ATIA 2023 Conference Highlights: It’s All About The Free Resources!

February 14, 2023Accessibility, Activities, Conferencesassistive technology, conference, free resources, Occupational Therapy, OTGuest Blogger

As a part of Therapro’s effort to be the resource for families and professionals the Therapro team attended the recent 2023 Assistive Technology Institute Association (ATIA) Conference where we had many opportunities to demonstrate the resources Therapro is known for.

Did you ever notice that Therapro’s logo includes the line “The Resource for Families and Professionals?” Why? We believe that achieving goals toward independence is not only about the use of products, but also about the resources that educate consumers on the uniqueness and rationale behind the products. Because of this strong belief, all of Therparo’s resources are FREE and include FREE webinars, FREE catalogs (5 catalogs), free TheraGram newsletters, free Handy Guides and more.

At ATIA the Therapro team was able to meet up with specialists in the field of assistive technology and share with them many of Therapro’s assistive technology resources that were created by occupational therapist, Allyson Locke and graphic designer Dave Asselin. In this blog we are sharing some of the favorite resources from ATIA 2023.

Therapro’s Mechanical Switch Comparison Chart

Do you work with switches? Do you sometimes struggle to decide which is the best switch to choose for a client? Then this chart, created by occupational therapist Allyson Locke, is for you! It features 11 switches and compares each of them by 6 important factors: Connection type, Activation type, Activation Surface, Feedback, Plug size and Mounting plate. This Chart will help in your decision making and explanation to staff and family members regarding switches.

Switch-Comparison-Chart-1 Download

The Functionalhand: Live Demos & Information Sheet

Getting a chance to try out the functionalhand was a big hit at ATIA 2023 and was one of the most important pieces of adaptive equipment used in activities of daily living shown at ATIA. Created by Linda Merry, OTR and Celine Skertich, PT, the functionalhand has been engineered to assist individuals who have difficulty with grasp. Attendees were amazed by its simplicity and versatility in being used with almost any object. The accompanying handout was sought out by many; it includes a QR Code that takes the viewer to a terrific video showing its MANY different uses. When used with the EazyHold (see next paragraph) the adaptations are greatly expanded.

The-functionalhand-2 Download

EazyHold – What Can You Adapt?

The patented design of the EazyHold gives children and adults the ability to hold onto many items with ease. ATIA attendees loved the soft feel and flexibility. EazyHolds comes in multiple sizes to help get a better grip on objects small to large. Therapro’s Handy Guide, What Can I Adapt, has great explanations to help you decide which size is best and the many pictures illustrate how to use them in everyday life!

Assistive Technology Handy Guide for Daily Activities

Therapro’s Assistive Technology Handy Guide provides a quick snapshot of available technology, from low to high tech that is available at Therapro. Looking for ideas for increasing access and independence in the classroom or at home? This resource is for you!

PowerLink Activity Ideas

Another great opportunity we had at ATIA was sharing activity ideas with fellow therapists and of course we brought along some of our favorite ideas! In a previous blog, The Power of a PowerLink in Promoting Access, which is definitely worthy of reading, we shared several ideas for switch adapted activities that can be done with a Powerlink. While at ATIA, occupational therapist and writer of the blog, Allyson Locke, explained and discussed with attendees one of the activities, Switch Adapted Bowling. Check out the blog for additional ideas.

NOVENOPS! A Multitasking, Therapy Tool All-Star

January 30, 2023Activities, Gross Motor, Handwriting, Occupational Therapy, Speechexpressive language games, games, Handwriting, handwriting games, learning games, motor games, movement breaks, movement games, OT, receptive language gamesAllyson Locke, M.S., OTR/L

When budgets are tight and space is limited it is essential that the tools in your therapy toolbelt are multitaskers! Games are a fun and engaging therapy tool that can be quickly set up to address many therapeutic AND educational goals. In this post we are going to take a look at all the ways the game NOVENOPS can be adapted to meet a variety of therapeutic goals.

What is NOVENOPS ?

NOVENOPS is a popular game that is easily adaptable to all ages and levels. Best of all Kids LOVE it! NOVENOPS is a card game designed to develop an understanding of the basic elements of grammar and sentence structure. NOVENOPS is an acronym created from the words NOun, VErb, NOun, and Phrase. It includes 52 cards, a heavy duty foldable game board and directions all in a portable tin box.

Basic Rules for Playing NOVENOPS!

Goal – be the first player to discard all of the cards from their hand
Time- about 15 minutes
To Play: Unfold the enclosed “game board” and place it within reach of all players.
After shuffling the game cards, deal 5 cards to each player and place the rest of the cards in the center of the board
The first player plays a noun card from their hand onto the Noun space on game board; if they do not have a Noun card, then they draw from the deck.
The next play is a Verb card, followed by a Noun card and finally a Phrase card.
Repeat until one player has played all the cards in their hand. They are the “winner.”

For more information, check out the video below.

Modifying Game Play to Target Different Goals!

The Reluctant Writer With Handwriting Goals

Modifying NOVENOPS to meet handwriting goals can be done simply by adding a scoring element. Game play follows the basic rules of NOVENOPS with the following modifications:

Players all receive a ‘scoreboard’ at the start of game play. This scoreboard can be any writing paper that is appropriate for the player.
Playing a ‘Phrase’ card ends the round and whoever played that card is the winner of the round.
The winner of the round writes the sentence they created on their scoreboard as a means to keep score and then play moves to the next round.
Whoever has the most silly sentences written on their scoreboard at the end of game play, wins!

The Reluctant Conversationalist With Expressive And/ Or Receptive Language Goals

Targeting expressive and/ or receptive language goals while playing NOVNOPS typically doesn’t involve changing game play rather changing the pace of the game. Try this:

Set up NOVENOPS as described above and follow the basic instructions for game play.
After each round (when a phrase card has been played) take a moment to pause and reflect on what is happening in the sentence. For example, players have created the silly sentence “The mother hid the dinosaur in the refrigerator”.
Target those language goals! These targets can be simple and concrete ‘wh’ questions like; “Who hid the dinosaur?”, “Where is the dinosaur”, “What happened?”, “How did the dinosaur get in the refrigerator”. Or they can involve more creative thinking; “Why do you think the mother hid the dinosaur in the refrigerator?”, “What do you think the dinosaur will eat while he is in the refrigerator?”.

The Squirmer With Academic Based Goals

Adding a movement component to seated tasks can do wonders for focus and attention. One of the easiest ways to make NOVENOPS a movement game is to turn it into a type of obstacle course. Here’s how to do it:

Set up a course with three pathways
At the end of each pathway stack three piles of NOVENOPS cards (a stack of noun cards, a stack of verb cards, and a stack of phrase cards).
Depending on the student’s abilities, create obstacles or motor challenges along the paths. For example a chair they have to wiggle under, a stack of books they may have to step over, or a winding path they may have to zig zag through.
Whoever creates the most sentences before time is up wins!
Pro Tip: This is a great activity idea for therapists doing push in sessions!

A little creativity can go a long way in making the tools in your therapy toolbelt, multitasking superstars!

Good Handwriting Starts At The Core!

January 17, 2023Handwriting, Occupational Therapy, Sensorimotorbalance, core strength, hand skills, Handwriting, Occupational Therapy, occupational therapy activities, OTAllyson Locke, M.S., OTR/L

What do the muscles of the core have to do with good handwriting? The simple answer is, a lot! The five main muscles of the core are the pyramidalis, rectus abdominus, external obliques, internal obliques, and transversus abdominis. These muscles are important for many day to day activities; for a deeper dive into this topic check out the free, recorded webinar Postural Control as a Base of Support for Upper Extremity Participation presented by Celine Rosati Skertich and Linda Merry. When it comes to handwriting, the core muscles are key to providing the stability from which our hands can work from. Without the stability provided by the core muscles, the arms would have difficulty positioning the hands and the hands would have difficulty holding writing utensils steadily. In order to make handwriting successful, it is important build a strong foundation from which students can work from! In this blog we will explore fun ways to develop and strengthen core musculature.

Alternative Seating

Adding dynamic movement to seated tasks, is a great way to build core muscle strength. There are a multitude of alternative seating options that allow for dynamic movement while sitting. Examples include, The AlertSeat, Kore Wobble Chairs, and therapy balls. For more information on this check out the blog post, Flexible Seating Options in The Classroom & Home Learning Environments. It is important to remember that using alternative seating to strengthening core muscles should be done during fun, non demanding activities such as watching a movie or playing an easy table game.

Scooter Board Fun

Scooter board activities are fun and engaging; depending on positioning, scooter board games can be a great way to strengthen either the front or the back core muscles.

Scooter board activities done while positioned on the stomach (‘superman position’; think belly down, arms and legs lifted and extended) are great for strengthening the extensor muscles. For a fun game try scooter board- bean bag tag. To play, players lay belly down on the scooter board with a set of beanbags on the scooter board directly under their chest (this encourages the extensor positioning). The goal of the game is to drop beanbags on opposing players’ backs. To do this they would use their arms to push their scooter to their opponent and then drop the beanbag on their opponent’s back.

Scooter board activities done while positioned on the back in the ‘tucked position’ (think knees in toward the chest, arms flexed, and head lifted) are a great way to target the flexor muscles. Scooter board monster stomp is a great example. To play, tape pictures of monsters (or anything of interest) to the wall, at a low level, 1-2 feet from the floor. The player lays on their back on the scooter board and assumes the ‘tucked’ position. The player’s teammate (or therapist) gently pushes the player to the first monster (a small push on the shoulders will usually do the trick!). The player’s job is to stomp the monster with his feet with enough force to propel him back to his teammate who will direct him to the next monster. Use caution here, this game takes a lot of strength! As soon as the player shows signs of fatigue (i.e. difficulty holding his head up) players should switch turns.

For more fun scooter board game ideas check out the Scooter Board Activities Fun Deck.

Balance Games

Balancing requires core stabilization, a great way to strengthen those muscles! A simple game of catch becomes a core strengthening challenge just by standing on a wobble board or air filled cushion. A core workout can be done while completing an obstacle course simply by adding a balance beam component or stepping stones. Another great option is to explore the many different yoga balance poses!

Handwriting is an intricate process that requires more than just putting pen to paper; the core muscles provide the essential stability from which our hands work off of. Building a strong foundation, before we put pen to paper, will increase handwriting success and lessen frustration.