Saturday, 5 January 2013
Peanut ball in lidl this morning
If you are living in Ireland this may be of interest. Lidl have 65cm exercise balls and peanut balls for €7.99 each. 3 year warranty, anti burst. Exercise ball also comes with detachable exercise bands for increased balance exercises!
Friday, 4 January 2013
~Friday Favourites~ week 2
Its been a busy week here. My youngest son has been unwell with a virus which means his Epilepsy acts up and we are on constant seizure watch until the virus passes.
It has given me time to review a few things. Next week the older 2 will be back at school and I hope to get up to the sensory room and have it ready for use. While sitting on the sofa with a sick little boy cuddled up (who is allergic to the laptop being anywhere near me) I've been reading over a book that I call my bible. It is 'Sensory Circuits' by Jane Horwood.
If you are new to Sensory Processing Disorder and Dyspraxia I would recommend have a few blocks of OT first so that you can advised on which strands of OT in particular need to be covered with your child. Once youknow these this book is great for ideas on new exercises and activities to vary it up a bit at home. The book is directed towards school based providers and OT's but my OT advised I got it and I love it. I'm currently using it to write a new plan for my children at the moment.
My second Friday Favourite is our Fatboy Bean bag.
This is a huge bean bag that is extremely versatile and you can shape it to the way you prefer to sit on it. We use ours in our sensory circuit for Commando Crawling across it or to sink into at the end of the circuit and turn on some nice lighting and relaxing music for 5/10 mins at the end of the circuit. They aren't cheap, at about €200 for the adult/standard size which we have but are available in smaller sizes if you are stuck for space (although I believe there is currently €20 off some models at the moment at www.fatboybeanbags.ie) However we got ours 4.5 years ago at the Big into baby show for €99 and it has really been put through it's paces and still as good as the day we bought it. I've also seen these for sale on some second hand websites which might be worth a look as they really do withstand a lot and very easy to wipe clean if there are any spillages!
If I had the spare cash I would buy one of their hammocks, they look dreamy!
It has given me time to review a few things. Next week the older 2 will be back at school and I hope to get up to the sensory room and have it ready for use. While sitting on the sofa with a sick little boy cuddled up (who is allergic to the laptop being anywhere near me) I've been reading over a book that I call my bible. It is 'Sensory Circuits' by Jane Horwood.
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| http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sensory-Circuits-Skills-Programme-Children/dp/1855034719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357327068&sr=8-1 |
My second Friday Favourite is our Fatboy Bean bag.
This is a huge bean bag that is extremely versatile and you can shape it to the way you prefer to sit on it. We use ours in our sensory circuit for Commando Crawling across it or to sink into at the end of the circuit and turn on some nice lighting and relaxing music for 5/10 mins at the end of the circuit. They aren't cheap, at about €200 for the adult/standard size which we have but are available in smaller sizes if you are stuck for space (although I believe there is currently €20 off some models at the moment at www.fatboybeanbags.ie) However we got ours 4.5 years ago at the Big into baby show for €99 and it has really been put through it's paces and still as good as the day we bought it. I've also seen these for sale on some second hand websites which might be worth a look as they really do withstand a lot and very easy to wipe clean if there are any spillages!
If I had the spare cash I would buy one of their hammocks, they look dreamy!
Saturday, 29 December 2012
Sensory Room Shopping
I have been building up equipment slowly over the years. I try to make as many homemade sensory games and gross motor activities as possible and Pinterest, facebook and blogs have been an excellent resource for this but every so often other bits and pieces do have ot be bought and most pediatric OT toys and equipment don't tend to be in the Holiday sales.
Instead of hitting the christmas sales in the big shopping centres I decided to spend the morning looking at reviews of tools and toys I can use in the room that will become our sensory room/ sensory circuit room.
In a few hours I managed to spend £50 on what seems to be very little. On the bright side I will hopefully be able to out up a review of what I bought.
My haul includes:
1x Large fidget toy kit (contains around 15 fidgets) £14.99
100 glow sticks with 100 connectors £5.69
2x rolls of blackboard adhesive foil 45cmx200cm £6.90 per roll
I've bought a roll of this before for the kitchen for writing meal plans and daily routines and it is fantastic and now I plan to put it along a long wall in the sensory room for Handwriting practice for all the children and of course drawing which is what my daughter does to relax.
I also bought a book by Dr. Eva Orsmond 'The last diet' which is £9.00 To get the momentum going for the new year
As we don't live in the UK postage and packaging from amazon.co.uk is 6.67 for this order.
I did want to order mini bean bags for throwing and catching and I found 12 for £8 but unfortunately I had to cancel the order as P&P was £15. If anyone knows where I can get them in Ireland for a similar price but without the P&P cost I would love to hear!!
One thing I will be in search of in the sales is a new mini trampoline. Ours has definitely done it's time.
Instead of hitting the christmas sales in the big shopping centres I decided to spend the morning looking at reviews of tools and toys I can use in the room that will become our sensory room/ sensory circuit room.
In a few hours I managed to spend £50 on what seems to be very little. On the bright side I will hopefully be able to out up a review of what I bought.
My haul includes:
1x Large fidget toy kit (contains around 15 fidgets) £14.99
100 glow sticks with 100 connectors £5.69
2x rolls of blackboard adhesive foil 45cmx200cm £6.90 per roll
I've bought a roll of this before for the kitchen for writing meal plans and daily routines and it is fantastic and now I plan to put it along a long wall in the sensory room for Handwriting practice for all the children and of course drawing which is what my daughter does to relax.
I also bought a book by Dr. Eva Orsmond 'The last diet' which is £9.00 To get the momentum going for the new year
As we don't live in the UK postage and packaging from amazon.co.uk is 6.67 for this order.
I did want to order mini bean bags for throwing and catching and I found 12 for £8 but unfortunately I had to cancel the order as P&P was £15. If anyone knows where I can get them in Ireland for a similar price but without the P&P cost I would love to hear!!
One thing I will be in search of in the sales is a new mini trampoline. Ours has definitely done it's time.
Friday, 28 December 2012
~Friday Favourites~
This weeks Friday favourites are:
Fun by LUSH
This product is so much fun! Its like playdough but it can also be used as bubble bath, soap and shampoo and it smells great. My daughter bought me the red one for christmas which has mandarin and orange essential oil. I can't stop smelling it! What's even better is my tactile defensive son can't either and the smell really distracts him from playing with it so we've been doing lots of play with this dough and he hasn't complained at all! He then continues while he is in the bath washing with it and making bubbles AND it hasn;t irritated his skin. It's a BIG hit!
Now for some Ikea favourites from our sensory circuit:
Busa play tunnel:
€13.00 We've gone through many tunnels. This one seems to be the strongest tough wearing and cheapest. It has velcro tabs for easy folding away
Ekorre hanging chair plus hooks.
€33.50 (hooks are €4) This is on my wishlist. We have friends with this chair and it comes highly recommended and my children have spent many hours in it. We are currently renting and cannot put holes in the ceiling in order to hang and secure the chair.
Fun by LUSH
This product is so much fun! Its like playdough but it can also be used as bubble bath, soap and shampoo and it smells great. My daughter bought me the red one for christmas which has mandarin and orange essential oil. I can't stop smelling it! What's even better is my tactile defensive son can't either and the smell really distracts him from playing with it so we've been doing lots of play with this dough and he hasn't complained at all! He then continues while he is in the bath washing with it and making bubbles AND it hasn;t irritated his skin. It's a BIG hit!
Now for some Ikea favourites from our sensory circuit:
Busa play tunnel:
Ekorre hanging chair plus hooks.
€33.50 (hooks are €4) This is on my wishlist. We have friends with this chair and it comes highly recommended and my children have spent many hours in it. We are currently renting and cannot put holes in the ceiling in order to hang and secure the chair.
Thursday, 27 December 2012
My First Post and Intro
After years of discussions, parent training, so many Occupational Therapy sessions with my children, phonecalls, emails and questions from friends, friends of friends, relatives and even OT's and physios looking for ideas and advice I'm taking to the blogosphere and going to keep and account of ideas I've come across and products and equipment I come across and tried and tested.
A bit of background about me, I am a nurse and worked in different Emergency Departments over the years. I've 2 sons and 1 daughter. My eldesy son is 8 and he has Autism. He has particular problems with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and dyspraxia, he also has ENT and opthomology problems not associated with his autism but can effect it. We see Occupational Therapist, Developmental Paediatrician, Physiotherapist, Dietician, opthomology surgeon and ENT surgeons with him
Our Daughter is 5 and has been with a multidisciplinary team since she was 22 months. She originally was diagnosed with a phonologicl speech disorder which was severe to profound (which is now in the mild range) she has emotional regulation delay and sensory processing disorder and recent tests show us she has a superior IQ. It's early days but excelerated learning programme is proving to resolve most issues and hopefully will be discharged from her multi disciplinary team. She sees Educational psychology, Occupational Therapy (OT) and Speech and Language therapy (SALT)
We have a 2 year old son with epilepsy, he is on Keppra which so far is fully managing his seizure and has been seizure free the 6 months he has been on it and is otherwise developing normally.
Phew!
Since our eldest was diagnosed with Autism he started straight into Sensory integration Therapy. It has been so wonderul to see such a positive change over the years.
the oly down side is some of the exercises are trial and error and sometimes it is hard to know if a new activity will have a positive and negative effect. Every child is also different and has different sensory needs. My son is extremely tactil defensive. He finds touch very difficult, this includes have to touch things as well as things, items or people touching him. My daughter on the other hand is a real sensory seeker and actively seeks out certain textures to touch, or oral sensory seeks and often we will find her licking objects that are most definitely not meant for her mouth!
OT Equipment for different integration activities can be expensive so I find I need to be certain it will work before making permanent purchases. Luckily, I have found that shopping around is an option and even better some things can be replaced by household objects. *****Always Check With Your Therapy Provider or Author of your Childs Sensory Diet before Substiting anything on the plan/diet*****
A bit of background about me, I am a nurse and worked in different Emergency Departments over the years. I've 2 sons and 1 daughter. My eldesy son is 8 and he has Autism. He has particular problems with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and dyspraxia, he also has ENT and opthomology problems not associated with his autism but can effect it. We see Occupational Therapist, Developmental Paediatrician, Physiotherapist, Dietician, opthomology surgeon and ENT surgeons with him
Our Daughter is 5 and has been with a multidisciplinary team since she was 22 months. She originally was diagnosed with a phonologicl speech disorder which was severe to profound (which is now in the mild range) she has emotional regulation delay and sensory processing disorder and recent tests show us she has a superior IQ. It's early days but excelerated learning programme is proving to resolve most issues and hopefully will be discharged from her multi disciplinary team. She sees Educational psychology, Occupational Therapy (OT) and Speech and Language therapy (SALT)
We have a 2 year old son with epilepsy, he is on Keppra which so far is fully managing his seizure and has been seizure free the 6 months he has been on it and is otherwise developing normally.
Phew!
Since our eldest was diagnosed with Autism he started straight into Sensory integration Therapy. It has been so wonderul to see such a positive change over the years.
the oly down side is some of the exercises are trial and error and sometimes it is hard to know if a new activity will have a positive and negative effect. Every child is also different and has different sensory needs. My son is extremely tactil defensive. He finds touch very difficult, this includes have to touch things as well as things, items or people touching him. My daughter on the other hand is a real sensory seeker and actively seeks out certain textures to touch, or oral sensory seeks and often we will find her licking objects that are most definitely not meant for her mouth!
OT Equipment for different integration activities can be expensive so I find I need to be certain it will work before making permanent purchases. Luckily, I have found that shopping around is an option and even better some things can be replaced by household objects. *****Always Check With Your Therapy Provider or Author of your Childs Sensory Diet before Substiting anything on the plan/diet*****
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