It seems that so many aids for Special Needs are so expensive. $100 blankets, weighted vests, balls, pads...so much in the catalogs and websites.

What are some aids you use or can find that are frugal?

Our old mini-trampoline is great, as is a bean bag chair. The sensory brush is also great, as is swimming!!!

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When I worked as a Kindergarten teacher, we made weighted socks. We took adult size tube socks, filled them with rice or dried beans and tied them with a tight knot. These were very soothing to some of my students with ADHD and other SN issues. The kids all liked them and we made one for everyone in the class. They worked as great reminders during quiet working times to stay seated. I would just quietly lay one across the lap of a student who was getting "the wiggles". Some kids liked the way they felt draped over their shoulders and others just squished them with their busy little fingers. When they get icky, you can dump the rice in a bowl, wash the sock, and put it back together. HTH....

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Mommy to Bryce 2/20/2005 and Skye 3/4/2008

At OT my 4 yr old DD uses giant clothes line pins to pick up cotton balls, she also uses minature tongs to do the same. Great for eye hand coordination, strengthening her fingers and grasping and fine motor skills. I couldn't finfd the large clothes pins but I did find little tongs in the cooking aisle at walmart.

Also in the abilitations catalog there was a fish bowl with junk floating around in water with a plastic tube for sale. This is used as a calming item and also helps kids learn how to blow. My youngest DD couldn't form her lips to blow and had a hard time sucking with a straw so I found fish tubing and a glass fish bowl. I filled the fish bowl with water and glitter. We started using just the tubing to teach her to blow. It also teaches cause and effect.

We have dowel exercises instruction sheet we got from the OT to help for calming and deep joint pressure. We literally use a wooden dowel we bought from the hardware store and some times we add on the wrist weights on the ends for extra impact. (If any one would like a copy of the excercises pm me with your address). We make these fun by pretending we are Mulan from the Disney movie.

Check out you walmart and target cheap toy aisle for fidget toys. Way cheaper then ordering them. I would suggest requesting a catalog from Abilitations & Physical Education Equipment, PE Equipment, Sensory Stimulation, Activities For Senior Citizens to get ideas. Also do an internet search for sensory integration products and just order catalogs. There are great ideas in the catalogs that you can make at home. Oh yah Welcome to Super Duper Publications! does free shipping.

I found a TON of great ideas in Carol Kranowitz' book "The Out of Sync Child Has Fun".

Prob my son's fave is a big crash pad. I sewed 2 twin flat sheets together (1 printed, 1 plain) and filled them with old blankets, comforters, anything fluffy. He jumps on it, keeps it on the floor so that when he jumps off of something he doesn't get hurt, mushes it around to make a "nest" to snuggle in and watch TV, all sorts of stuff.

I also found that Party America had great cheap stuff on the clearance aisle. We got the tiny clothes pins for 7 cents, all kinds of things to fidget with, lots of stuff.

Also, if fine motor skills are an issue, Gripz snacks. He can have them for snack, but they HAVE to be put in a bowl and picked up one by one. We do this b/c they are kind of expensive. I find them worth the price for the fine motor help. They have sweet and some cheesy flavors.

Also, Southpaw Enterprises has really good prices.

Susie

Susie, thank you. I've never heard of Southpaw, but I need some left handed scissors for my right handed son - he thinks they are easier, and I just haven't checked it out yet.

And the snacks you mentioned - I've never heard of them. Are they in regular grocery stores?

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Make someone's heart smile today.

I love the idea of the weighted tube socks. That would be great for my prek-ers to hold during circle time.
I have made my own weighted vests before, but the socks sound too neat!

An economical way to make a ball pit: buy a blowup swimming pool and then fill it with plastic balls from Walmart or Target (around $10 for a bag of 100). I actually found a jumpolene at a rummage sale and filled it with balls. My DDs like to crash so we let them jump on their minitramp and then jump into the balls. You can also go swimming in the balls, bury yourself or play hide and seek with different objects.

Also for calming take a shallow plastic bin/bowl fill it with water and dish soap. Using a straw make bubbles to see how high you can get the bubbles to grow. Just make sure your child is capable of only blowing air out of the straw and not sucking it in too.

My yongest DD loves to play with Koosh balls but they are hard to find right now. She is 2 and loves to just pull on the individual hairs.

Lastly I found in a catalog a cloth box for DD to sit in. So I ordered it and essentually it was cloth sewn around heavy cardboard. I'm thinking if you were crafty you could take 4 pieces of cardboard and sew/glue fabric (to fit your child) to make the four sides of the box and then use fabric alone for the bottom and connect all 5 pieces together to make your child there own box. You then would be able to fold it up and put it away if need be. Otherwise buy a collapsible storage cube that fits your child and decorate it to their tastes.