Your child has a mental handicap
For children with a mental handicap or a developmental delay it is difficult to understand the world. They are overwhelmed by information that they cannot respond to very well. As a result they may become aggressive, hyperactive or the reverse, anxious, withdrawn and stop reacting altogether. In general they need more time to react.
For the very reason that it is so difficult for them to respond to their environment, it is very important to evoke a reaction by doing carefully selected activities and games. This enables them to gather information and make contact with the world. A number of the activities and games described below are also very suitable to carry out with adults with a developmental delay.
The following activities and games may be suitable:
- Domestic activities
- Provide enough physical exercise
- The use of weights
- The use of vibrating material
- Sitting on a ball being touched with a cuddly toy
- Sitting on a ball and moving to music
- Exercise pressure with a ball
- Lying on top of different materials
- Swaddling or wrapping up in a blanket
- Towing on a blanket
- Rolling, walking on your knees or on all fours over different materials
- Touching and moving on your lap
- Something to feel
- Hiding under cuddly toys
- Hiding in a playhouse or under a large piece of cloth
- Playing in a box
- Playing with shaving cream
- Playing with rice
- Playing with chestnuts
- Rubbing in body lotion
- Massage with different materials
- The use of the foot massage bath
Els Rengenhart © 2009