392 chapter 42
MAKING HAND EXERCISES FUN OR USEFUL
Look for ways to make hand exercises fun.
For example,
try to learn sign
language from a
deaf child (see
p. 266).
Or play ‘shadow
puppets’ with a
light.
Aids for hand exercise
You can buy a
simple hand
exerciser
like this.
Or make one like
this. If the child
makes it herself,
that will also be
good exercise for
her hands.
Move this post
forward or back
to make it harder
or easier to
squeeze the aid.
This ‘acrobatic bear’ is more work to make, but even more fun to exercise and play
with.
Trace and
cut out
these
pieces
from
wood or
cardboard.
Fasten arms and
legs loosely on
body by putting a
cord through holes.
Squeezing
the poles
makes the
bear ‘loop
the loop’.
“See if
you can
make the
bear sit.”
To have the child
squeeze harder,
attach a piece of
rubber hose or
car tire between
the poles.
Pass a cord through holes
in poles and in this piece.
view from above
showing how string
passes through holes
in poles and paws
A child can also get squeezing exercise with the hands by milking goats, cutting with
scissors or shears, punching holes in leather or paper with a hand punch (while making
things), by washing and wringing clothes, and in many other ways.
For examples of how different kinds of exercises are used for different disabilities,
look under ‘Exercises’ in the INDEX.
Disabled village Children