prepare a sample in advance to help them understand what the final product will look like.

To make this adorable craft at home, all you need are some small craft sticks, glue, and paint/markers if desired. Pour some glue onto a plate so it will be easier to adhere the sides of the Popsicle sticks.

To construct the dreidel, glue 7 Popsicle sticks together to make the body. Do your best to line them up evenly side by side. Next, one Popsicle stick across the top and one across the bottom. Then, take 2 more sticks and glue then in a “v” shape at the bottom of the dreidel. Last, glue 2 more sticks together side-by-side and then glue them to the top of the dreidel to serve as the spinner.

Once the glue has dried, your child can choose to color, paint, or decorate the dreidel.

If you are feeling adventurous, you can try the Popsicle stick menorah as well.

Photo courtesy Creative Jewish Mom

Blog written by: Aviva  Goldwasser, MS, OTR & Chaye Lamm Warburg, DPS, Director of POTS

Since this is the season in which parents usually buy toys, and therapists often recommend toys to facilitate various aspects of development, this article in The New York Times, “More Dads Buy the Toys, So Barbie, and Store, Get Makeovers,” by Stephanie Clifford made us think about different elements of the gift-giving season.

I stumbled upon this fabulous rice crispy turkey treat recipe and cannot wait to try it out. The combination of temperatures and textures make for a rich sensory experience. It’s a great recipe for sensory seekers who love to get their hands messy and exciting enough to motivate sensory avoiders to get involved in the activity. The detailed décor provide lots of opportunity to practice fine motor skills. Lets take a closer look at the recipe:

Ingredients:

Rice Crispy Treats:
1/4 cup butter
10 oz marshmallows
6 cups rice crispy cereal
1/2 cup peanut butter (omit if making classic flavor)

Turkey Decor:
Candy corn
Cashews (split in half, and then broken in two)
Whoppers (or other round, brown candy)
Black frosting
Red licorice
More peanut butter for “glue”

Method:

1. Melt butter in a pan, add marshmallows and mix. Once melted, remove from flame and mix in cereal –Stirring the thick mixture of marshmallows and rice crispies provides proprioceptive input to the arms and builds up strength.
2. While still warm, use mixture to form small balls – The warm temperature and combination of textures provides tactile input to the hands. Proprioceptive and tactile input builds sensory awareness of the hands to prepare them for fine motor activities. Luckily this recipe has a built in fine motor component following the sensory input (see step 3)!
3. Use peanut butter as glue (marshmallow fluff is a peanut free alternative). Tack on the candy corn (feathers), Whopper (head), beak (cashew), little red waddle (licorice), and then use black frosting to make the eyes – Here the child works on using a pincer grasp to grip the candies. Breaking the cashews in half strengthens the small muscles of the hands and promotes bilateral coordination.

Below is the link to the recipe page:

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/peanut-butter-rice-crispy-treats/

Submitted by:  Ariela Warburg OTA &
Dr. Chaye Lamm Warburg, DPS, OTR/L, Director, POTS