Our therapy team uses a lot of everyday “FUN” equipment that benefits every discipline of therapy services that Milemarkers offers! We asked our Therapy Team to share with us, what their favorite thing about some of our most used equipment is!
How or why do you use the BIKE?
Stephanie (Occupational Therapy) – I like to use it for sensory input: deep pressure on the peddles, fresh air on the body, and moving are all great sensory inputs!
Jessica (Occupational Therapy) – Bikes are great to help kids learn how to move their bodies and get lots of proprioceptive input.
Helena (Music Therapy) – Bikes are a great break-time activity.
Rhonda (Physical Therapy) – Easy to get kids outside!
Haley (Physical Therapy) – motor planning for pedaling
Rebecca (Physical Therapy) – One of my favorite things to do is teach kids to ride without training wheels!
Lauren (Speech Therapy) – Following directions! Stop, go, turn, go from one location to another, etc.
How or why do you use the ROCK WALL?
Stephanie (Occupational Therapy) – Tactile input to hands and feet where the grips are on the wall is awesome. Direction following and for concepts: right/left up/down!
Jessica (Occupational Therapy) – The rock wall is great for motor planning.
Beth (Occupational Therapy) – Challenging kids out of their comfort zones with manageable small steps, breaking the sections down into goals; start on the smallest block level and continue to build and grow confidence until they are able to jump from the top!
Helena (Music Therapy) – The rock wall is a common reward in music, once all of the work is done they can climb and play.
Rhonda (Physical Therapy) – I love to have kids stand at the bottom of the rock wall and have them throw big cushions up on top of the rock wall. Helps to work on balance, the vestibular system with having to tilt the head backward and upper body strength!
Haley (Physical Therapy) – great activity to decrease in-toeing and hip internal rotation (hips naturally go into external rotation)
Rebecca (Physical Therapy) – I like to use the top of the rock wall for heavy work. I have kiddos use both their upper extremity and lower extremities to pull themselves up to get a toy at the top then jump down.
Lauren (Speech Therapy) – I like to use the rock wall to assist with turn-taking and social skills. The kiddos can learn to take turns jumping and help out with coping and encouragement skills.
How or why do you use the TRAMPOLINE?
Jill (Occupational Therapy)– Rhythmic activities (fast or slow) tend to be calming and the proprioceptive aspect is especially calming.
Jessica (Occupational Therapy)– The trampoline is great for sensory input and helping kids explore new movements in a safe environment.
Helena (Music Therapy)– I use the trampoline for engagement; sometimes our clients need to move while working towards their goals.
Rhonda (Physical Therapy) – I love to use it as a safe place to explore new movements like jumping or rolling for kids just learning how.
Haley (Physical Therapy) – when learning the rhythm and speed for jumping jacks (having kids jump into a star when they are at the bottom of their jump, and pencil at the top of their jump)
Rebecca (Physical Therapy) – I like to have the kids jump for longer periods of time to improve cardiovascular fitness.
Lauren (Speech Therapy)– Requesting items with a variety of communication methods, signs, verbalizations, AAC, pointing, and gestures.
How or why do you use the STEAMROLLER SLIDE?
Stephanie (Occupational Therapy)– I love to have the kids use the rollers of the slide for deep pressure/massage to their upper and lower extremity joints.
Jessica (Occupational Therapy)– Kids love going up and down the slide for pressure input and movement/motor planning
Beth (Occupational Therapy)– Practice for waiting and turn-taking; role modeling appropriate playground behaviors.
Helena (Music Therapy)– I use the slide for impulse control, clients need to wait at the top and give me a sign before they slide down.
Rhonda (Physical Therapy)– Great way to learn to climb a ladder!
Haley (Physical Therapy)– using reciprocal upper and lower extremity movement while climbing/crawling up the rollers
Rebecca (Physical Therapy)– Bilateral coordination for climbing.
Lauren (Speech Therapy)– Imitation of sounds and functional verbalizations. Ready, set, go! down, up, more, all done, etc.
How or why do you use the THERAPY BALL?
𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲𝗮, 𝗢𝗧 - I love putting the kiddo in prone and rock them forward to reach, pick up small toys on the ground, and put them together!
𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗮, 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 - I use it for wiggly kiddos, If they need movement to help them work I flip over my gathering drum and make a therapy ball chair.
𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗵, 𝗦𝗟𝗣𝗔 - I use a therapy ball to teach functional words and descriptive words like "up", "down" ,"go" , "push", "big", and "round"!
𝗪𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘆, 𝗢𝗧 - Use to use it in adults to engage in PNF patterns in sitting for postural alignment when crossing midline and watching trunk elongation and contralateral contraction as well as in standing for balance and visual perceptual with right neglects. NOW in peds...I probably need to figure out a game for that But recently used it for zero gravity rocking and then also BUE weight bearing with push offs.
𝗧𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗼𝗿, 𝗦𝗟𝗣𝗔 - If I am using a therapy ball, it is usually to help get my kiddos wiggles out. But I love using beach balls and bouncy balls for turn taking activities and working on actions and descriptions.
𝗥𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮, 𝗣𝗧 - I use a therapy ball for core strengthening, sitting balance, and big kicks!!
𝗕𝗲𝘁𝗵, 𝗖𝗢𝗧𝗔 - I use it to teach colors, size comparison, and cause/effect (I bounce, it rolls)
𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝗣𝗧𝗔 - I use it when first introducing dribbling (more surface area)
𝗧𝗶𝗮, 𝗦𝗟𝗣 - I love to have kiddos with aggressive behaviors sit on the ball for nonpreferred activities.
𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮, 𝗢𝗧 - I mainly use therapy balls for kids to get their wiggles out while working on protective reactions, weight shifting, or midline crossing activities.
𝗝𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝗢𝗧 - All the above but also to get some good spinal extension in prone and upper extremity weight bearing onto the floor (like wheelbarrow walk)-loads the upper extremities nicely while aligning the spine.
𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗰𝗮, 𝗣𝗧𝗔 - For the littles I have them prone and do the fishing gam. For the older kiddos we do various strengthening exercises with them.