Airplane Catch
Purpose:
This activity enables the child to develop his upper body strength and receive proprioceptive input. It also gives the child an opportunity to work on maintaining eye contact.
Skills: Head/Neck Extension, Proprioception(?) Proprioception is how your body knows what position it is in. It is the sense that enables us to know where the different parts of our body are, how they are moving, and how much strength our muscles need to use. Our muscles, joints, and skin all contain sensory receptors that contribute to proprioceptive input., Upper Body Strength(?) Proprioception is how your body knows what position it is in. It is the sense that enables us to know where the different parts of our body are, how they are moving, and how much strength our muscles need to use. Our muscles, joints, and skin all contain sensory receptors that contribute to proprioceptive input.
Have the child lie prone 5 feet away from you (distance varies depending on the child’s abilities and age).
Ask the child to extend his neck, shoulders, and arms about 5-10 inches above the ground. In addition, ask the child to place his feet together and raise his legs (below the knees) in a similar fashion.
The therapist/parent should lie in front of the child in a similar position. With your elbows flexed, push the ball toward the child and ask him to catch it and throw it back towards you.
This activity can be done as a group activity with more than 2 kids.
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