Theraputty- the hand workout!

What is THERAPUTTY?

Theraputty has multiple uses and is a popular exercise putty used by Occupational Therapists (OT). It is similar to playdough however it is non oily, brightly colored, non-toxic, non-sticky putty which is fun to mold and stretch, hide coins or small toys and play hide and seek! It not only works on a variety of skills such as dexterity, improving grip strength, hand strengthening through finger, hand and wrist resistance exercises but it is also lots of fun!

Theraputty comes in its own plastic container and in various grades of firmness ranging from XX-soft to X-firm. It is recommended that you use the colour your therapist recommends or start softer until your kids builds up their hand strength and skills. The levels of resistance or firmness are colour coded as follows (this may vary depending on brand):



Theraputty takes the shape of whatever container it is in, a 'gravitational' material; leave it in the container when not in use as it can stick to clothing etc and can be difficult to remove. 

Why use Theraputty? 

There are many uses of theraputty including building hand and finger strength which helps kids develop their handwriting grip or grip for dressing skills e.g. closing or opening buttons.

Theraputty improves dexterity and fine motor skills often after hand injury. Theraputty is often used as a calming manipulative tool and as a distraction tool or fidget option.

Theraputty is also used during sensory play and can provide sensory tactile input, which can help to calm kids by allowing them to self-regulate. Carrying out the following hand activities prior to fine motor or drawing tasks helps the child’s hands prepare for activity. The exercises are aimed at increasing the tactile and proprioceptive sensory messages the child receives from their hands. By doing this the child will have an increased sensory awareness of what their hand muscles and joints are doing


Theraputty activities:

1. Flatten theraputty with your fingers/palm to make a pancake
2. Hide beads or coins in the theraputty then allow your child to seek them out (like a treasure hunt)
3. Roll a sausage with one hand (benefits hand dominance)
4. Roll a sausage with two hands (benefits bilateral coordination)
5. Chop up the theraputty with a scissors and 'feed' the cubes of theraputty to an animal teddy!
6. Pinch the theraputty between your index finger and thumb (pincer grip)
7. Roll out the theraputty then contruct the letters of your name
8. Put a ball of theraputty on your palm and squeeze the ball using thumb and fingers
9. Did you read my blog post on pciky eating, well if you did you'd remember one of the major steps in overcoming picky eating is food play with a variety of textures, why not make a dinner with the theraputty? you could add toppings to the 'pancake' or make a pizza base then pinch bits of theraputty off and add them to the top of the pizza!

Below I have included therapy exercises: 



Click here to get the PDF:
https://patienteducation.osumc.edu/Documents/thra-put.pdf

The Oral Sensory System

ORAL MOTOR SENSORY INPUT

Some kids struggle with processing and responding to the oral sensory information they encounter and experience in everyday life. They may be hypersensitive or under sensitive to oral input, causing them to be resistant to oral sensory experiences like trying new foods or brushing their teeth.

How it works:

We all have sensory receptors in our mouths which allows us to perceive sensations like texture (smooth/crunchy), temperature (hot/cold) and taste (sweet/sour etc). Our brains also receive proprioception (another sensory system) for example from the joint in our jaw as we chew different foods with different textures e.g. a chewy sweet, a pretzel etc. Oral sensory processing

also impacts the way we move our mouth (e.g. talking), control our saliva, and produce sound for speech.

What is healthy oral sensory processing?

Kids with healthy oral sensory systems generally are not fussy eaters and eat a variety of foods with a combination of different tastes and textures.They are often willing to try new foods within reason and can tolerate eating foods with a range of textures and tastes. In addition, kids with healthy sensory processing can tolerate tooth brushing and visits to the dentist with little complaint. They do not seek excessive input into their mouth to regulate like biting or chewing objects.

What are some of oral sensory processing problems?

As said above, some kids struggle with processing and responding appropriately to oral sensory input they encounter in everyday life. If they experience a heightened response to sensory oral input kids often avoid certain food textures and can be described as 'fussy eaters' and often have limited diets. In addition, these kids may refuse to use cutlery as they dislike the feeling of a spoon or fork in their mouths.This resistance to oral input can be accompanied by emotional outbursts, making mealtimes a stressful place for all! Kids are often referred to specialised feeding clinics to help them overcome this issue.

On the other hand, children can experience decreased sensitivity to oral sensory input (hyposensitivity).  These children may require more oral sensory input in order to help them organise their behavior and pay attention. Examples of this include kids who may chew, bite or mouth non-food items like hands, wrists, clothing, pencils, toys to mention a few. These kids are constantly looking for oral input to help them regulate. They may even make clicking, buzzing or humming noises to increase oral input.  

Having the right and most appropriate intervention in place is paramount, client centered intervention is usually recommended by an OT. Here I share some general tips and tricks and activities I often recommend to parents when faced with this issue. Please note these activities are not specifically recommended for your child. 

Oral sensory input can affect a child’s levels of arousal and potentially even change behaviors, helping a child become more regulated and engaged in everyday life.

Alerting Oral Sensory Activities for the kids that are hyposensitive 

These activities provide the sensory input kids need to focus and attend better at home and at school. 

1. Vibration (electric/vibration toothbrush, vibrating toys on cheeks/lips)
2. Blow bubbles
3. Drink a thick liquid (smoothie etc) from a straw 
4. Eat crunchy foods e.g. carrots, nuts, apples, chips, pretzels, popcorn, raw veggies, toast, graham crackers, granola
5. Eat chewy foods e.g. dried fruit
6. Suck on hard sweets/chew gum
7. Eat cold foods like ice pops
8. Make an edible necklace with cereal etc
9. Blow bubbles in water with a straw
10. Blow out candles
11. Whistle or hum to a song
12. Roll tongue into a circle
13. Play straw games (use a straw to blow objects across a table)
14. Play with making faces with a handheld or imitating others’ funny faces: open mouth wide, sticking tongue out, smiling, frowning, filling cheeks up with air
15. Eating snacks with sour/sweet tastes e.g. chewy sweets, lemon, lime or grapefruit
16. Eating salty snacks (e.g. chips, pretzels, nuts) -Snacking on cold foods (e.g. ice chips, popsicles, frozen grapes)
17. Trying snacks with intense tastes and temperatures e.g. add spice to food

Calming Oral Sensory Activities for the kids who are hypersensitive

Calming oral sensory activities can help to calm the body  by helping kids to remain in a regulated state so that they can engage appropriately in everyday life.

1. Sucking thicker liquids like milk shakes, smoothies through a straw
2. Drinking from a water bottle with a straw that requires sucking
3. Resistive chewing e.g. chewy sweet
4. Dried fruits, fruit roll ups,, marshmallows, oranges, raisins
5. Blowing bubbles, blowing up balloons, or blowing whistles and other instruments

Oral Sensory Toys

Chewigem Bracelets

Chewigem Pendants

Chewy tubes Ps and Qs

Chewy Wrist Bands

Bite Bands

Battery Powered Toothbrush

Chewable Pencil Toppers

Harmonicas

Camelbak Water Bottles

Party Blowers

Bubbles

What are your favorite oral sensory tips and tricks?  Would love to see some more ideas in the comments below! :)