Therapeutic Categories

FINE MOTOR

We use fine motor skills to make small movements. These movements come so naturally to most people that we usually don’t think about them. Fine motor skills are complex, however. They involve the coordinated efforts of the brain and muscles, and they’re built on the gross motor skills that allow us to make bigger movements.

GROSS MOTOR

Gross motor skills are important to enable individuals to perform everyday functions, such as walking, running, skipping, as well as playground skills (e.g. climbing) and sporting skills (e.g. catching, throwing and hitting a ball with a bat).

These are crucial for everyday self-care skills like dressing (where you need to be able to stand on one leg to put your leg into your pants without falling over).

Gross motor abilities also have an influence on other everyday functions. For example, if a person can’t maintain tabletop posture (upper body support), then it will affect their ability to participate in fine motor skills (e.g. writing, drawing and cutting, using a computer) and sitting upright to attend to class instruction or work meetings, which then affects their concentration.

Gross motor skills impact on your endurance to cope with a full day of school or work (sitting upright at a desk, moving between classrooms, carrying your heavy bag).

Let us help you integrate this into everyday life, and put the goodness back into the function!

TOUCH & FEEL

All touch and feel objects are fidgets provide a soothing repetitive sensation that calms and regulates the body. Fidgeting can be a disruptive activity if not managed positively. Using fidget toys redirects fidgeting into a constructive and potentially beneficial activity by exercising fine motor, cognitive abilities in a way that promotes learning.

Most fidget toys can be slipped into a pocket or attached to a pencil case or bag when not in use. They also look super normal.

Let us help you find the right ones – you might be surprised how simple it can be!

ORAL SENSORY

This is our most primitive exploratory system. It helps with sensory motor development by learning about an object, such as how big is it, how hard or soft is it, and its shape. The mouth acts like a second pair of eyes, giving the brain extra information about the objects in the world.

Oral input can help with regulation, posture and motor planning.

Have you ever wondered why some athletes chew gum?

Let us guide you to explore the oral sensory area and how understanding it can change lives!

Visual motor control is the ability to coordinate visual information with motor output e.g. know how to position your hands to catch a ball.

Visual perception is the ability to recognize, recall, discriminate and make sense of what we see e.g. pick out the familiar shape of our parent in a crowded room when we are toddlers.

Both make up Visual Motor Coordination.

An issue with Visual Motor Coordination can cause a struggle in many areas of functionality and cause increased anxiety. Sometimes if individuals can become more regulated before attempting a task the struggle will decrease!

Sensory objects help with this, and our therapists at The Goody Box love nothing more than to provide a simple solution to what can be a BIG problem!

Emotional development and social skills are essential for school readiness. Examples of such abilities include paying attention to adult figures, transitioning easily from one activity to the next, and cooperating with other kids.

Emotional Development is the blueprint for how individuals perceive situations throughout life. If someone has experienced trauma in their early years in can have a detrimental impact on their emotional development throughout life, causing issues with coping in different situations.

Sensory regulation by using specific proprioceptive or touch and feel objects can trigger a calmer response.

Social skills are the skills we use every day to interact and communicate with others. They include verbal and non-verbal communication, such as speech, gesture, facial expression and body language.

Social skills training is a type of behavioural therapy used to improve social skills in people with mental disorders or developmental disabilities. SST may be used by teachers, therapists, or other professionals to help those with anxiety disorders, mood disorders, personality disorders, and other diagnoses.

The Goody Box Store has a number of tools to support Social Skills development and emotional regulation in all ages. Let our therapists help find the right ones for your special someone!

Self-help skills are those skills that are necessary for a person to care for themselves and manage their own needs. They can also be seen as a way in which a person is able to learn or solve problems that might arise. The development of self-help skills is necessary for developing future independence.

There are four main types of self-help skills:

- Self-feeding

- Independent dressing and grooming

- Personal Hygiene

- Occupations such as play, work, school and all the things that make you smile.

Let us help you find the right devices or strategies to be more independent and shine brightly!

TIMERS

In addition to providing calming visual stimuli, timers can help during transitions. They can support the ability to judge how much time is left, without having to know how to tell time.  

Great for those who have trouble moving away from a preferred activity or for helping to build up time on a task.

Can be really helpful for individuals with ASD or ADHD who like routine and perform better when things are broken down.

Check out how a timer could change the life of someone you love!

GAMES

There is no right or wrong time to play games with others especially if you enjoy them yourselves.

Playing or facilitating games with all ages encourages development of the following:

- Language skills

- Executive functioning such as problem solving and elimination processes, rules, and integrity

- Emotional skills e.g. winning and losing, honesty and luck

- Facilitation of concentration

- Social interaction with peers or family members

And a whole lot of FUN!

PUZZLES

Overcoming the challenges involved in solving puzzles gives individuals a sense of pride and self-esteem.

In a nutshell, puzzles are especially important in assisting us to develop emotional skills, cognitive skills, and physical skills.

They are also a lovely reminder of days gone by, or a piece of ART!

PRETEND PLAY

The art of pretend play is so important for children to learn to negotiate, consider others perspectives, transfer knowledge from one situation to another, delay gratification, balance their own ideas with others, develop a plan, act on a plan, explore symbolism, express and listen to thoughts and ideas, and assign tasks and roles.

Pretend play is simply one of the most important tools any parents, Early Intervention therapists or teachers can use to encourage learning and development.

All the Therapists at the Goody Box Store love pretend play!

Weighted or resistance products provide crucial proprioceptive input to the body to decrease anxiety and agitation. The weight or pressure helps release the hormone oxytocin which impacts on the nervous system and makes the you feel calm and relaxed.

They are recommended to be used by anyone who shows signs of anxiety or agitation; and have been known to promote better sleep patterns in children and adults.

They are also helpful for dementia sufferers who are confused or disorientated.

The Therapists at the Goody Box store can help prescribe the right type of weighted product to suit an individual’s needs.

Difficulties with auditory processing can cause increased stress and anxiety in a busy or crowded situation. This can be particularly challenging if the individual is not prepared for the noise that occurs causing a rapid escalation in the fight flight response of their autonomic nervous system.

When this happens, it is difficult for them to explain while they feel anxious, and things can get out of hand very quickly!

This is not great for anyone around them, as its hard to explain someone’s actions in public places. They can become misunderstood and labelled which is distressing and unfair!!!

At the Goody Box Store, we totally get this, and want to help find the right auditory device to simplify life!

COMMUNICATION

Communication is fundamental to an individual's development; they need to be able to understand and be understood. Communication is the foundation of relationships and is essential for learning, play, work and social interaction.

Language is how we get to know each other and build relationships.

People who have difficulties with communication struggle in many areas of daily life, and often don’t reach their potential in chosen occupations, unless the environment is adapted for them.

The Goody Box store has a number of products that can support communication development:

These include:

Toys

Games

Social Stories to assist with situations and learning

Visuals personalised for your needs.

Let our specialist staff help and guide the communication journey and make Speech Therapy and communication part of everyday life!

WRITING

Writing skills are an important part of communication. Good writing skills allow you to communicate your message with clarity and ease to a far larger audience than through face-to-face or telephone conversations.

BUT Writing can be a very difficult skill to master if someone has a motor planning or fine motor issue.

This can cause frustration self-doubt and issues with self-esteem in an educational situation.

We will help you to find the right device to suit your needs and stop making writing such a chore!

Opportunities for providing sensory engagement can be very beneficial when introduced to people who are aging or living with dementia. Items that are familiar or have a connection to the past can be particularly useful. They can create a pleasant diversion, or settle someone who is agitated or confused

Combining meaningful sensory stimulation with other activities such as gardening, personal care, mealtimes, or arts and creative pastimes can enhance a persons’ wellbeing.

The Goody Box Store has a number of tools to support our clients in their Twilight years. Let our therapists help find the right ones for you!

It's movement that gives us healthy joints, strong bones, physical strength, good circulation; including cardiovascular circulation, good coordination and reflex reactivity; improved learning skills and concentration, and mental well-being. Doing regular exercise is proven to enhance learning skills, concentration, and mental well-being. Without it we would deteriorate.

At The Goody Box Store our Exercise Physiologist is passionate about finding the right tools to enhance your movement and exercise journey!