The Memory Game! Therapy on a Shoestring Budget

Materials: Popsicle sticks; cut sheets of paper or index cards (squares), pictures (cut in squares), staples and glue.

Construction: Glue each cut out picture on each cut out square. Glue the paper squares on the popsicle sticks and staple the ends of the paper together.  Leave one side of the card blank.

Popsicle sticks come in different sizes and colors, and they can be used for a variety of fun activities! To play the memory game, place the cards on a table with the blank side face up. The other side can have a picture or word on it.  Examples include, photo of a family member or pet, or a name of a family member, sight words, spelling words, etc. The child uses trial and error to flip each stick over one at a time and match like pictures/words with one another. Another way you could put a spin on this activity would be to have items in pairs that match up. For example, one stick could have a burger on it and the other will have fries while another set could be a basketball and a hoop. The child will have to use their short-term memory to remember which sticks have which items on them. Ways to make this activity more challenging or easier would be to either increase or decrease the number of sticks used at one time. Have fun playing the memory game!

Therapy project by Elijah Lightfoot: Posted with Permission

A Pro-Bono Student Run OT Clinic: The UTHSC Rachel Kay Stevens Therapy Center!

On February 9, 2016, the UTHSC Rachel Kay Stevens Therapy opened! The center is named after Rachel Kay Stevens, a UTHSC OT student who passed away suddenly in January of 2015.  In memory of Rachel and the amazing work she would have carried out as an occupational therapist, her family established a fund to support the establishment of a pro bono pediatric therapy center.

It has been an honor to be a part of this special project. For more information about the clinic, check out our website @ https://www.uthsc.edu/rkstc/

Here is a link to a news segment of an interview with Mr. & Mrs. Stevens: http://wreg.com/2016/02/09/rachel-kay-stevens-therapy-center-opens-today/

And the newspaper article in the Commercial Appeal of Memphis! 

Please help fund the clinic by making a tax-deductible donation! Just click on this link: uthscalumni.com/RKStevens

DIY Cat Toy: A Fun Craft for Kids!

This adorable "cat scratch toy" is a fun craft for kids.  It's fairly simple to make, and it requires fine motor skills and dexterity, which make it therapeutic!  Anyone who has a kitten or cat will be motivated to make this for their pet.

 

Materials Needed: Various buttons, Styrofoam mold (pictured: sphere), colorful pipe cleaners, and a hot glue gun.

1. Begin wrapping pipe cleaners at the base of Styrofoam applying glue as you go. Use caution with the hot glue to prevent burns. Provide close supervision if a child is a assisting.
2. You may wish to alternate colors.
3. Thread several pipe cleaners through the holes of the buttons. 
4. Once the ball is completely covered, take the pipe cleaners with the buttons and stick them into the foam.
5. Twist the pipe cleaners into any shape or angle that you prefer.  Ta da…you’ve made a fun toy for your cat! 

The project above was completed by one of our Master's of Occupational Therapy students at 
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center and posted with permission.

Tabletop Sensory Garden

This tabletop garden is full of sensory flowers/items that children will enjoy touching and exploring! As the child feels the different flowers, be sure to have her name the colors and explain how each one feels.  

Supplies:

Brightly colored flower vase

Plastic leis

Plastic straws

Plastic loofah

Styrofoam balls

Q-tips

Plastic scrubbing dish pads

Wire cutters

Squishy caterpillar toy

Foam dish scrubber

Butterfly clip

Twisty tie

Instructions:

1.     Place five plastic leis in the metal flower vase. Push the leis down firmly. Set aside.

2.     Cut q-tips in half using wire cutters. Firmly push cut q-tips into Styrofoam ball until the ball is covered to desired thickness to create a flower, leaving room for a stem at the bottom.  Push a plastic straw into the bottom of the Styrofoam ball to create a stem. Set aside.

3.     Push another plastic straw into the plastic scrubbing dish pads. Set aside.

4.     Wrap the loop at the end of the squishy caterpillar toy several times until it is secured onto another plastic straw to create another flower. Set aside.

5.     Pull the foam top piece out of the foam dish scrubber.  Wrap the foam piece around another straw and secure with a metal twisty tie to create another flower. Set aside.

6.     Cut the string handle off of the loofah.  Push another plastic straw into the middle of the loofah to create another flower. Set aside.

7.     Take all the flowers you have created and push them into the leis in the flower vase, arranging them how you choose.

8.     Clip butterfly clip to the side of the flower vase.

9.     Your sensory garden is ready!

The project above was completed by one of our Master's of Occupational Therapy students at 
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center and posted with permission.

Fun Holiday Craft for Kids!

This is a fun holiday craft for kids that is totally cute!  When a child is making this spool holiday wreath, she is working on all kinds of skills, including fine motor skills, bilateral skills, cutting, gluing, and eye hand coordination. This wreath will make a nice gift for Grandma or any other special person!

Follow these simple instructions to make this holiday craft!

Supplies Needed:
Fabric scraps
Empty spools (thread)
Ribbon
Glue
Sturdy craft wire (you can also use pipe cleaners, but they will need to be doubled and twisted so that they'll hold the circular shape of the wreath)

1. Cut the strips of fabric to fit the inside of the spools.

2. Wrap the fabric strips around the spools and glue them in place.

3. Thread the wire through the center holes in the spools and form the wire into a circular shape, and twist the ends of the wire together and tuck them into a spool. 

4. Tie a bow around the bottom or top of the wreath and use a thin strip of ribbon as a "hanger." 
- Hang the wreath on your tree or anywhere in the house as a festive decoration!

Evidence-Based Practice: A Pediatric Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy Study

Efficacy of constraint-induced movement therapy for children with 

cerebral palsy with asymmetric motor impairment.  

Photo Credit: Prawny @ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the application of CIMT to children diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP-hemiparesis).

Methods. A randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted.  Nine children received CIMT therapy and 9 received traditional therapy.

Results. The children who received CIMT demonstrated significant improvements with motor skills in the affected arm completed to the children in the traditional group. The benefits were still present after 6 months.

Conclusion. Pediatric CIMT resulted in significantly improved motor function in children diagnosed with CP.

Taub, E., Ramey, S. L., DeLuca, S., Echols, K. (2004). Efficacy of constraint-induced movement therapy for children with
     cerebral palsy with asymmetric motor impairment. Pediatrics, 113(2).

Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial of Pediatric 

Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy: 6-Month Follow-Up.

Purpose: The current study compared 6 hours per day with 3 hours per day of CIMT over a 21-day period to determine which client would demonstrate the most gains 6 months after the treatment was implemented.

Methods: This was a multisite randomized controlled trial.

Results: Both groups demonstrated significant upper extremity functional gains as a result of therapy.

Conclusion: The 6 hours per day and 3 hours per day treatments both resulted in gains.

 
Case-Smith, J., DeLuca, S.C., Ramey, S. L. (2012). Multicenter randomized controlled trial of pediatric constraint-induced  movement therapy: 6-month follow-up.  American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 66(1), 15-23.

Efficacy of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy on Involved Upper Extremity Use in Children with 

Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy

Purpose: This study investigated the effectiveness of a "child-friendly" constraint-induced movement therapy on the involved upper extremities of children diagnosed with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

Methods: There were 20 children in the study ranging in age from 4 to 13 years, and the children were divided into an older group and a younger group.  Each participant wore a sling on the uninvolved arm for 6 hours daily over a period of 10 to 12 days.  Therapists who were blinded to the study details conducted assessments of motor skills at the points: after one week, one month, and six months.

Results: Both groups of children made significant motor skill improvements with their involved upper extremities.

Conclusion:  CIMT is an effective treatment for children (of various ages) diagnosed with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

Gordon, A. M., Charles, J., & Wolf, S. L. (2006). Efficacy of constraint-induced movement therapy on involved upper 
     extremity use in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.  Pediatrics, 117(3), e363-373.
 

Cute Christmas Craft for Kids

Cute Christmas Craft for Kids

Supplies needed:

Narrow strips of colorful fabric strips
One pipe cleaner

This is a fun and easy DIY Christmas ornament!  Just start by shaping the pipe cleaner into a circle and secure the ends tightly by twisting them.

Loop each piece of fabric around the pipe cleaner.  (See the video below.)

 Continue until the wreath is full of fabric strips.