New Toys!

Thank you Civitan Club! Our grant went through, our fun new products have arrived and the response from the kids is overwhelmingly positive! Hooray!

First- Sensory Profile... so long overdue. Handed out 2 long and 1 short, next week will be quite busy with writeups.

Second- Ball Pit. Not a huge one, but large enough for one child. Balls plus tough foamy noodles that are nice and resistive when squeezed. Little Miss S, one of our regulars who has autism got to encounter it today. She is largely nonverbal and has difficulties w/ any purposeful expression, but one step in the ball pit and she instantly said "WHOA" with a great big grin on her face. It was super cute. We will need to make a cover for it to keep it out of sight and out of mind... does anyone have cleaning procedures for an inflatable ball pit? Hand scrubbing 500 plastic balls does not sound like a good time to me.

Third- Bolster Swing. This has been universally loved by all who have experienced it, but especially by those with low tone. Same little miss S had great posture while straddling it, and then in prone she calmed down better than she ever has from any other sensory technique. After which, she donned her shoes independently FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER in clinic. Shoe donning is usually where the session falls to bits if it hasn't already. What a sweet success. Also, the bolster can be adjusted to where it is just taller than the peanut ball, making a steamroller, which is almost as worthwhile as the swing itself.

Also, I started a book that I should have ordered a long time ago- Is it Sensory or is it Behavior? It has been worthwhile thus far and I hope to really gain from this. It is so frustrating to not know exactly how to respond to parents about different behaviors. Will share any cool tips from that one... been a little slow on the updates lately.