Occupational Therapy for ASD

This is a series of photos I took to help my ASD son to remember what OT options he has. I put them in a 3 ring binder for him to use any time he wants.

He knows lots of options, but it is hard to remember them all, and super hard to recall when under stress! Taking pictures satisfies his visual strengths, but I kept the book simple, with very few words so as not to overwhelm with clutter.

Please feel free to use these ideas. But... get your own pictures. Someone else using pics of my kids would be creepy! Of course, working with an occupational therapist would be your best bet. What works for my kid may not be what works for your kid. Everything you see here was prescribed for my son by his therapist during a professional consultation. I'm not doling out advice here.

It's amazing to me how much the body affects the brain. Of course it makes sense that it does. And I've done my own body-brain work through the years with yoga, meditation, and more. But, it's just so amazing to watch as my own child benefits from these therapies.

Here are the pics with short descriptions of each therapy.

We call this the 'ball pass'. You pass a ball to a person who is facing away and behind you. First the ball goes over your heads, and then through the legs like a football. Repeat about 5 times, and then reverse the direction of the ball. Moving the head up and down through space is excellent vestibular input and it can be very grounding. 

Passing the ball between the legs football-style. Keep passing over and under! 

Any ball will work for this- tennis ball or larger ball. This one is a 'nubby ball' and the nubs simply offer MORE sensory input. You roll your feet back and forth over the ball while sitting. Or just press your feet into the ball. This is a good one for when stuck at a desk.

I found these wide, flat bungee cords at Wallyworld for less than 5$ a pair. They are adjustable which is handy. It would be hard to find one just the right length for what is needed here.

The bungees go on a chair, like an extra rung for your feet. But since the bungees are flexible and stretchy, you can do all sorts of things with them. Also great for desk work.

You can put your feet on top and bounce a bit.

Or behind the cord and stretch your legs. The resistance feels great. I like to put my feet in front of the cords and let them press into my achilles tendon. I know that sounds strange but it feels really good! Then I bounce a bit with my legs too. I guess I have a hard time sitting still as well as the kids. :)

We found this 'balance board' at Aldi one year. It was about 12$. I've replaced the no-slip pad with foam shelf liner because the no-slip pad disappeared! 

You use your whole body to balance on this thing, so it's a great core workout. But you especially use your ankles. The joint pressure on the ankles is really grounding and the whole exercise helps you to become aware of your location in space.
We also like to put this balance board at the foot of a chair when doing desk work. It's a great fidget for the feet.

Hands out straight, legs apart, and SPIN! Not too fast. It's not a race. Turn in circles about five times....

Turning, turning, turning....

And then turn the opposite direction five times. Again, not too fast. It's not really about spinning. It's about finding your body's location in space, and getting the head moving thought space. If you feel dizzy, see the next pic..

For some people, turing or spinning can make them dizzy and disoriented. If you feel dizzy put both hands on top of your head and apply light but stable pressure. It helps!

For this one, you puts dots (or stickers) at shoulder, elbow, and between levels. Then reach around to touch them with your torso. 

The location of the dots/stickers according to your elbow, shoulder, and spot inbetween. Don't forget to do the opposite side too!

These are like toe touches, but different. It is not about stretching the leg muscles at all. It is about moving your arms and head through space. Raise arms up above the head, and then bend down to touch TOWARD the opposite foot. It doesn't matter if you touch the foot or not. Again, this is about moving your upper body through space. It's vestibular!

Then the opposite side! Do five or so of these. Little Brother likes to incorporate this big movement with the spinning above. It's a good combo.

What would we do without the yoga ball?! This is great in lieu of a chair any day. Little Brother uses it to lay on while he does Legos, sit on for video games, and so much more. 

For rolling, you place your body squarely over the ball...

and then roll gently over until your head is upsidedown on the ground. A little neck compression is great. Just not too hard, and no bumping or bouncing. Then roll back. Do this a few times, OR just hang upsidedown as long as it is comfy.
This ball is a little small for Little Brother. He's grown and could use a larger one!

Deep pressure, such as a good back massage is so grounding. Light touch can actually be painful for people with sensory disorders. But DEEP, firm, slow, and solid touch feels great and is very grounding.

Going for a walk is one of the easiest ways to get OT! There are so many things going on for the legs, arms, torso, head.. even they eyes get in on the action, as they scan ahead cross laterally. You can also add a packpack with something heavy- books, rocks, whatever. That pressure around the chest is good stuff. I like this pack because it is every so slightly small. And that means it really hugs around the chest. Plus it has a belly clip. 

PUSH against the wall. No really! Try to push it over! Plant those legs. Put one leg further back than the other and push. Then switch legs and push again. Hands should be at shoulder level.
An alternative that is fun is to push against another person's hands. Face each other and press your hands together. Don't let go suddenly or someone will come crashing down! We use this a lot when in public and no 'OT equipment' is handy. You can always push on a wall or on each others' hands.

Joint compression of the wrists is going on here. A lot of kids do this naturally at school in their desks, and are told not to. But they intuitively know how to satisfy their body's needs!

We call this the Burrito! It's deep pressure for the whole body. You wrap up in thick quilts, blankets, pillows, or whatever you have. Weighted blankets are great too. Sometimes Little Brother gets into his burrito, and Bis Sister or I lay on top of him! It sounds kind of crazy but he LOVES it. His mood can do a 180 in just a few seconds of burrito-ing. It's magic! 

Why is there a picture of a sausage here? Because FOODS can be OT too! A CHEWY, soft food like summer sausage, bagels, etc, can be great OT. The chewing and chewing with lots of resistance is good stuff.

Cold, crispy, firm foods are ALERTING! They can help bring your energy levels up when you are in a slump. That crunching is a great thing!

Sipping a thick liquid through a long straw is very calming. The sucking action is grounding. It's not safe to drink hot liquids through straws, but warm might be very soothing. In this case we have a cold (semi frozen) smoothie, which is alerting, and the long straw, which is calming.

Legos are a favorite activity for Little Brother. Any time he can do a calm, predictable, favorite work, he can find his happy place. Performing repetitive tasks that are easy for a person is helpful for calming down and focusing.

Going through karate moves is fantastic! Karate is totally OT based. Lots of joint compression, lots of repetitive, cross lateral movements. It's awesome. The kids practice through 4-H, so lessons are super cheap!

Little Brother loves to create music, so one way he can both calm himself and focus is to plunk on the piano. He likes to listen to a piece of music, and try to find that music on the piano.

and of course, listening to music or natural sounds is great. Little Brother does this sometimes when writing his book or doing schoolwork.

Writing can be very difficult so having the right tool is essential! This grip is squishy and large. It's the favorite. We've tried seriously, like 30 grips and thicknesses of pencil, etc. It's just hard finding the right one. But when you do find one, HANG ON TO IT! It is also satisfying to use this pencil and grip as a fidget while listening to instructions.

This is just some expired beans put into a leftover package (with a lid to keep cats, mice, and bugs OUT!) It just feels great to bury your hands or feet, to grab fistfulls of beans and squeeze. A great sensory tool! 

The opposite of joint compression is joint release. This small, light tug on the joints can feel very satisfying. It's best to have a professional show you how to do this. It's a very subtle move that may not feel like anything to the person doing the move. You don't want to damage someone's joint, especially in smaller children.

One thing I don't have a picture of is the swingset! Now that spring is here, Little Brother has been swinging again- another wonderful way to get vestibular stimulation AND to be outside in nature!