OT Tip - Calming, Organizing and Alerting Activities

My mother-inlaw Debbie gave me some handouts that she has in one of her therapy rooms to share with all of you this week. If you have a child who is hyper, lethargic, or needs some activities to organize their mind and bodies before learning, these activities will be a great thing to have in your back pocket! Debbie and I both use a lot of these activities with our special needs kids at work, but you can use them for any kid, no matter what! Any kid can benefit from these ideas.

First, are some ideas for Organizing. Great for kids with ADHD or Autism.
- Heavy work (gives input to muscles and joints and causes fatigue)
- Wall pushes with hands and feet.
- Jumping on trampoline
- Popcorn jumps  (jumping from a squat position and then landing back in a squat position)
- Wheelbarrow walking
- Crawling through tunnels
- Obstacle course
- Putting up/down chairs
- Sitting on "move and sit" therapy ball during during classroom activities
- Passing the weighted balls
- Scooter board on belly and bottom (wall push offs) 10+ reps
- Resistance Bands

Now for some Alerting Activities. Great to use with kids who are more quiet and tend to be lethargic. Also great to use after sitting activities to get the juices flowing again! Just make sure you do some type of calming activity after an Alerting activity before asking your child to sit back down to learn and work again. 


- Bouncing on a therapy ball with adult's help.
- Bright Lights
- Faster music with a strong beat
- Vibrations on arms, hands, back
- Using two fingers on both sides of the spine, give light upward strokes 3-5 times.
- Swinging fast with adult stopping the swing and bouncing it to challenge child's balance.
- Jumping on trampoline


Calming Activities:

- Rocking slowly over ball on belly
- Turning off the lights
- Swinging back and forth on belly with head lower than body
- Swinging in a large circle with child facing an adult (no spinning)
- Laying under a heavy blanket
- Weighted vest/lap pad
- Soft music (spa CD)
- Bean bag squeezes
- Child laying on beanbag while adult rolls ball over top giving some pressure
- Use of body sock/lycra material to wrap in
- Light touch (for some children) have student rub their arms with a feather (This could also be an alerting activity depending on your child's sensory needs. Be sure you know what type of sensory activities your child will respond to for calming).
- Using two fingers on both sides of the spine to give form downward strokes 3-5 times.

Have a topic you would like us to cover? Leave a comment or send me an e-mail! We would love to hear from you!

Disclaimer: I am a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. The advise in these tips is not a replacement for medical advise from a physician or your pediatrician. Please consult their advice if you suspect any medical or developmental issues with your child.