Sorting Objects: Having Fun with Therapeutic Intervention

By Asma Jacob

The following are 2 blog posts published on Achieveable Journey UK’s blog. Visit their Website here.

Before implementing any therapeutic strategies, such as breathing, deep pressure, or tapping, it’s important to calm children or adults who are anxious or showing high levels of behaviour.

A simple strategy is sorting objects using colours.

Sorting is good for hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and focus.

Using colours allows the individual to identify a colour and link it to their behaviour and emotions. I often use a traffic light system; red is dangerous, yellow is brewing, green is OK. Let the individual choose the colour and identify what it means to them. Ask them: ‘What does it feel like? Sound like? What colour is it?’

Use a safe corner for the activity; a safe place where they can release emotions. Don’t make the area restrictive – let the individual move around if they want to.

You could use different coloured pasta, rice, paper and cups for sorting exercises and the individual may want to use a peg, tweezers, spoon or their hands to sort. It’s important to work with the things they like and enjoy doing if you are going to help them bring their focus back to the present.

The task could be to sort red pasta into red cups, yellow pasta into yellow cups, and green pasta into green cups. It could be to place red pasta onto red paper, or green paper onto a green cup. You may want to separate the different coloured objects out on the table and ask ‘Where does the red go? Where does the yellow go?’ and then let the individual complete the action. Use whatever method works best for the individual.

You may need to ask questions: ‘Shall we go for green?’ or ‘Where does the red go?’ You may need to be instructive: ‘Put the yellow pasta on the yellow paper’, or you may need to let the individual choose how they want to complete the task. You could make it game or make it a race: ‘Ready Steady Go!’ A countdown can also work well.

Always praise each completed task and then remove it: ‘Well done! It’s finished.’ When the whole activity has ended, let the individual put everything back in its storage box, and say ‘It’s gone.’

Make the activity fun. Building a rapport and being interactive is key to enabling the individual to focus. Rapport also means they will copy your behaviour. Your tone of voice is important so be sure to align yours to theirs.

The above piece was first published on 14 Jan 2021 here

Ways to extend fun activities with pasta and rice

Building on my earlier blogs on activities using coloured pasta and rice, here are ways you can extend these activities if the individual requires a greater level of engagement of a more detailed challenge.

Place a mix of red pasta and red rice into a cup. Do the same for the yellow and green pasta and rice. You will also need red, yellow and green cups and pieces of red, yellow and green paper large enough to cover the top of the coloured cups.

As before, start the activity with a verbal prompt: ‘Pasta first and then rice.’ Ask the individual to repeat this so you know they have processed the instruction and are engaging with you.

Then say: ‘Shall we start with red?’ In this way, you are giving them a choice whilst maintaining control of the situation.

Allow the individual to take the red pasta out of the cup and place it in an empty red cup. They may wish to use their hands, a spoon, a peg or large tweezers; whatever works for them. Counting the pieces of pasta into the cup will also help with breathing. Once the red pasta has been moved into the red cup, ask the individual to pour in the remaining rice. Then say: ‘Well done. Finished.’

Move onto the yellow pasta and rice, and then the green.

To advance the activity further, place the coloured paper over the empty coloured cups – red paper on red cup, yellow paper on yellow cup, and green paper on green cup. Repeat the exercise above but ask the individual to first remove the paper before transferring the pasta and rice. They can use their hands to do this or they can blow the paper off the cup. As with counting, blowing helps calm the breathing. When the pasta and rice have been transferred into the respective coloured cups, ask the individual to replace the paper on the top of the cup. Remember to say: ‘Well done. Finished’ at the end each activity.

Make these activities fun and enjoyable, and always keep them controlled.

The above piece was first published on 6 Feb 2021 here

Asma Jacob is based in the UK.