Starting a pediatric occupational therapy practice can be both exciting and overwhelming as you discover the endless variety of equipment available. Having the right tools for your practice can become a costly exercise and requires careful planning an optimal environment for carrying out client-centered and research therapy.
Here's my list of items to consider when setting up your practice.
Assessment Tools
A therapy process begins with a thorough assessment of the child - their nuances, strengths and concerns. Investing in a comprehensive set of tools might include standardised assessment tests and evaluations tailored for your area of expertise.
Safety Mats
No session can begin without adequate safety measures being put in place. Ensure that your whole space is covered with matting in a variety of sizes and depths. Safety gives children freedom and confidence to explore, fail and try again, to immerse themselves in their environment and test their personal boundaries and limits. Safety matting isn't only for floors and additional wall padding might be required for your space.
Ball Ponds
Ball ponds are a useful and versatile tool with many functions and benefits. They provide a sense of safety and containment whilst encouraging exploration, gross motor development and sensory integration.
Activities include moving within the pond, climbing in and out, jumping into the pond from a platform or gliding in from a trapeze. Ball Ponds can be used for vigorous active play challenges as well as calmer games such as finding hidden items.
Therapists trained in Ayres Sensory Integration may find this piece of equipment key to their practice as it provides vestibular, proprioceptive and tactile input - meeting the elements of the fidelity measure.
Block Sets
Having a Set of Blocks of different shapes and sizes provides endless activities that target sensory processing, bilateral integration, motor planning, gross motor development and positioning. Children love Block Sets that are available in a variety of sizes, shapes and colours to bring excitement to your practice. When choosing colours be mindful of the balance between being stimulated and overwhelmed, limiting colour variety for spaces intended to facilitate calm and regulation.
Therapy Balls
The benefits of Therapy Balls are endless and include developing balance, postural control and core stability. Therapy Balls are available in a variety of sizes as they are a staple for any practice. I recommend getting a variety of different sized Balls if you have the space to store them.
Tunnels
Tunnels promote crawling and the development of spatial relations and body awareness. They also provide deep pressure touch and proprioceptive input. Tunnels are easy to store and kids absolutely love them so try and have a variety of sizes, length and fabrics.
Swings
For the therapists trained in Ayres’ Sensory Integration, a variety of swings is essential. My favourites are the Spandex Hammocks, Trapeze, Platform and Bolster Swings. This simple entry level selection provides endless opportunities for children to engage and develop.
Therapy Toys and Games:
Stock your practice with a variety of age-appropriate toys and games that cater to different developmental needs. These tools make therapy sessions engaging and fun while facilitating skill-building activities.
Fine Motor Skill Development Tools:
Acquire tools that focus on fine motor development such as Pegboards, Tweezers, Beads, Scissors and Theraputty. These items help children improve hand-eye coordination, finger strength and precision.
Therapists favourites:
For my last suggestion and for some fun, I asked 5 therapists the question... 'If your practice was burning down, what is the one piece of equipment you would take with you and why?” Their answers:
Therapist one: “Definitely the platform swing. Super versatile for therapy and durable.”
Therapist two: “Besides myself 😜 I would grab an exercise ball. It is so versatile you can do almost anything with it and address so many core areas. It is also one of the most familiar items to a parent. “
Therapist three: “A swing, as you can use it in lots of different ways to target many different skills.”
Therapist four: “It would absolutely have to be Spandex Clouds, so versatile and so many ways to use them to target different sensory systems and skills.”
Therapist five: “I would grab my Spandex layers as they are very diverse. They can be used to treat proprioception, vestibular, postural control, balance, impulsivity, following instructions etc. You can also attach them in different ways other than just hanging, for example making it into a long rope for the child to pull themselves along while in prone on a scooter board.”
Jennifer Kirk
Occupational Therapist
Bcs Occupational Therapy
Msc Sensory Integration