Picnic Therapy

As anyone who has a child with special needs knows, we are always thinking about how to incorporate therapy into our everyday activities - and doing so without our children knowing it's therapy.  Early on, our therapy regimen was very intense, but I slowly realized how important it was that therapy be fun and memorable (you may remember hair therapy and cookie therapy).  Really, over time much of it becomes second nature and we don't even think about it as we guide their hands to an object or correct their sitting position.  

A few weeks ago we went to the park for a little picnic and as I looked back over the pictures, I realized how much therapy Ethan was getting while we were enjoying ourselves on the blanket.  Because of his lack of fine motor control and unsteady hands, feeding himself without any assistance takes a long time and is usually pretty messy.  But none of that matters when you're having a picnic!

Owen enjoyed the picnic too

Watching Ethan eat his picnic lunch got me motivated to think of some new activities that would help Ethan with his fine motor skills.  Here he is helping me make chicken salad by putting the little pieces of celery into the bowl.  

And then, a few days later he asked to hold this banana by himself.  Usually, whenever he tries to eat a whole banana he takes a bite that is too big and then gags himself and spits it out.  It's difficult for him to judge the difference between a big bite and a small bite.  He did have problems with his first bite, but after that he ate the rest of the banana all by himself!