What Is Occupational Therapy and How Can it Help My Autistic Child?
Occupational therapy gives children with autism the tools and support to develop their abilities. The skills they develop enable them to live fuller, richer lives.
Sensory Box Fun
It’s time for some PediaPlex sensory box fun! If your child attends PediaPlex for therapy then chances are they’ve gotten the chance to use one of our sensory boxes (or sensory bottles or bags) while in session. But have you ever made them at home?! These are a super fun, and therapeutic, tool that you can make from home with mostly random household items that you already have. So what are you waiting for?! Let’s make some!
How To Make
There are a variety of different types of sensory boxes, bottles, bags, bins, etc. that you can make but today we are just going to focus on the boxes (they are the cutest anyways).
-First you need to get a good container with a lid. You can find these at your local dollar store or Wal-Mart. Size is completely up to you but if it’s too large you will need A LOT of items to fill it.
-Second you will need to pick a theme for your box. At PediaPlex, we like to theme ours around the holidays or seasons!
-Choose what kind of filler you will use. Some ideas are water beads, rice, salt, beans, or pasta. For extra fun you can dye these items to make them colorful.
-Next you will add whatever tools you’d like to use in the sensory box. Items that can be used for scooping, digging, or dumping are great! You can also add things like feathers, buttons, beads, whatever you’d like!
That’s it! That’s all the steps! Now have fun making this with your child and watching them play! Check out this video we created that shows you how to make your own sensory boxes!
Benefits of Sensory Boxes
There are several benefits to sensory boxes, as well as sensory bottles and bags. Let’s take a look at the few main benefits for children!
-Fine Motor Skills: Depending on what items you put into the sensory box, your child is able to scoop, dump, and move around the small objects while playing.
-Language Skills: Whether your child is simply playing with the box or helping you create it, they are able to use their vocabulary skills. They can request certain objects to be in the box and also use their vocabulary to describe their experience while playing.
-Science and Math Skills: Involve your child with creating the sensory box! Teach them how to measure amounts before adding them to the box/bottle. When using liquids, show them how things like water and oil react when mixed. Make it a learning experience for them!
-Sensory Needs: Many sensory boxes are created with a variety of textures. This is great for children with sensory processing disorder as they satisfy their sensory needs.
You can even create sensory tables at home if you are handy! This option gives your child much more room to play and makes it fun for the entire family!
Try making your own sensory boxes at home with your kids and tag us in your Facebook posts @pediaplexdfw! We can’t wait to see what sensory box fun ideas you come up with!
-The PediaPlex Family
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