Tag: SAHM

Squishy Fidgets

On By justmymomsenseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

We’ve all heard of fidget spinners. It went from being a helpful aid for those with sensory disorders, autism and ADHD, to a hot holiday item that everyone wanted.

I never thought much of it, but in recent months I started to wonder if a fidget would be good for ‘J.’ I wasn’t sure where to start and didn’t feel like a spinner was the right answer for him.

I did some research here and there but never moved forward with the idea. About two weeks ago, ‘J’ started watching TV, reading books, etc. and I noticed his hands would be in his mouth pretty often. This was new and something I was keeping an eye on. I also noticed as he was playing play dough or some other toys he would be testing how it felt on his face. I wasn’t sure if he was requiring more sensory input or if something was bothering him. After talking with him and watching him more, I felt like at times he just needed to do something with his hands. I mentioned it to his Occupational Therapist on Monday and she suggested a fidget. During his session, she gave him a squishy fidget to play with. His hands never went in his mouth and he was excited to play with it. She said img_2017it’s something we could try and told me I could find them on Amazon. Easy enough! Amazon and I have a great relationship.

Right after OT, he has speech. I mentioned it to his speech therapist and she had a smaller fidget with her. She gave it to him to play with and mentioned it might help keep him still. Sometimes he gets…for lack of a better word…fidgety during his session. She also let him know that anytime he wants it, all he has to do is ask.

Now we our very own squishy fidget dinosaur (pictured here as he roars) and a few others to try out. I’m hoping this can be used for calming purposes when needed, gives him the sensory input he sometimes requires and of course for fun!

Click here to purchase the same squishy fidget toy for your family! 

Stand-up Comedian in the Making

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Having a child with an expressive speech delay taught me to appreciate vocal milestones so much more!

A little over a year ago, ‘J’ had no words. Now he’s turning into a stand up comedian!

If your kids are fans of PBS like mine are, than you’ve probably seen Sid the Science Kid. A segment of that show is called “Good Laughternoon,” which seems to have been inspired by Laugh-In’s Joke Wall. Sid and his friends tell jokes on the playground through shape windows on the jungle gym. ‘J’ has put his own spin on this by using the window of his playhouse to do the same.

It’s so fun to watch him come up with jokes and crack up while doing so. I’m loving the creativity.

It still amazes me to see how far he’s come and all that he has accomplished.

What’s That Sound?

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In another life, I worked at an exhibit doing Experiential Marketing. As a way to interact with our kid visitors, we had a “guess the sound” game.

There were pictures of different items and about 6 cans with an item per can. The children had to shake the cans and guess which picture matched the sound. They sat there and played over and over.

Cut to 12+ years later and one of J’s favorite shows is Sid the Science Kid on PBS. They did an episode all about sound and I decided to recreate the game for him!

I picked up a few things from the Dollar Store; coffee cups, paper clips and toothpicks. I combined them with some items I had around the house and boom! A new activity is born and he loves playing it!

My version is definitely a lot more basic than the one we had in the exhibit, but it works. I’m definitely not crafty, but I do find a few easy  activities on Instagram or Pinterest from time to time. I’ll either copy what I see or it’ll make me think of something else I could do.

Being a parent definitely means being more creative.