Proprioception Tools

Proprioception Tools (Not Toys)

Proprioception tools offer a fun and engaging way for children to develop their proprioceptive abilities.

From squeezing therapy putty to bouncing on therapy balls, proprioceptive activities provide a sensory experience that helps children improve their coordination, balance, and motor skills. As they play and explore with these tools, children increase their body awareness to support sensory processing, coordinate their movements, strengthen motor skills, focus and regulation, and overall physical and cognitive development.

Proprioceptive Activities 

Incorporating proprioception activities into your child's daily routine can provide numerous benefits, including a sense of calm, improved focus and attention, and motor skills development. These activities involve deep pressure input to the muscles, promoting spatial awareness and a better understanding of their position and movement in space.

Balance Activities

Engaging in balance training exercises is an excellent way to improve proprioceptive skills. Activities like using a balance board or therapy ball challenge the body's ability to remain upright and stable. These exercises not only improve balance but also strengthen core muscles and burn off excess energy, which can be particularly helpful for children who struggle with attention or anxiety. 

Gross Motor Activities

Gross motor activities that involve large muscle groups, like bouncing, jumping, pushing/pulling, or crawling, can effectively provide proprioceptive sensory input. They promote spatial awareness, coordination, and overall gross motor skill development.

Therapy Tools

Various therapy tools can be incorporated into proprioceptive activities to enhance the sensory experience. Therapy balls can provide deep pressure input to the muscles, joints, and tendons, promoting a sense of calm and relaxation, and balance boards and wobble cushions are great for enhancing stability and coordination.

Oral Proprioception

Proprioception is the feedback we get from our own body. Using this sense, we process and interpret feedback from our muscles and joints. Our proprioception sense does not give information about our bodies when they are static or not moving. However, whenever our muscles and joints sense that our body is moving, we get proprioceptive information, which helps us become more aware of our body and supports regulation.

Providing oral proprioceptive feedback through our chewies or other oral motor tools can help give the children intensive oral motor proprioceptive feedback to support awareness and regulation. Using sensory tools will help to regulate deep pressure that some children may crave or find calming while limiting excessive oral sensory-seeking behaviours such as biting on non-food objects.