25 Ideas For Occupational Therapy At Home (sensory, fine and gross motor activities)

Can we complete occupational therapy at home?

Earlier this month, my youngest son started back in occupational therapy.

After one session, it was 100% clear that they were not equipped to deal with his age, nor his needs. (The short version is that it was about as appropriate for a 12-year-old boy as dropping him off in a toddler class at the local daycare.)

After that experience, we decided to have an OT come to our home instead, for 30 minutes a week. She works with him on his fine motor skills and teaches me what I need to do to help him every day and long-term. It’s been better, but still not ideal.

The truth is, the older my child gets, the more I realize we need to find ways to help him assimilate his practice and learning into his every day life.

25 Ideas For Occupational Therapy At Home (sensory, fine and gross motor activities) These therapeutic exercises are easily incorporated into his learning and our days. Occupational therapy at home is most effective for my son.

With this in mind, I decided to pull together a list of our favorite and most effective fine motor, gross motor and sensory occupational activities. These therapeutic exercises are easily incorporated into his learning and our days. Because of this, I find he doesn’t resist the practice, but instead, looks forward to it.

Overall, this is simply the most effective way for him to learn and progress.

(Please know, we have used and will continue to use occupational therapists to help our boys. This is not an assessment of all OT’s nor advice to discontinue services in any way. We have worked with some of the most amazing therapists in the past and my children are better for it!)

 

25 Ideas For Occupational Therapy At Home

Here are our favorite activities, divided into Fine Motor, Gross Motor and Sensory categories.

Fine Motor Activities

Japanese Character Writing

Q-Tip Painting

Silly Copy Work

Soap or Shaving Cream Writing (on the ground or in the shower – it works!)

Shadow Puppets

Popsicle Stick Spacing (a Popsicle stick helps with spacing between words when practicing handwriting)

Dress The Dog (we actually dress my son’s service dog sometimes for button practice…)

Puzzles (one that gets the hands moving and requires fine motor coordination)

Counting Money

Building with LEGOs

25 Ideas For Occupational Therapy At Home (sensory, fine and gross motor activities)

Gross Motor Activities

Sidewalk Chalk Hopscotch

Trampolines

Target Practice (with Nerf guns, with Nerf bow and arrows, throwing tennis balls – anything that coordinates the body ‘s movements with the brain)

Chair Rides (rolling, spinning chairs are a favorite around here)

Exercise Balls

Army Belly Crawls

Couch Fort Building

Balloon Tapping

Jumping Rope

25 Ideas For Occupational Therapy At Home (sensory, fine and gross motor activities)

Sensory Activities

Baking Cookies

Make Your Own Stress Balls

Homemade Playdough

Sensory Bins

Nature Walk with Textures (gather as many different textures as possible!)

Potting Plants

100 Other Sensory Activities For All Ages

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