I think I will start this blog off by saying….I found an old friend. Not a friend-friend, meaning a person, but an old friend non-the-less. And his name is POP-TOOBS.
We used to have these things years ago, when Elizabeth was really young. This was in the phase of her life when her Sensory Processing Disorder( SPD) was really affecting her days. And I found these tubes and she loved them, I really could not believe how much. I loved them so much because she loved them so much. We had a whole bunch of them back in the day. She was always carrying one around and playing with them. It was one of the few items that she would use willingly at the time.
But I digress….let me refocus.
The Slinky POP-TOOBS are brightly colored tubes of plastic that are ribbed. You pull them and the tube stretches as they make a really satisfying RRRPPPPTTT sound. After you pull them, the slinky pop tube is really long and then you can hold each end and work it back together until it is the same size it was before. It was discovered, years ago, by my oldest child, Emily, that when they are at their longest, and you swing them around in circle with your arm, they make a great whistling sound.
The thing about the Slinky Pop tubes is that they are such an easy therapy tool to help create some good sensory input for your child. They are fun and quite addictive. Honestly, they are one of the easiest and least expensive ways to add to your child’s sensory diet. Because they do not really require a learning curve to use, they do not make the child frustrated when they first see them. This used to be the case for Elizabeth. When she would want to try something, she would find out her Dyspraxia would make it difficult for her to succeed, then she would become frustrated and defeated and then quit. But these tubes are easy to work.
And by work, I mean the POP-TOOBS do work the fine motor skills of the person using it. The stretching part does work their arms and hands, but it is the wiggling and fine motor adjustments that you need to do to get it back to its original form, that is the work. You cannot just shove the slinky pop tubes together, you have to guide it a bit, so it takes some motor planning, fine motor strength and patience. But all that is actually lost in the fun of working the tube back into the way you found it. Elizabeth would hold the opened slinky pop tube like she was holding handle bars of a bike, then work her hands and arms to get the tube closed. She did not quit on this one, and I think it was because the fun of opening it again drove her to keep working.
So please take a look at the Slinky Pop TOOBS guys, they are actually an option for a stocking stuffer even if you child does not need them in their sensory bin, trust me. Michael, my 11 year old, saw the red tube, pulled it apart, squeezed it back together again and said “YEESSSSS! Can I have this?” I said “yes” and he took it upstairs to his room. So I am giving it a thumbs up from Michael.
I am ordering a few for our fidget bin. Maybe you can too!
I wish everyone a peaceful week.
Michele
Special Needs Essentials Blog 