Cheap OT solutions

When you are dealing with a kid with sensory issues you can spend hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars buying fancy equipment geared towards sensory needs. I can attest to this as I spend that much each year meeting the girls needs. That being said there is a lot you can do on a budget with OT needs. Here are some of our cheap finds:

- Playdough (duh! :D)

- At Target we bought oven liners (large, throw-away aluminum sheets). We use them for all messy activities; things like playing in wet sand, smooshing finger paints, playing in applesauce or pudding, etc. Anything tactile is huge for my kids.

- Plastic scissors and a piece of paper. Gracie could cut paper for hours on end and we get her scissors at the dollar store.

- A hand held hole puncher. With a little supervision you can punch holes in paper and the squeezing and gripping is awesome input.

- A sleeping bag. You can use it like a body sock. You can use it like a tunnel. You can pull your child around in it. They can be a ton of fun, awesome OT and you probably own one.

- Swings at the park. Many sensory kids (not all) love the feeling of swinging. Abby could swing for hours straight and feel so integrated afterward.

- A plastic bag full of finger paint, applesauce or any mooshy food. They can squish and squeeze until their hearts content. We life to put a few different shaped beads in the bag (before sealing the end with duct tape) so they can find the shapes and move them around. You can also do different colored finger paints and let them squish until the two make a new color.

- A bag of rice. A kid like gracie needs A LOT of heavy work. You can pull it, push it, carry it or throw it and not break it.

- A sturdy blanket. If you have two strongish adults you can each hold half of the blanket, put your kid in the middle and have a make shift swing. This is one of Gracie's favorite.

- A box. Need I say more. What kid doesn't love a box.

- A laundry basket. Fill it with anything heavy and let your kid push around the house. Instant heavy work.

- If you get creative enough almost anything can be therapeutic.