Improvised tools for therapeutic fun

Personally, I'm a sucker for occupational therapy catalogs like Therapro and Abilitations and Southpaw Enterprises. I pore over them when they arrive in my mailbox a couple of times a year, big and shiny and full of important equipment and neat gadgets and fidget toys and weighted wearables and living aides and homework helpers and I just want to buy my son one of everything. We've got one of a lot of things hanging around the house, some of which we've relied on heavily, some of which have only served to lighten my wallet. If you love the selection but not the spending, this summer may be a great time to try assembling some of your own homemade sensory- and speech-related therapeutic goodies (like the sand-filled-balloon fidget toy pictured). Read "Make Your Own Therapy Tools and Toys" for 20 great ideas from around the house and neighborhood, then share the improvisations you've found for giving your child good sensory stimulation in the comments below. ... More on sensory integration