By disguising therapeutic activities in a friendly, not-so-clinical way, kiddos get the benefits of the therapy they need wrapped up in a whole lot of fun. Our Occupational Therapist, Emily Martin coined the term "Ninja Therapy" to describe her way of helping kids address their sensory and developmental needs in subtle ways.
This week, we asked Emily to suggest a little "Ninja Therapy" for desensitizing bath time for children with autism and sensory processing disorders. She smiled and said, hope you like shaving cream."
Ninja Your Way to Desensitizing Bath Time
What You'll Need:
- One stinky child
- One bathtub
- Sponges and washcloths
- Washable paint
- A few cans of shaving cream
- Some small cups or buckets
- Maybe a mop?
Children with sensory sensitivities often have trouble processing new textures and sensations. When all manner of sensory input is combined in one activity, it can be a real struggle to encourage a child to accept all the unfamiliar feelings flooding their system.
Taking a bath is full of sensory experiences. The water, the soap, scrubbing and shampooing, splashing and echoing walls, bath time is literally soaked in sensory input, and that can lead to anxiety or refusal to participate.
It's not all trouble on the high seas, though. Water play during a bath can be a big help in desensitizing children with a little creativity and ninja therapy.
Before bath time starts, spray some shaving cream into a few small cups or buckets and add a drop or two of washable paint into each one and stir. Armed with a rainbow of colored cream, you and your bather can "paint" the tiled wall with your hands to create a wonderfully washable mural. And when that creation is done, give your child a sponge to squeeze and scrub the mural away before making another!
Is it messy? A little. But as they play and bathe, they'll be getting some good sensory input from the shaving cream, sponges, and water. They think they're just having fun, but really, they're desensitizing themselves to the feelings, sights, and smells of the bathtub. They're also using their fine motor skills, flexing their creative brain muscles, and (hopefully) not splashing water all over the bathroom floor. As a bonus, they smell quite nice when the bath is over. Ninja therapy can be as easy as that!
And that's just one example of Ninja Therapy. Our OT Emily has a lot of great ideas we'll be sharing here on our blog, so don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for more Ninja Therapy tips from eSpecial Needs. If you have more questions, you can fill out the "ask the expert" form below. Please keep in mind that filling out this form results in the potential for your question to be anonymously shared on our blog with our answer. We try to be as responsive and helpful as possible, but submitting your question does not guarantee a response.
