Occupational Therapy Take Home Strategies for Parents
Fay Backert, MS, OTR/L
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[email protected]
781-325-8514
Encourage your child to engage in games or toys that increase finger dexterity (such as fingerplay, cat
in cradle, etc.) (FM) (BC)
Twister, jumping, jump rope, hopscotch, etc. (GM)
Participate in various structured sports (GM) (BC)
Ball skills development (BC) (GM)
Running, karate, swimming (GM) (BC)
Drawing, writing, playing cards, dominos, etc. (FM, BC)
Cross word puzzles (FM, VP)
Search and find games (i.e. where’s Waldo) (VP)
Increase sensory experiences in a fun way such as cooking, swimming, playing with various textures
such as sand, beans, jello, glue, putty, play doh, etc
individualized play such as hide and seek, charades, etc. (VP)(GM)
Dot to Dot worksheets or games (VP) (FM)
Hidden pictures (VP) (FM)
Visual memory games
provide visuals to assist with daily tasks (i.e. schedule or chore board)
Matching games such as concentration (VP)(FM)
Connect four (VP)(FM)
Origami (VP)(FM)
Maze - car, truck, etc. (FM)(VP)
Playing a stringed instrument (FM)(BC)
Encourage your child to provide directions to commonly attended places such as the grocery store,
park or school (VP)
OT Grid Key:
(VP) Visual Perception
(GM) Gross Motor
(FM) Fine Motor
(BC) Bilateral Coordination
Speech and Language Take Home Strategies for Parents
Natalie Cohen, M.A., CCC-SLP
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[email protected]
781-879-4466
Speak slowly and pay attention to enunciate (A,F, AP)
If you make an error, start over again or try to fix the error (A, F, EL, G/S, SS)
Break it up (e.g., sounds, syllables, words, sentences, paragraphs, situations…) (A, F, RL, EL, G/S, AP, SS)
Role play or practice ahead of time (A, F, RL, EL, G/S, SS)
Ask for repetitions (RL, AP, SS)
Repeat to self (RL- AP)·
Visualize in your head (RL-AP, V, HLL, SS)
Draw or build it (RL, EP, V)
Make associations (RL, EP, V, HLL, SS)
Write down directions or to do lists (RL, AP)
Make lists and charts (RL, AP)
Summarize lengthy information (RL, EL, AP, SS)
Think of a synonym/antonym (RL, EL, V, HLL)
Describe it (EL, V, HLL)
Look up or ask the meaning (RL, V, HLL, SS)
Try to figure out the meaning based on the context ((RL, V, HLL)
Once you know the meaning, use word in a meaningful context (EL, V, HLL,SS)
Create an outline or use a graphic organizer (EL, G/S, SS)
Ask wh- questions (RL, EL, AP, HLL, SS)
Try to put yourself in the other’s shoes (RL, HLL, SS)
Pretend play enriches all levels of communication
Foster perspective taking with books, movies, real life situations, TV shows, short animated no
speaking films. Then ask your child to tell you:
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o
o
What they think is happening and will happen next.
What they think the character(s) might be feeling.
What they think the character(s) might be thinking to themselves.
SLP Grid Key:
(A) Articulation (F) Fluency
(RL) Receptive Language
(EL) Expressive Language
(V) Vocabulary
(G/S) Grammar/Syntax
(AP) Auditory Processing and Memory
(HLL) Higher Level Language – figurative language, multiple meanings, sarcasm, jokes, problem solving
(SS) Pragmatic Language/Social Skills- body language, conversations, emotions, perspective taking
Make it Playful with Games for OT and SLP
Anything that they enjoy doing can be paired with practice to further their development. Some games can be used
where they practice a specific skill
SLP example: Before they take a turn in the game (e.g., make a sound, give a definition, provide something within
a category, allow them to say something in a cloze phrase)
OT example: Before they take a turn in the game (e.g., move the board piece) have your child look where the next
area is to go, strategize visually what move the opponent will make
Ex. of no materials needed:
20 Questions, Telephone, following directions to create something, I Spy, Charades,
Simon Says, add a word or sentence to build a story, create a song, tongue twister (classics or make up your own), I
Am Going on a Picnic, Guess who or what I am describing?, Would you rather?, What’s better? What would you do
if?
Ex. of materials needed:
Card games (e.g., Go Fish,UNO), Rat-A-Tat, Jenga, Storyland, Candyland, Chutes and
Ladders, Connect 4, Checkers, Let’s Go Fishing, Hungry Hungry Hippo, Trouble, Break the Ice, Operation, 20
Questions game, Ring toss, building blocks, Legos, Apples to Apples, Battleship, Blurt, Guess Who, Guesstures,
Memory, Outburst, Scattergories, Hedbanz, Spot It!, SeCranium games
App recommendations
Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame
Smart Apps For Kids
Color and Draw for Kids
Popplet
Dexteria
Hamaguchi apps
Handwriting without Tears: Wet-Dry-Try
Writing Wizard
Parent electronic resources
www.AOTA.org - American Occupational Therapy Association
www.cdc.gov - Center for Disease Control and Prevention
www.researchautism.org - Organization for Autism Research
www.asha.org - American Speech and Language Association
www.playingwithwords365.com - Playing With Words 365
www.ldonline.org - LD (Language Disorders) Online