GROSS MOTOR SKILLS AND SCISSOR USE The ability to complete the functional task of using scissors requires fine motor skills, visual perceptual skills, coordination skills and gross motor skills. Gross motor skills involved in scissor use refers to the postural control and bilateral coordination that is required for scissor skills. Efficient control of the larger […]
Encourage fine motor skills, bilateral skills and separation of the hand with this super cute activity – Paper Clip People. Download the printable and see the directions at https://www.yourtherapysource.com/freepaperclippeople.html [subscribe2]
Are you familiar with double doodles? It is a Brain Gym® bilateral drawing activity to help with eye hand coordination, spatial awareness, right/left discrimination and visual discrimination skills. Here is a new app that facilitates double doodling called Paint My Wings, from one of my favorite developers, Toca Boca. Of course it is cute and […]
Taking time out to perform specific home exercise programs can be very difficult during the busy lives of today’s children and parents. Try to make it easier for parents by suggesting activities that can be carried out throughout the normal routine of the day. Bilateral integration skills (the ability to use both sides of the […]
Here is a classic bilateral coordination exercise freebie from the 25 Bilateral Coordination Exercises. It is an instructional hand out on how to do the Cross Crawl exercise, including a QR code to link to a video demonstration of the exercise. You can download the freebie at the bottom of this post. If you are […]
Here are 5 ways to teach right versus left: 1. Verbal Reinforcement: Every opportunity you have verbally state right from left. For example, when dressing a child say “put your right arm in the sleeve”. When turning left in a car or walking on the street say “let’s take a left here”. 2. Visual Reinforcement: […]
Occasionally, a new toy comes along that really excites me as a pediatric physical therapist. I received an email from Fat Brain toys recently about their new product Squigz. I ordered it right away. This is a great toy to add to your therapy tool box. It is basically a bunch of two or three […]
Watch this video to learn how to create 5 gross motor and bilateral coordination activities using plastic tablecloths and shower curtain rings from the Dollar Store.
There is a previous blog post here on hula hoop ideas that was extremely popular entitled 3 Simple Group Games with a Hula Hoop. I just came across a great video from Barbara Smith, The Recycling OT, with some more fun ideas to use a hula hoop. I especially liked her ideas to put the rings […]
Here is a fun twist to do instead of traditional flash cards. Another big bonus is practicing visual tracking skills and bilateral coordination skills. View the video at YourTherapySource.com.