Home & Therapy Activities
Activities to do at home with your child. Each shows which cognitive areas it develops.
Family Time
Outdoor Walk Together
A slow, no-agenda walk as a family. Fresh air, movement, and unstructured time together — simple and restorative for everyone.
Board Game or Puzzle Night
Pick a game everyone enjoys. Turn-taking, laughter, and shared focus are great for kids and caregivers alike.
Free Time
Screen-Free Wind-Down
Quiet activity before bed: colouring, puzzle, or reading to ease transition to sleep.
Home Practice — Fine Motor (OT)
Playdough Squeezing & Shaping
Build hand strength and coordination through rolling, pinching, and cutting playdough.
Bead Threading
Thread beads of varying sizes onto a string to practise pincer grip and bilateral coordination.
Scissor Skills Practice
Cut along lines, curves, and shapes to develop hand strength and bilateral coordination.
Home Practice — Gross Motor (PT)
Balance Beam Walk
Walk along a line of tape on the floor or a low balance beam to improve postural control.
Animal Walks Circuit
Bear walk, crab walk, frog jumps — 5-minute motor circuit for core and coordination.
Obstacle Course (Indoor)
Set up pillows, tunnels, and stepping stones for a fun indoor obstacle run.
Home Practice — Massage/Deep Pressure
Wilbarger Brushing Protocol
Use a surgical brush on limbs and joint compressions every 2 hours as prescribed by OT.
Deep Pressure Hand Massage
Firm, slow hand and forearm massage to calm the nervous system before a focused task.
Home Practice — Speech/Language
Articulation Flashcard Practice
Use speech sound flashcards to practice target phonemes at the word or sentence level.
Story Retelling
Read a short story together, then ask the child to retell it using their own words.
Oral Motor Exercises
Tongue, lip, and jaw exercises to strengthen muscles used in speech.
Home Practice — Writing
Handwriting Tracing Worksheet
Trace letters and words on dotted-line worksheets to build legibility and pencil control.
Journaling (Sentence Starters)
Write 2–3 sentences using a fun prompt (e.g. "My favourite animal is…") to build fluency.
Other
Bedtime Routine
Consistent sequence: bath → PJs → story → lights out. Predictability reduces bedtime anxiety.
Morning Sensory Warm-up
Start the day with 10–15 min of gentle movement (stretching, rolling, bouncing) to wake the body.
School / Education
Homework / School Work
Structured homework session. Break into 15–20 min blocks with short movement breaks. Use visual timers.
After-School Decompression
A quiet, low-demand transition window when the child gets home. School is exhausting — give them space before the next task.
Sensory Break
Weighted Blanket Rest
Wrap child in a weighted blanket for 5–10 minutes of calm pressure input.
Jumping / Trampoline Breaks
Give proprioceptive input through 2–5 minutes of jumping on a mini-trampoline or jump spot.
Deep Breathing / Bubble Blowing
Slow deep breaths using bubble blowing or pinwheel to regulate the nervous system.
Therapy (External Appointment)
Occupational Therapy Session
Weekly OT clinic visit. Bring home programme sheet and note therapist feedback.
Speech-Language Therapy Session
Weekly SLP clinic session. Ask therapist for 3 home practice targets.
ABA Therapy Session
Applied Behaviour Analysis session with BCBA or RBT. Document progress notes.
Physical Therapy Session
PT clinic visit focusing on strength, balance, and gross motor development.
Behavioural Therapy Session
Session with a psychologist or behaviour therapist targeting anxiety, OCD, or tics.