WOW! YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS!

Mitch,
I have been “jokingly” suggesting this at my school when teachers complain about those kids who just can’t sit still- I think secretly hoping that one of them would take me up on it and try it. We have one at home that I use occasionally for watching TV- hey, it can’t hurt to get a little abdominal toning in while watching the tube. Many of our regular ed. teachers use pillows, beanbags, tents. etc. as incentives for kids to use during silent reading times (our school has kids read on their own for 30-60 minutes daily) and it works well. They are allowed to sit anywhere and any way they want as long as they read quietly- some of the teachers require a certain number of points in Accelerated Reader to use these things. I gave my old chair from my counselor’s office to a teacher and she says the kids love it- she doesn’t care if they spin in circles as long as they can tell her what they read about. I found it hard to counsel a kid who was spinning in circles- but I’ll gladly let them fidget with a koosh ball or playdough, etc. I’ve heard others say they had success with a special seat that goes on the regular chair- sort of like 1/2 of a ball. Glad to see some teachers willing to work outside the box!

Mitch,
Could you elaborate more on this idea? How big are these balls? How do you store them? Where did you buy them? How often do you use them? How do you use them? How long have you been using these. Any tips?

Sounds like an interesting concept indeed.

Michelle

A couple years ago, our school psychologists sent me some inflatable rubber cushions to try. My students used them for hats and frisbees…. so I sent them back. I started by bringing in a couple I had when I was using them for physical therapy for a couple students. One of m VERY ADHD kids used it several periods a day, and worked better than he ever had! The balls come in a variety of sizes depending on height. I bought a few of each. The first two I had bought from an educational catalog(expensive). The next one I bought was at Walmart for $10. and the rest I bought at Shopko on sale for 8.99 (50% off sale). They seem to be for sale in many places. In fact last week some of the teachers came into my room after school with an exercize video and used them!

My rules:
They are a chair and must be used like a chair.
Drumming must not be heard by others.
Any inappropriate use and you will loose ball priviledges.
No excessive bouncing.
I had to add- no pens in your back pockets!

It has worked wonders and I have not had ANY problems. Even the ED/BD students work well. Occasionally, I will have a student who works on the floor and uses it as a backrest, but as long as they continue working, I don’t care.

There isn’t any storage, they are part of my classroom and sit around in place of chairs. During most periods, I have enough for all the students. In a few periods, it is first come, first serve. This has also discourgaed tardiness. The first person in the room gets their first choice of sizes. Again, if anyone RUNS into the room, or fights, I simply said, I guess you have a chair today(that only happened during the first week).

I plan to buy a few more balls and move more chairs out.

Hey, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I have the chairs with the glider on the bottom not 4 legs. They drive me crazy with the rocking. This ball idea seems interesting. I think I might give it a try next time I go to Walmart.

Thanks again, and keep those ideas coming.

Michelle

I was told at school today that on TV last night, a news journal show, a teacher who is doing this in her entire classroom. So, I guess I am not the only one (and here I thought I was the only one crazy enough to try this) LOL! :wink:

I bought a few for my class of 10 students (LD/ADD/ADHD) at the recommendation of our school occupational therapist. The kids love them! One of my severely ADHD students lays on his stomach on the ball while reading and completing classwork. He is able to answer questions and focus.

Sometimes I use yoga balls and beanbag chairs to “pancake” a student. Here’s the procedure: place the beanbag on the floor, tell the student to get on the beanbag on his stomach, take the yoga ball and put it on his back, place yourself so you can apply hard pressure to the ball which will in turn apply the pressure to the student’s back. The OT showed me how to do this with one of my students. It actually made him fall asleep (about 3-4 minutes)! I tried it on the severely ADHD student mentioned above, and after a few minutes he was totally calm and able to go to his seat and start an independent assignment. I also tried it on my 5-year old at home one night before bedtime and she went from ‘wired’ to asleep in 3 minutes flat!!

It’s nice to hear that others are open-minded to any intervention that can be used.

Jill

I would recommend EXTREME caution in applying “hard” pressure on a student, especially a small grade school child with an adult applying pressure. Injury and even death could result if you applied to much pressure in the wrong way. Find out from a *qualified* OT how to do this in a safe way, or don’t do it. Yes, children have been killed by well-meaning amateurs applying various sorts of therapy which they did not understand.

Well guys,

My kids LOVE the ball. Now, I have a new bunch of kids so I have no baseline. I had the speech therapist come in and say that one of my girls had her best lesson that she had ever. seen with focusing. She paid attention. Now, it could have been many things but…..maybe it was the ball. Not sure. This year I’m at a new school. We have the same darn chairs that are like glider/sleigh type chairs that the kids rock in. I worry about the safety of them falling back.

I am off to Walmart to buy more. The kids just love them. Most of the IEPS do have ADHD written in them and seem wiggly. ITs still early in the year.

Thanks for the tip. I don’t think they just like it because it is novel..I think they like it better because it gives them the wiggle room they need to be in motion but not too much motion.

A couple years ago, our school psychologists sent me some inflatable rubber cushions to try. My students used them for hats and frisbees…. so I sent them back. I started by bringing in a couple I had when I was using them for physical therapy for a couple students. One of m VERY ADHD kids used it several periods a day, and worked better than he ever had! The balls come in a variety of sizes depending on height. I bought a few of each. The first two I had bought from an educational catalog(expensive). The next one I bought was at Walmart for $10. and the rest I bought at Shopko on sale for 8.99 (50% off sale). They seem to be for sale in many places. In fact last week some of the teachers came into my room after school with an exercize video and used them!

My rules:
They are a chair and must be used like a chair.
Drumming must not be heard by others.
Any inappropriate use and you will loose ball priviledges.
No excessive bouncing.
I had to add- no pens in your back pockets!

It has worked wonders and I have not had ANY problems. Even the ED/BD students work well. Occasionally, I will have a student who works on the floor and uses it as a backrest, but as long as they continue working, I don’t care.

There isn’t any storage, they are part of my classroom and sit around in place of chairs. During most periods, I have enough for all the students. In a few periods, it is first come, first serve. This has also discourgaed tardiness. The first person in the room gets their first choice of sizes. Again, if anyone RUNS into the room, or fights, I simply said, I guess you have a chair today(that only happened during the first week).

I plan to buy a few more balls and move more chairs out.

*************************************

WOW! What an incredibly innovative idea! We have an excercize ball here at the house which my son lounges on if he’s watching TV, but I hadn’t thought of it as a tool for helping him to stay on task. Thank you so much for that suggestion.

I give you an A+ for the best idea I’ve seen here yet! :D

Thank you.