The Recycling Occupational Therapist

This valuable resource is written for therapists and teachers, vocational instructors, parents, and all environmentalists who wish to use their ingenuity to create useful therapy products from common objects. Author Barbara Smith, M. S., OTR, reasons that when she finds alternative uses for plastics and recycles them, not only does she avoid having to purchase the material, but she also reduces the amount of waste deposited in the environment. Many a pattern can be carved from a plastic bottle. Cut a large detergent bottle to provide a surface for weaving. Snip off narrow bottle necks and use them as rings on a dowel. Cut off a hollow bottle handle, and you have something to fit a peg inside, or cut up that same bottle to make disks for stringing on a colorful length of discarded jump rope. For imaginary play, cut out space boats and weird helmets. The possibilities are endless! The therapy products described in this book are made mostly-if not entirely-from recycled throwaways. These materials are easily collected, free, and versatile. The products can be used over and over again, and creating them can be fun and rewarding. The products and activities are presented in three categories-fine-motor activities, gross-motor activities, and sensory activities. The activities are presented in a cookbook fashion, with a brief description of the material or activity, a list of needed materials, construction directions, and suggested uses and adaptations. The Appendixes provide six lists for guidance in planning of activities for clients. Terms used throughout the book are defined in the Glossary. Although the activities in this 155-page manual are designed for adults with developmental disabilities, many are appropriate for clients of all ages, with or without developmental delays.