Things are a little different to what we’re used to and for therapists who work with multiple children throughout the day, cross-contamination is high on our priority list.
Avoiding cross contamination in group settings is particularly challenging for therapists: time constraints mean that sanitising small items such as pencils, beads and scissors is not always possible, especially when we’re transitioning between groups. In fact, some of our most used tools cannot be sanitised at all: play-doh, theraputty and kinetic sand. So how do we ensure the safety of the children we work with?
One way I’m aiming to reduce cross-contamination is with the use of individual therapy boxes for each child in my groups. This allows each child access to everything they need to ensure a happy and productive therapy session, but also ensures the risks of cross-contamination are significantly reduced!
Your box contents will depend on the activities you’ve planned for your group but here’s some ideas to get you started. I’m adding many of these items to my handwriting group baskets, most of which I found in discount stores or I already had them:
- basket/box
- name tags
- pencil case
- pencil with eraser
- pencil sharpener
- colours – crayons/coloured pencils
- glue stick
- scissors
- a tub of play-doh
- printables (lots of free options online!)
- clothes pegs
- beads and string
- coloured paper/paper plates
- paper straws
- pipe cleaners
- stickers
- tweezers
- kinetic sand/play-doh/theraputty
One of the first activities we do on day one is to personalise our boxes by attaching a name tag that we decorate together: this enables the children to identify their boxes each week but it’s also a really fun fine motor activity! And at the end of the group it’s a nice touch to let each child take their box home with them and hopefully continue their work at home!
For more information contact Rachel: 0871695720 | rachelomahony@gmail.com
Rachel O'Mahony Occupational Therapy 