Tag Archives: sensory

the alert seat a large round ball inside a metal base with wheels for sitting

Flexible Seating Spotlight: AlertSeats

Could your class or sensory room benefit from a versatile seat that will absorb user energy, enhance posture, encourage time on task, moderate repetitive motion, all with a positive sensory input? 

If you’ve just answered ”Yes” then the AlertSeats® are right for you.

Therapro has them. Available is five sizes, AlertSeats® will fit every one of your students. Choose from 5 stock sizes to provide comfortable active movement seating for pre-K students to the tallest teens or adults.

AlertSeats® have seated thousands of active learners in hundreds of schools and therapy settings throughout the US and Canada since 2009.  Made in the US, they offer guaranteed durability, versatility and comfort in a proven design.

Just three sturdy components make up the AlertSeat — Base, Ball and Cover.  They ship compactly and assembly easily with adjustable firmness.

Here’s what teachers and therapists using AlertSeat are saying:

“I absolutely love your (AlertSeat) ball chairs, and have been using them in my classroom for over 6 years.” 

Jessica- New Hampshire elementary school.

“Students seem to flourish with the use of the (Alert)seats, as they are better able to focus on the work at hand.”

Indiana Life Skills teacher, students ages 7 to 12

  “We’re all about data. We’ve seen results with AlertSeats in students with a range of disabilities” 

Kate, a Pennsylvania large district school-based OT

AlertSeats® steel bases feature six or eight legs and rubber feet.  They’re warranted for 10 years.  Every assembled AlertSeats® will support up to 300 lbs. Bases nest for efficient shipping and storage, and are color matched by size.  Color coded interior balls are correctly positioned inside their cover before shipment, with a manual pump included and full instructions.

AlertSeat® covers, with double zipper pulls, go on and off easily, and include strong Velcro attaching straps and a handle for a totally secure and stable but readily removable attachment to their base.  Covers are sewn from an abrasion resistant laminated woven nylon fabric that is cold water washable and stain resistant.

Interior balls are heavy duty ABS molded to fit correctly and adjustable to provide the level of seating comfort that best suits each student.  Ball covers and balls are warranted for 2 years in classroom service.

Optional removable mobility dollies with lockable swivel casters can be added to any AlertSeat® in all sizes except the smallest.

AlertSeats® in use will never roll around the room or create a hazard. They can easily be placed on top of the desk to facilitate after school cleaning.  Other great features of AlertSeats® include:

  • No flimsy plastic parts or bolted connections to crack or fail in service.  
  • Safety and total stability combined with stimulating, energy absorbing motion define AlertSeats® wherever they are in use.

Put a correctly sized AlertSeat® into your classroom, therapy or sensory room soon. 

Guest Author: Howard Newman. Howard Newman of Newman Adaptive, introduced his unique concept of fitness and nutrition in the work place in 1991. Howard is the engineer of AlertSeat and AlertDesk.

better hearing and speech month banner

Celebrating Therapro’s Speech Language Pathology Authors & Creators

Therapro is celebrating its speech language pathology authors and creators during Better Hearing and Speech Month 2023. Read on to learn more about these great speech language pathologists and their creations!

Social Language Rules & Tools: A Preschool Curriculum

Deborah Fortin, MSPA,CCC-Speech is the author of Social Language Rules & Tools: A Preschool Curriculum.   Deborah’s knowledge for this particular skill area derived from her many years working in an integrated preschool program. Social Language Rules & Tools: A Preschool Curriculum is a unique program that can be used to present highly interactive lessons to preschoolers. It was designed to be a collaborative approach between SLPs and classroom educators in order to encourage follow-up and carryover for incidental teaching all day long.



Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Evaluation and Treatment

Kelly VanDahm, MS, CCC-SLP is the editor of the book Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Evaluation and Treatment. Kelly has been a practicing speech-language pathologist for many years, serving patients of all ages. She has also authored articles, book chapters, learning modules, and textbooks. Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Evaluation and Treatment brings together 14 leading clinicians, the latest research, and interdisciplinary perspectives on pediatric feeding disorders.

Red Sensory Spoon

Mary Schiavoni, MS, CCC-SLP worked with Therapro’s Karen Conrad Weihrauch and Filomena Connor to create the Sensory Spoon. Mary Schiavoni is the creator of Chewy Tubes, a noted author and Pediatric Feeding Specialist. The Sensory Spoon is a unique tool that focuses on the development of self-feeding with infants as young as 7 months old. Its unique characteristics include a short, textured handle that offers sensory input to the palm for grasping, a natural “stop” that prevents gagging or deep insertion into the mouth, and a flexible, smooth texture.

Therapro is proud to support and promote the work of the many great professionals involved in the diagnosing and treatment of communication disorders, including speech language pathologist and audiologists.  We wish you all a very happy Better Hearing and Speech Month!

How to Build a Sensory Room at Home, Tips from the Experts

Porch, the home services platform, recently reached out to Therapro for help with their latest article, How to Build a Sensory Room at Home, Tips from the Experts. The question needing an answer was, what are the best tactile sensory tools to include in home sensory rooms? Therapro’s team of experts had a lot to say on this topic! Read on to see what Therapro shared and be sure to check out the full article.

Tactile sensory tools offer a rewarding experience. There are many options to choose from. Therapro’s top picks include:

Assortment of tactile sensory tools for home sensory room

FidgetsFidgets are small, portable and versatile tactile sensory tools that are a great edition to home sensory rooms. Fidgets can offer calming or alerting input depending on their characteristics.  To help users better decide which fidget is best for them, the team of occupational therapists at Therapro has put together a free handy guide, Find Your Fidget that is available for download at therapro.com! Pro tip: Fidgets are also a great transition object to help with the move into and out of the sensory space! 

Happy senso tactile sensory gel in 
 a bottle and sensory gel in the palm of two hands

Happy Senso: Happy Senso is a sensory gel that offers a unique multisensory experience. It can be sprayed directly into the palms of  the hands or on a flat surface (like a table). Squish, press, and slide hands along the cool gel and listen to the crackling and popping sounds it makes.  It is available in four different scents and colors for an enhanced sensory experience.  

Green gel filled tactile sensory tool  with fingers pushing small black chips inside the gel pad through a maze

Gel Activity Pads: Gel pads are exactly what they sound like, gel filled pads that can be pressed and squished with the hands, fingers, or even feet!  Available in four different styles, activity ideas are endless; play games (like tic tac toe) or simply enjoy the combined visual and tactile sensory experience. As an added bonus, these gel pads offer slight weight and so can double as a weighted lap pad! 

Theraputty Microwavable Exercise Putty:  Exercise putty is a great fidget option that can offer a calming/ grounding experience to users.  Theraputty Microwavable Exercise Putty is a unique putty that is microwavable allowing users to experience a calming warmth sensation while they knead, roll, or squish the putty. 

The system calm strips, five rectangular strips with dark blue background and the planets arranged in a line

Calm Strips: Calm Strips are textured sensory stickers with a special reusable adhesive that are designed to be picked, touched, scratched, and peeled over and over again.  These tactile sensory tools are a perfect addition to home sensory rooms. They can be adhered to any surface to add an additional tactile sensory experience and help regulate restless energy.  

When it comes to building your sensory space, Therapro is the resource for families and professionals,  be sure to check out all of Therapro’s sensory resources at therapro.com!