Theraputty

Theraputty is a fantastic edition to any classroom. It is similar in texture to silly putty, but it has more resistance. It is designed to exercise the intrinsic muscles in the hands, which in turn will greatly improve a child’s tactile and fine motor skills.

Squeezing, pulling and kneading Theraputty will help improve a student’s hand strength. Hiding small items in the Theraputty and getting the students to find them improves finger dexterity. Theraputty comes in four different strengths, so that the student can go to a more resistant strength as their hand strength and finger dexterity improves. (Amy Blevins, 2011).

Theraputty is also helpful for students with Sensory Processing Disorder. (Legoac, 2011). As I mentioned previously, you can hide small items in the Theraputty. To help students with SPD, you can ask them to find the item using either touch or sight, depending on their need. This will give them practice using their senses in the appropriate manner. (eHow, 2010)

Theraputty is also a great tool to give students with ADHD, as playing with Theraputty prevents fidgeting or the student finding other, louder, distractions.

Lastly, playing with Theraputty is, as the name suggests, very therapeutic. So it is a good item to give to those students who become angry or anxious in class.

References:

Legoac 2011, HubPages Inc., Viewed 28th of June 2011, .

Sensory Ideas for Motor Skills: eHow Family 2010, Demand Media Inc, USA, Viewed 28th of June 2011, 

Amy Blevins 2011, Bow of Bronze, Viewed 29th June 2011, 