Hula Hoops in speech therapy…the need to move.
At Chattercubs, we work holistically with preschool children with play, communication, and language difficulties. Not only do we assess their communication and language skills, but we also look at their sensory needs.
We then use the child's sensory needs to tap into their communication and language skills and make these skills stronger. Along the way, we're showing the parents what types of games to play that involve the child's sensory and play preferences and provide them with play ideas to promote and develop their child's communication and language skills.
A common sensory need that we see is challenges with the child's vestibular system.
The vestibular system is responsible for sensing the movement of the head and orientation to gravity. The vestibular apparatus is located in the inner ear and is the first sensory system to develop. It is responsible for nearly all motor functions and some sensory functions.
Examples of how challenges in the vestibular system may present in preschool children:
excessive rocking
excessive watching of things spin
excessive spinning on the spot
difficulties with balance
needs to move fast
head banging
How we work with sensory and communication needs
Within the Chattercubs clinic, if we suspect a child may have challenges with their vestibular system, we have several go-to activities that are a hit with our preschoolers. Here is one example: Hula hoop spinning.
Hula hoop spinning - We help children feed their need to watch things spin by spinning hula hoops with them. It is a simple yet effective activity that turns into a reciprocal game which supports early interaction skills.
How does this help early communication skills? When hula hoop spinning with a child, we are also working on important communication skills such as:
Anticipation - Can the child anticipate when the therapist will spin the hoop? Anticipation is important as it feeds into a child's attention and listening skills. The child needs to anticipate that something will happen so they can notice it, attend to it and then stay with it for a short duration to gather information/enjoyment from it.
Initiation: How does the child request? Initiation is an important first skill in communicating. Can the child initiate an interaction to get what they want? Their modes of communication to initiate an interaction may be clear or subtle. They may hand the hoop back to the adult to spin again or look at the hoop and vocalise with excitement. Either way, we answer their modes of communication, repeat the action they want and strengthen their skills in initiating by interpreting and responding to them.
Imitation: Does the child acknowledge the adult imitating them, and can the child imitate the adult? Imitation is key to all life learning. We look at what others do and imitate them if it addresses a need. A child needs to acknowledge that the adult is imitating them so they can understand what imitation is. We can support this by following and copying the child's actions, gestures, and sounds during play with the hula hoop.
We can also assist the child to imitate the adult by making our actions, gestures, and sounds repetitive and predictable. For hula hoop spinning, we may use the initial phoneme for "go" several times before saying the word, as the child may find saying "g" a bit easier than articulating "go!". We may introduce a gesture such as an index finger flicking downwards to indicate "go". We may produce an exciting sound to follow the spinning and the de-acceleration of the hoop. We may pat our thighs to match the sound we make, de-accelerating our hands' tapping movement on our thighs as the hoop begins to slow and stop. We may introduce the gesture and word for “stop!”. We may introduce the word and Makaton sign "again" or "more".
With hula hoop spinning, we address a sensory need to watch things spin while supporting the child's communication and language skills.
So much magic in a simple hula hoop!
If it's joyful, join in!
Filling out the Chattercubs holistic case history questionnaire provides information on your child's communication and sensory needs. This questionnaire is part of the process when booking a package of care. Click here to start the process by booking a telephone consultation. The Chattercubs clinic is based in Harold Wood, Essex.
