Tag Archives: occupational therapy (OT) tools

Occupational therapy (OT) tools include equipment and materials used to support sensory integration, motor skills, coordination, and functional independence in children.

Summer Sensory Activities Using Therapro Tools

Motor & Movement, Sensory, , , ,

Why Summer Sensory Play Matters

Summer is a great time for play, but for children with developmental, sensory, or motor challenges, it can also present a risk of skill regression or sensory dysregulation due to changes in routine. This guide provides parents, caregivers, and professionals with easy-to-implement summer sensory activities using Therapro’s therapeutic tools—perfect for home use.

1. Bubbles: Oral Motor Play for Regulation and Focus

Featured Products:

Why It Works: Blowing bubbles provides controlled oral motor input, which supports breath control, self-regulation, and speech development. According to Williams & Shellenberger (1996), oral motor activities help modulate arousal levels and improve focus.

Activity Idea: Create a “Bubble Pathway” where children walk a zigzag or hopscotch path while blowing bubbles. Add simple motor tasks to combine movement with breathwork.

2. Movement & Coordination: Full-Body Sensory Input

Recommended Products: Seesaw Sensory Integration Balance Board by Bouncyband®
Explore the full selection at Therapro’s Movement Tools

Why It Works: Balance boards, scooter boards, and wobble cushions provide vestibular and proprioceptive input. These are essential for organizing the nervous system and supporting sustained attention.

Activity Idea: Design a simple obstacle course with a balance board, bean bags, and a scooter board. Use it for morning movement breaks or pre-dinner wind-down time.

Seesaw Sensory Integration Balance Board by Bouncyband®
Seesaw Sensory Integration Balance Board
scooter Board
Scooter Board
Balance Pods
Balance Pods

3. Sensory Fun & Games: Calm, Focused Engagement

Top Picks: Happy Senso Sensory Gel
See the full category: Sensory Fun & Games

Why It Works: Tactile games and sensory bins offer soothing sensory input and promote calm alertness. Use them during transitions or when screen time ends to re-engage your child.

Activity Idea: Fill a bin with textured items and add task cards or sorting games. Try playing a matching game with tactile elements to enhance fine motor skills.

Make Summer Count
Therapro’s at-home therapy tools are designed to be easy, effective, and fun. With consistent use, these summer sensory activities can help prevent skill loss, improve sensory regulation, and support ongoing development through the summer months.

Explore More:
Visit Therapro.com for more summer sensory tools, games, and resources.

Top Summer Reads & Webinars for Professionals

Therapist Resources, , , ,

Summer is the perfect time for professionals to focus on personal and professional growth. Summer reading can be more than just a chance to relax—it’s an opportunity to refresh your skills, explore new ideas, and gain valuable insights that can be applied in the upcoming school year. Whether you’re a therapist, educator, or caregiver, Therapro offers a variety of resources and free webinars that are both informative and practical, helping you make the most of your summer! Read on for Therapro’s top summer reads & webinars for professionals.

📚 Professional Reads That Make a Difference

Therapro’s collection of professional resources is designed to support the continuous development of therapists, educators, and caregivers. These books, grounded in evidence-based practices, provide effective strategies and activities to implement in various therapeutic settings. Consider adding these essential reads to your summer reading for professionals:

  • Debra Em Wilson’s The Polyvagal Path to Joyful Learning offers educators a practical guide to applying Polyvagal Theory in classrooms to foster safety, connection, and engagement, while her Resilient Learner’s Backpack provides over 60 adaptable mind-body activities grounded in neuroscience to enhance students’ focus, regulation, and resilience across all grade levels.
  • Just Right! A Sensory Modulation Curriculum for K-5 is a 206-page, evidence-based program featuring 16 flexible lesson plans and full-color handouts designed to help students build self-awareness and manage their sensory needs—ideal for Tier 1 and Tier 2 RTI implementation by teachers, therapists, or parents.
  • Is It Sensory or Is It Behavior? Second Edition equips educators and clinicians with updated, evidence-based strategies to differentiate between sensory-driven and behavior-driven challenges in children, offering practical tools like case studies, worksheets, and laminated intervention cards to support a holistic, team-based approach to assessment and intervention.
  • M.O.R.E.: Integrating the Mouth With Sensory and Postural Functions offers a comprehensive framework for addressing sensorimotor challenges by focusing on the integration of Motor components, Oral organization, Respiratory demands, and Eye contact/control (M.O.R.E.), providing clinicians with practical strategies and activities to enhance self-regulation, attention, and postural development in children.
  • Social Language Rules & Tools: A Preschool Curriculum is an engaging, developmentally sequenced program that equips educators and speech-language pathologists with multisensory, play-based lessons and carryover strategies to enhance social communication skills in preschoolers, particularly benefiting children with autism and other social language challenges.
  • Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Evaluation and Treatment is a comprehensive clinical guide edited by Kelly VanDahm, MS, CCC-SLP, featuring contributions from 14 leading clinicians and incorporating the latest research and interdisciplinary perspectives to support professionals in the assessment and management of pediatric feeding disorders.
Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Evaluation and Treatment i
Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Evaluation and Treatment
Social Language Rules & Tools: A Preschool Curriculum of activities to improve social–ability
Social Language Rules & Tools: A Preschool Curriculum
The Polyvagal Path to Joyful Learning
The Polyvagal Path to Joyful Learning

🎓 Free Webinars to Support Ongoing Learning

For professionals seeking learning opportunities that fit into a busy schedule, Therapro’s Free Webinar Series is an excellent choice. These on-demand webinars offer concise, high-impact professional development, giving you the tools and strategies needed to excel in your practice.

Here are some must-watch webinars this summer:

Explore more and register for free: Therapro’s Free Webinar Series

✨ Pro Tip: Build Your Own Summer Learning Plan

If you’re wondering how to make the most of summer learning opportunities, here’s a simple guide to help you get started:

  1. Choose a Focus Area – Identify a specific topic, like handwriting, feeding, or sensory integration, that aligns with your professional goals.
  2. Pair a Book with a Webinar – Combine reading a relevant book with attending a webinar to reinforce your learning.
  3. Reflect and Apply – Use your summer to explore new strategies and materials, or even test them with clients or students in summer programs.

Therapro: Your Partner in Professional Growth

At Therapro, we understand the importance of ongoing professional development. Our carefully curated resources, including books and free webinars, are designed to support your growth and success. Summer learning doesn’t have to be a solitary task—use it as a chance to engage with new content and further your impact on the children, families, and communities you serve.

🔗 Visit therapro.com to explore more summer resources, and stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for the latest updates.

Happy summer learning!

Levels of Whistle and Blow Toys Explained

Oral Motor, Sensory Regulation, , , , ,

Whistle and blow toys are more than just fun — they’re powerful tools in oral motor therapy that support breath control, lip closure, sensory regulation, and multisensory integration. Whether used by occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, or other pediatric specialists, whistle and blow toys can be strategically selected and graded to match a child’s specific needs and abilities.

In the clinical guide M.O.R.E.: Integrating the Mouth With Sensory and Postural Functions, the authors explain how oral motor activities engage the sensory and postural systems simultaneously. Blowing activates the muscles of respiration and the oral-motor system while also stimulating alerting or calming effects, depending on intensity and pacing. Synchronizing breath with visual tracking or postural tasks further enhances body awareness and regulation. Selecting the right level of whistle or blow toy ensures that the activity challenges the child appropriately and supports therapeutic progress.

Understanding the Levels

Level 1 Whistles – Low Resistance, High Accessibility

These are ideal for children with reduced breath support or limited oral motor control. They require minimal pressure and allow success with less precise lip closure.

Echo microphone blow toy

Therapro Recommendations:

Level 2 Whistles – Moderate Breath Control Required


 These tools are appropriate for children who have mastered basic breath activation and are ready to develop sustained airflow and coordination.

Therapro Recommendations:

  • Whistling Straws: Require focused airflow, ideal for mid-level strength building.
  • Floating Ball Game: Combines visual tracking with breath control, great for synchronizing breath and eye coordination.
Floating Ball Game blow toy

Level 3 Whistles – High Resistance, Advanced Control

These challenge even strong blowers. They demand powerful, sustained breath and refined control, activating deeper postural and respiratory systems.

Balloon Car Racer blow toy

Therapro Recommendations:

Therapeutic Benefits

  • Breath Support & Control: Essential for speech production, sustained phonation, and self-regulation.
  • Oral Motor Development: Enhances strength and coordination of the lips, cheeks, and tongue.
  • Sensory Regulation: Blowing can be alerting or calming, depending on resistance and activity structure.
  • Multisensory Integration: Eye-breath coordination and posture-breath synchrony help develop attention and motor planning.

Therapro’s full line of whistle and blow toys is organized to help therapists and parents choose developmentally appropriate tools that support targeted outcomes. For a deeper understanding of how oral motor input integrates with sensory and postural systems, consider adding M.O.R.E. to your resource library.

Explore Therapro’s oral motor therapy tools today and discover how simple, affordable tools can deliver powerful therapeutic results.

Guest Blogger: Karen Conrad Weihrauch, PhD, OTR/L