We received a question from an OT practitioner working in the schools: What are some simple proprioceptive activities that I can do with my students that don’t require a lot of space or equipment?
Tune in for a discussion all about proprioception and get some new ideas for using heavy work and deep pressure in the school setting.
Make sure to check out all of our links below!
We’d love to answer your questions on the podcast! Fill out this form -> https://harkla.typeform.com/to/ItWxQNP3
Brought To You By Harkla
This podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives. We accomplish this through high-quality sensory products, & child development courses.
Podcast listeners get 10% off their first order at Harkla with the discount code "sensory". Head to Harkla.co/sensory to start shopping now.
Links
All Things Sensory Podcast Instagram
Harkla YouTube Channel
Harkla Website - Shop Sensory Products!
Harkla Instagram
How to Use the Harkla Weighted Compression Vest
Mini Trampoline
10 Activities with a Mini Trampoline
Free Heavy Work Handout
Sensational Brain - Heavy Work for Teens and Children in School
We received a question from an OT practitioner working in the schools: What are some simple proprioceptive activities that I can do with my students that don’t require a lot of space or equipment?
Tune in for a discussion all about proprioception and get some new ideas for using heavy work and deep pressure in the school setting.
Make sure to check out all of our links below!
We’d love to answer your questions on the podcast! Fill out this form -> https://harkla.typeform.com/to/ItWxQNP3
Brought To You By Harkla
This podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives. We accomplish this through high-quality sensory products, & child development courses.
Podcast listeners get 10% off their first order at Harkla with the discount code "sensory". Head to Harkla.co/sensory to start shopping now.
Links
All Things Sensory Podcast Instagram
Harkla YouTube Channel
Harkla Website - Shop Sensory Products!
Harkla Instagram
How to Use the Harkla Weighted Compression Vest
Mini Trampoline
10 Activities with a Mini Trampoline
Free Heavy Work Handout
Sensational Brain - Heavy Work for Teens and Children in School
Proprioceptive activities are calming to the nervous system. They're very organizing. I just feel like it's one of the most important and it's the one that is so regulating for so many people. And so the reason why we want to incorporate these proprioceptive or these heavy work activities into the classroom and into the daily routine of school, is because so many kids are just overwhelmed, overstimulated, just needing more input, and so we can meet their high sensory threshold. We can kind of regulate their arousal level by using these proprioceptive based tasks with equipment, without equipment, on their own, we can teach them how to advocate for their sensory needs, and give them the tools that they need in order to pick an activity. Do a chair push up and regulate their needs and carry on with their day.
Rachel:I'm Rachel.
Jessica:And I'm Jessica and this is All Things Sensory by Harkla.
Rachel:We are both certified occupational therapy assistants and together with Harkla, we are on a mission to empower parents, therapists, and educators to help raise confident and strong children of all abilities.
Jessica:On this podcast, we chat about all things sensory. Diving into special needs occupational therapy, parenting, self care, overall health and wellness and so much more.
Rachel:We're here to provide raw, honest, and fun strategies, ideas and information for parents, therapists, and educators as well as other professionals to implement into daily life.
Jessica:Thank you so much for joining us.
Rachel:Hello, hello, everyone. Welcome to All Things Sensory by Harkla. You're listening to your good friends, Rachel and Jessica. We're so happy to have you here today! Back for another episode we have, gosh, so many episodes now it's crazy.
Jessica:We're in the 300s.
Rachel:It's crazy.
Jessica:Yeah, killing it. Today, we're going to answer a question from an OT practitioner who works in the schools and this person asked for ideas for proprioception, heavy work activities in the classroom, in the school setting, for the classroom, but also for when kids are pulled out for OT sessions and specifically like non-equipment ones. Because oftentimes schools don't have the equipment. So we put together a list of our favorite activities that are proprioceptive based, that can be used in the school, in the classroom, in the hallway, in the gym, PE, and then in like a smaller office or a therapy room. And if you do find this episode helpful, and if you work in the schools, then check out our classroom course. Because we do have a full length digital course, where we teach you about sensory processing, and then give you an entire toolbox of sensory activities, specifically for the classroom and school settings. We'll link that in the description in the show notes and, just FYI, if you are an OT practitioner, this course is in the process of being approved for continuing education units. So stay tuned for that.
Rachel:Oh, boy. All right. We're going to just start listing some of these activities off. We'llll describe them. A lot of them are things that we have talked about in previous episodes. If you ever have questions about things that we talked about, in our podcast, you can always reach out to us. Just send us a DM on Instagram at all things sensory podcast, like hey, what the heck is bubble mountain and then we'll either send a video to or explain it to you. If it doesn't make sense today.
Jessica:Okay, speaking of bubble mountain, that's our first one. This one is a great regulation activity because it promotes deep breathing and provides a lot of proprioceptive input to the oral structures. This one could be used in like, I don't know, maybe a preschool, kindergarten classroom as a fun little activity. And you know, teachers you can get really creative with these and figure out how to incorporate these into other classrooms as well. But I could totally see a speech therapist or an OT in the schools doing bubble mountain with their kids that they pull out as like the beginning or end of their session before the child goes back. But bubble mountain is where you have a bowl or container of some sort, you fill it up about halfway with water, squirt some dish soap in, and then use a straw to blow bubbles.
Rachel:It's so visually rewarding as well. That's one of the best things about it.
Jessica:Yep.
Rachel:The next one is the steamroller with a therapy ball or with pillows. And again, this is another one of our favorites because the child lays down on the ground on the mat and if you have a therapy ball, you can roll that therapy ball with some good firm pressure over their back ,over their legs, over their arms, avoiding their head. If you don't have a therapy ball, you could use pillows, you could use blankets, you could use, you know, stuffed animals from a cozy corner. Really whatever is meaningful and available. Let the child identify how much pressure they want. You can ask them do you want me to push harder or softer? And they can kind of guide that therapy intervention. But again, this one's one of my favorites to have done to me. So have the kiddo steamroll you, if possible, afterwards, and you'll both be feeling lovely.
Jessica:Lovely. The next one is chewing gum. This is typically not applicable in the classroom. But this could be great for an OT session where the child, student is able to chew a piece of chewing gum during their OT session, and it helps them feel regulated. I know this is true for my son. He's an oral seeker. He loves to chew. So gum is his go to and when he's chewing gum, he is.
Rachel:Can accomplish anything.
Jessica:Yeah, he's much more regulated.
Rachel:That's how I am too. I have to have my chewing gum.
Jessica:Do you have it right now?
Rachel:No, I put it right there to have later because I ate.
Jessica:Oh, you did just eat a crunchy snack.
Rachel:Yeah. Again, also regulate. Oh, my goodness. Okay, the next one is tug of war. I know that sounds wild. But really, you can do tug of war in any way. I like using something like a piece of lycraor a lycra tube and it just provides more feedback, more resistance, more and it's just like more forgiving. And if you have a lycra tube, then you can both almost like get inside the tube and play tug of war with your full body rather than just your hands. You can have the child try to pull you in it. If you're both in it, they're running or like moving away from you and you're providing resistance, kind of holding them back. You know those exercises at the gym where they put the parachute thing on you and you have to like run and the parachute like fills up with air as you're running to slow you down and provide more resistance. Have you seen that before?
Jessica:I've never done that before.
Rachel:They used to do to like sports training clinics and stuff. That's what I'm envisioning for this one just without the parachute. But if you have a parachute, strap that bad boy on and have the child run.
Jessica:The next one, are using weighted items. So a weighted vest, a weighted compression vest, weighted blanket, a weighted lap pad, ankle weights, wrist weights,. Weighted items provide that proprioceptive input because they're heavier and, specifically, when you're using that weighted vest, make sure you have the okay from the family. This is something that needs to be communicated back and forth with the family and the teacher that you're using. If you are a teacher listening to this, make sure you get the recommendation from the school based OT on when to use the way that items, how long to use the weighted items. Our rule of thumb is usually 15 to 20 minutes on, and then take it off for 30-40 minutes. Because we don't want the weighted items on the child for an extended extended period of time. Because then the body doesn't learn how to process that input and regulate so that weight helps the nervous system regulate for a period of time even after it's removed. So I think we have a YouTube video on using specifically using the weighted Harkla weighted compression vest. We'll link that, but we do talk about like recommendations and wear schedules in that video. So we'll link that in the show notes.
Rachel:The next one is another favorite. This one we call therapy ball kicks. The child has laid on their back, they're in supine, and they're going to bring their knees kind of to their chest and then you're going to toss a ball to them. Ideally like a therapy ball, something that gives a little bit of resistance, and they're going to time it and they're going to kick that ball back to you. And you can make this really fun by having them try to kick it hard and knock you over. You can be really dramatic about it and really fun and then you can switch and have them try to throw the ball to you and you can gently kick it to them and see if they can catch it. But it's a fun, like connection activity as well. A good rapport building activity and it provides some good input to the legs and the lower body. Helpful for reflex integration. This one just works on so many wonderful areas all in one.
Jessica:The next one you don't need any equipment for this. This one is super great for the classroom, school, going down the halls, transitions, and that is animal walks. Things like the bear walk, where you're walking on your hands and your feet. A crab walk ,where it's like the reverse. So you're on your hands and your feet but your bellies in the air kind of like the bridge. You could do a wheelbarrow walk, where you are holding the students legs, and they are walking forward on their hands. Just making sure that you are keeping their trunk and their hips and their legs in more of a neutral position so that they get good activation throughout their entire body. You could do frog hops,. That was a lot of proprioceptive input, but it can also be alerting because it's a lot of vestibular input so just keep that in mind. But anytime you're doing animal walks, you're really stimulating that proprioceptive system because they're getting a lot of heavy work throughout the muscles and the joints.
Rachel:The next one is medicine ball slams. I did this one at the gym this morning. It was really regulating. You're going to grab a medicine ball; ideally, in like a gym or a larger space or maybe outside, where it's not going to be too distracting. Grab a medicine ball, have them squat low, good form, pick it up, slam it down. Pick it up, throw it over their shoulder if it's not too heavy. Pick it up and carry it across the room. Medicine balls are great just to have on hand because it's just a heavy item for them to carry and sometimes kids just need to feel grounded by carrying something heavy. And you just want to make sure that their form is good during this one, like their their upper body isn't just like slouched over, they're activating their core, and their back and their trunk, and the ball isn't too heavy. So keep that in mind. But if you have a medicine ball on hand, you are golden.
Jessica:I was gonna say a lot of our kids that are going to need these activities probably have low muscle tone, decreased endurance, and strength. So they're probably going to start out with poor form with these medicine ball activities. So like Rachel said, identifying if the ball is too heavy, and decreasing the weight. So if you can have medicine balls of multiple different weights available is very helpful to start and it's great to just work on that body awareness and their understanding of these are your core muscles. These are your leg muscles. Use video feedback or visual feedback with a mirror to show them what their body is doing in the moment. Okay, next one, carry a stack of books. This could be as a transition between classes, a transition between activities, this could be a challenge, maybe you're going to challenge the student to carry a stack of books on their head, and they have to try to balance. Oh, you know how you try to balance the book on your head?
Rachel:Yes, let's just add four books on there.
Jessica:Maybe not four large books, but you know what I'm saying. But just carrying something heavy. Again, we're just using what we have when we're saying books.
Rachel:Love that one are four books. The next one is using a lycra tunnel or a body sock. A lycra tunnel is just a tunnel made of that lycra, stretchy material. It is beneficial because it gets kids crawling, and it changes the visual. It provides proprioceptive input because it provides just a little bit of that compression. One of our favorite activities is to grab something and push it through. Bonus points, if it's larger than the tunnel and like a therapy ball and they have to like push and pull and kick and really like maneuver that ball through the tunnel. Great for perseverance as well and then the next one is a body sock. And we know what body socks are. We love them. It's just a.
Jessica:Sock for your body.
Rachel:I'm trying to like is it a is it a rectangle that you get into?
Jessica:Oh, yeah, totally in the shape of a rectangle.
Rachel:With a hole in it and you climb in. You can zip it up if you want or you can leave your head out and you can push against it, you can pull against it, you can run in it. I'll never forget when we were at our conference in August last year with Harkla.
Jessica:I have a video of this somewhere.
Rachel:That'd be a great one for this episode. We were racing down the large conference halls in body socks and I'll never forget just walking around that conference in a body sock. It was a great conversation starter and I just felt so regulated and organized afterwards. You know when you're in a hotel room, not a hotel room, like a hotel hallway and it's just you just want to run?
Jessica:Yeah.
Rachel:Do you feel that? Like that was that feeling that I had. I felt like a kid just like I am going to run as fast as I can down this long hallway on the carpet.
Jessica:Yes.
Rachel:So it was great, highly recommend.
Jessica:The next one is a combination vestibular and proprioceptive activity. So wall walkups. This is where you put your hands on the floor, then you're maybe like, I don't know two or three feet away from the wall.and you walk your feet up the wall. So you're in an inverted position, but not quite a handstand, and you have to hold your entire body up against gravity. So there's that proprioceptive input. It's vestibular as well, because you're getting your head into a different position. But I think ultimately, this one is enough proprioceptive input, holding your body weight up, that it's not too alerting from the vestibular. So it can be a great one.
Rachel:I like that one a lot. It's hard for me. Okay, next one. Similar. We're just going to, we kind of call this one make the room bigger because for kids, we need to make it engaging and fun and silly. So what we're going to do is push the wall or do wall push ups and what you can do with making the room bigger. We can be silly and say, Okay, we're gonna try to make the room bigger. Push it, push it, push it, and then you can say, oh, my gosh, I can see it moving, the walls are gonna fall down, yada, yada. And you can push with your hands, with your shoulder, with your back, with your legs, you can get into all sorts of different positions. You can you just challenge them to try to push the wall, make the room bigger, make the wall fall over, be silly about it. Be fun. But a lot, a lot of input comes from this one activity, especially if you use different body parts. Like oh, it's not working with your hands, you need your back. Push your back against it, or oh, your backs broken. Now we got to use your feet push against it, and making it really exciting.
Jessica:The next one is a wall sit. This one is so hard for me. But I mean, this is the traditional exercise, righ? You lean against the wall, you set your feet, you squat down so that you are in a good 90-90-90 position. Your ankles are flexed at 90 degrees with your feet flat on the floor, your knees are flexed at 90 degrees, your hips are flexed at 90 degrees. So you're almost like you're sitting on a chair, but you're leaning against the wall with no support. and this can be a good challenge to see how long the child can hold it. Time them. See if they can beat their time from last week. See if they can be you. Can they play catch while they're in the wall sit? Can they pop bubbles with their hands while they're in a wall sit? Get creative for different ways to engage them while they're in the wall sit activity.
Rachel:I was just thinking. If you are the both of you, or if you have a group and you are all against the wall, and you're all holding your wall sit and you have a medicine ball or a ball and you're like passing it back and forth between everyone or you pass it and then the person on the end gets up and runs to the other end and then sits on the wall and then you pass the ball and have to keep it going in a in a line like that.
Jessica:That would be fun for the classroom for sure.
Rachel:Ooh, yeah. See, okay, here we go. Alright, the next one does require equipment. But if you are in an OT room or a sensory room and you have this piece of equipment, it's going to be golden. That is jumping on a trampoline. If you have a mini trampoline or the rebound trampoline. I really liked the rebound. trampolines because they just they really do the"boing boing" real good.
Jessica:The boing boing.
Rachel:That's what Triipp calls it. The boing boing. The boing boing.
Jessica:I don't know why that's so funny. Boing, boing.
Rachel:Mom, can we do the boing, boing, please? I think it's so cute. So jumping on trampoline. Those are also great for multi-sensory activities too, multi-sensory learning activities. You can work on spelling words, jumping on every other beat or every other jump. It can be your own personal metronome. You can do math facts, passing a ball while you're throwing it. You could even grab it your medicine ball or just a regular ball and turn your trampoline at an angle and lean it against the wall and then put a target in the middle of the trampoline and they have to throw the ball at the trampoline and then catch it on the return. Really challenging, really fun, more motivating. I mean, whenever kids get to throw heavy things at a trampoline, it's always exciting.
Jessica:We do have a YouTube video with I think it's 10 activities with a mini trampoline. We will put that in the show notes because that's a great video. The next one is using a crash pad or a large beanbag chair. This is great to have in the classroom. This is great to have in the therapy room as a tool to use to like decompress, to take a quick sensory break, or if the student really needs that proprioceptive input. They can push it down the hallway as part of their therapy session. Can they crawl under it and get squished? Safely, of course. Can they roll it? Can they jump and crash onto it? Lots of different ways for them to get some proprioceptive input with a crash pad or a large beanbag chair.
Rachel:So that was our preliminary list. Now we wanted to share a few others. These are more for our older kiddos or teenagers who might need more specific function based activities. Use that include proprioceptive components, that a kiddo doesn't necessarily know that they are getting heavy work. It's just their task or their activity that they're doing for the day.
Jessica:That being said, I do think it is important to teach our kids that these activities are beneficial for their nervous system. So, maybe they don't initially know what it's for, but once they get in the habit of some of these more heavy work activities and it's helping them. Then we can talk to them and explain to them well, why these activities are helpful, and maybe have them create a list of the heavy work activities that they enjoy and the ones that they want to do and then they have a list of options.
Rachel:And they should create a list of the things that they can do at home as well.
Jessica:Yes.
Rachel:Alright. So the first one is to stick a tennis ball on the end of a broomstick or on some sort of stick and have the kids use it to scrub off the linoleum. Like they have those like black marks that get stuck on the gym floor or the linoleum or the tile and use that tennis ball to scrub the marks off the linoleum. I just think that's wild, like kids would never think that it's heavy work related or they're using it to organize their nervous system, but.
Jessica:Just like mopping and vacuuming and sweeping are forms of heavy work.
Rachel:Yeah, yeah.
Jessica:The next one is to have the students carry a crate full of books to the library. Switch out for other books, like maybe that's their job for a specific class is to take the books back and forth from the library or another classroom.
Rachel:Clean the whiteboards. We know that whiteboards have great opportunities for heavy work or chalkboards. If there's ever chalkboards in schools anymore.
Jessica:Oh gosh, chalkboards are so great.
Rachel:But you can do a multi-step activity using different colored cloths. You can do vertical motions with the red cloth. You can go over the board again with the blue cloth in like a horizontal position and then you could spray the board and wipe it down using a circular motion with a white cloth. And you can give them those instructions, you can write them down, and just really make sure it is clean. And we are getting a lot of upper body work on this one.
Jessica:You can have the student, this again, this could be like their job in the classroom to go collect lunch orders. You know, I think all schools do it a little bit differently. So it just kind of depends. But maybe their job is to go between classes and classrooms to take lunch orders or to get supply lists or anything like that. But honestly, walking is a proprioceptive activity. Just walking.
Rachel:It's one of my favorites, actually.
Jessica:Yes.
Rachel:The next one, you could have the child be the water person. You can have them carry all the water bottles in a backpack out to the playground, on a tray, in a basket. Give them a job. Kids love to help they love to have jobs. They love to feel needed and bonus points if that job includes heavy work.
Jessica:Rachel, did your high school have a weight room?
Rachel:Yep.
Jessica:So did mine.
Rachel:Yeah.
Jessica:So there's our next one is to get these students into the weight room. Ideally, I know many of you might know that I listen to podcasts about weightlifting and working out. Weightlifting is one of my all time favorite things and I just think that all kids, all students, should be introduced to lifting weights. So I think it should be instead of it being like an elective, it should be a prerequisite. But since it's not teachers, OTs ,anyone in the classroom, school setting let's get these students into the weight room. daily, weekly. Teach them how to lift some weights. Teach them how to hold their body weight up against gravity in a plank or a straight arm hanging on the bar. How to squat. How to overhead press. Like these are all simple movements that everyone almost everyone can do with or without weight that is going to be calming to the nervous system, but also have other benefits.
Rachel:If you have track and field, if you have the pole vault area close by school, you can always go take your kiddos outside. Pole vault, not pole vault. Jump on the crash pad.
Jessica:Pole vaults if they can.
Rachel:Yeah, exactly. Just hand them a pole let them go wild. But jumping on that pole vaul crash pad is a really great heavy work activity. Plus, bonus points because you're taking them outside and if you could just take all your kids outside every day. They would be fantastic. But yeah, try it out.
Jessica:The next one is to use a stationary bike. If classrooms had stationary bikes or maybe the OT room has a stationary bike.
Rachel:Or the stationary bike pedals that go under the desk.
Jessica:Maybe the weight room has a stationary bike or the PE, the gym area. Using that is a great tool to get some movement and some proprioceptive input.
Rachel:Another one that I am currently very obsessed with is pull ups and straight arm hangs from a bar. Just letting the spine get so much traction is like just beautiful way to get proprioceptive input and honestly so many kids can't even hold their body weight on a bar. That was something that we would work on in the OT clinic constantly. So just straight arm hanging and then some kids get really motivated by those challenges, like okay, let's practice doing our pull ups, and they get really motivated on on building those skills. So you can go to the gym, the gymnasium.
Jessica:Is that what you call the gym?
Rachel:Yeah, but not like the weightlifting gym just like.
Jessica:The basketball court kind.
Rachel:Exactly. Yeah.
Jessica:Yeah. The next one is wall push ups or regular push ups or in I mean, we already talked about weightlifting, but any bodyweight exercise. Anything, literally, anything that's working the muscles is the proprioceptive input and you can do wall push ups, regular push ups, knee push ups, chair, push ups, sit ups, anything.
Rachel:Yep. You know, while we're in the gymnasium, or the basketball court, whatever we're going to call it, fill up the cart that has all of the basketballs on it, push it around, pull it around, slide it back and forth to each other. If you can sneak into the gym, you can do a lot of functional activities.
Jessica:We're not advocating for sneaking to the gym when you're not supposed to be there. Just FYI. Don't get into trouble.
Rachel:Oh, geez, Rachel and Jessica told me to do it.
Jessica:The next one would be you know, the equipment that the football players use. The big things that they like, run into? Whatever they're called.
Rachel:Yeah.
Jessica:Yeah.
Rachel:What are they called?
Jessica:Use those for some great.
Rachel:Blockers. The sleds.
Jessica:Use the equipment that the football players use, the track people use.
Rachel:The track people.
Jessica:Track stars use. Let's move on. We already talked about ankle weights and wrist weights. The next one is putting theraband around the legs of the chair or the desk so that the students have a little foot fidget that provides a little bit of proprioceptive input.
Rachel:Carrying a heavy backpack between classes. Again, this is pretty straightforward, but you can really load the backpack up with some heavy items if the child needs a little bit more input. Just be cautious with this one similar to a weighted vest or a weighted blanket. Just make sure that body mechanics are okay when they are carrying a heavy backpack and they're not slouching and they're not hyper extended, and we're just. Safety first.
Jessica:The next one would be to help clean the cafeteria. Move the tables, sweep, mop. This is great functional life skill activity that's also proprioceptive based.
Rachel:Stacking supplies, organizing materials, putting toilet paper on shelves, paper towels, canned food, water bottles, food, juice, snacks, just helping to organize those things. Lifting them up higher on the shelves, putting them down under the shelves, really just a simple way of getting the kiddo involved, and again, giving them that functional task and to let them be helpful.
Jessica:Cleaning or rearranging gym equipment, therapy equipment, stacking chairs, moving the mats, moving the tables, doing like the before and after setup for an assembly is super great.
Rachel:I thought you were going to say do a before and after picture.
Jessica:I mean, that might be helpful.
Rachel:Do a time lapse.
Jessica:Well, no, I was gonna say having a before and after picture would be helpful to know where things go.
Rachel:Yes, yes. But kids are so motivated by like taking videos and seeing their trip or an after. So a time lapse might be fun for your kiddo to try. Gardening. Again, go outside, plant flowers, move things in a wheelbarrow if anyone has a wheelbarrow at school. I don't know, maybe the janitor might. Maybe?
Jessica:Maybe it can just be part of the classroom instruction or if you are a therapist working in the schools, maybe you have a wheelbarrow or mini wheelbarrow and it's part of your session.
Rachel:Yeah, but just getting outside putting your hands in the in the earth. Digging, using equipment if needed. Moving rocks, pushing, pulling, getting messy.
Jessica:You know, we I think we kind of already touched on this one ,but pushing the lunch cart, helping out in the cafeteria, stacking chairs for assemblies or different programs and events that are happening. Those kinds of things. Again, we've already said this, but it's the life skill activities, combined with the calming proprioceptive input.
Rachel:Yeah, I think what's so fascinating. What I commonly think about in my weird brain of mine is how often I see people's jobs matching up with their sensory needs. Like I was at the bank the other day, and it was really quiet and really calm. And there's not a lot of activity, you're standing there, you're helping people out, and there's not a lot of input. So really, I mean, people who work at banks probably aren't sensory seekers.
Jessica:Hopefully not.
Rachel:Because they would be in a world of hurt. I was just thinking like, I would go crazy if I was working in an environment like this.
Jessica:Absolutely.
Rachel:You know? And for other people who maybe have more sensory needs, and they're seeking input, they're driving garbage trucks and they are playing sports, and they're, what else? What other jobs are there?
Jessica:Did you say therapists?
Rachel:There are therapists? Yeah, exactly. So I just think that's interesting. And you can kind of see those preferences for our teens, for adolescents, in school, and you can teach them about those needs and like, hey, yeah, you love to move. Like, let's find you a job that meets that need. Maybe you can be a pole vaulter and get a lot of input that way.
Jessica:There you go. Yes.
Rachel:We hope this episode was helpful. We hope you enjoyed it. We hope you loved and learn something new and we will link both of these free handouts that we use for this episode, we will link these in the show notes. So that way, you can take them, print them off, use them, don't abuse them, and just really go make a difference and the kids you work with.
Jessica:If this episode was helpful, let us know. Send us a message. Take a screenshot of this episode, tag us on all things sensory podcast on Instagram. If you do some of these activities, and they are beneficial in the school setting, let us know. We'd love to hear feedback on what's working, what's not working, that kind of thing. So, let us know. Leave us a review. Share this with a friend and we'll talk to you next time.
Rachel:Okay, bye. Thank you so much for listening to All Things Sensory by Harkla.
Jessica:If you want more information on anything mentioned in the show, head over to Harkla.co/podcast to get the show notes.
Rachel:If you have any follow up questions, the best place to ask those is in the comments, on the show notes, or message us on our Instagram account which is at Harkla_family or at all things sensory podcast. If you just search Harkla, you'll find us there.
Jessica:Like we mentioned before our podcast listeners get 10% off their first order at Harkla. Whether it's for one of our digital courses or one of our sensory swings, the discount code sensory will get you 10% off. That's sensory.
Rachel:Head to Harkla.co/sensory to use that discount code right now.
Jessica:We are so excited to work together to help create confident kids all over the world. While we make every effort to share correct information, we're still learning.
Rachel:We will double check all of our facts but realize that medicine is a constantly changing science and art.
Jessica:One doctor or therapist may have a different way of doing things from another.
Rachel:We are simply presenting our views and opinions on how to address common sensory challenges, health related difficulties, and what we have found to be beneficial that will be as evidence based as possible.
Jessica:By listening to this podcast you agree not to use this podcast as medical advice, to treat any medical condition in either yourself or your child.
Rachel:Consult your child's pediatrician or therapist for any medical issues that he or she may be having.
Jessica:This entire disclaimer also applies to any guests or contributors to the podcast.
Rachel:Thanks so much for listening