Therapeutic power of sensory toys – Tuban in the magazine “Sensory Integration in Practice”

Sensory integration in practice

Sensory integration is an extremely important and increasingly popular topic. Continuing our mission to support creative play and education, we recommend an article about our toys that appeared in the latest issue of “Sensory Integration in Practice” – a magazine aimed at therapists and educators.

It is no coincidence that this is the publication with the title “The Therapeutic Power of Sensory Toys”. From the article you can learn why Tuban creative toys are great for therapy, how they can be used and which toys from our offer will be best for this.
Touch is one of the most important senses in human life. It appears already in the prenatal period and is with us for the rest of our lives. Its proper functioning fosters a sense of emotional security, gives the opportunity to establish social relationships, allows us to better understand the reactions of others or use it influences the development of small motor skills and graphomotor skills. There is no denying that in sensory integration classes, therefore, one of the key activities becomes tactile stimulation. This is done in a number of ways, but by far the most popular activity is to encourage the child to use messy substances, marshmallows, slime or play with kinetic sand. Children who do not show signs of tactile hypersensitivity are eager to use these types of aids, while having a lot of fun and enjoyment.

The challenge for the sensory integration therapist, however, becomes finding aids on the market that are safe for children, attractive, but also efficient. The Internet offers many materials, but it always becomes necessary to check the manufacturer and verify the composition of the products we want to use in classes. Currently, the most interesting proposal for therapy offices has a Polish company Tuban. In this material we will take a look at the products they offer their customers and see how they can be used for tactile stimulation.

Tuban is primarily known for products such as slime. Not only do they have ready-made aids, but they also have materials for preparing the glue yourself. In my opinion, this is one of the most interesting offerings. Children like to experiment and prepare things on their own, so their need to experience is satisfied here. Importantly, you can purchase glue and activator separately, as well as dyes and fragrances, and compose such slime as you wish. You can also use the ready-made option, where small bottles with the necessary materials are packed in a cardboard box, there is a container in which you can put the glue at the end, and additives that make the tactile stimulation even more interesting, such as sand, mineral glitter or decorative balls.

Why is slime a good material to work with in sensory integration classes?

It is cold to the touch at first contact, but the longer it remains in the hands, the warmer it becomes. It has a sticky consistency, but properly prepared it doesn’t stick to hands or get dirty. Which is sometimes even helpful when working with tactilely hypersensitive children or those who don’t like to get dirty. In addition to tactile stimulation, we can use it to provide the child with proprioceptive stimulation by crushing, rolling, whisking or pressing it into different places, as well as olfactory stimulation.

What kind of fun can we suggest using it? For example, we can drop glass balls into the slime. The child’s task will be to pull them out and count them. This allows them to become accustomed to a different structure, and by directing their attention to the process of finding and counting, children also develop their concentration on the task. What is very important is the possibility of adding different substances to the slime. So we can make a cake together with sprinkles using colored balls, or make a mass by mixing it with sand, for example.

Such games are ideal for working with children with attention deficit disorders or psychomotor hyperactivity, because they allow them to stop for a while and focus on the task. It’s also a great interlude in therapeutic work, especially after demanding physical exercises. The child can relax and calm down while interacting with these substances. Slime also makes it possible to introduce a child who is hypersensitive to touch or smell to activities involving stimulation of just these senses. It is worth noting that by being able to crush and squeeze them, the sense of proprioception is improved and the child gains new sensory experiences.

Another very interesting thing is the multisensory gel. It is a substance that is very safe for children and moisturizes the hands. However, it gives a lot of sensory experience at first contact. This is because the foams are cold to the touch, shooting and fragrant. It is worthwhile here to offer children different solutions using them. After all, in combination with ordinary shaving foam we can create something like a rigid creative mass. The gel applied to the hands effervesces strongly, especially when we ask children to start clapping. This is a very attractive aid, which is very popular not only among children, but also among adults, for example, at training sessions.

Multisensory gel vs. sensory integration

The gel affects tactile, olfactory, proprioceptive and auditory stimulation (due to the sounds that happen during play). It also promotes independent experimentation. Combined at least with the slim, it makes the latter start to grow and live a little life of its own, so the child begins to eagerly observe what is happening and draw conclusions. This also influences cognitive development, improves concentration, develops creativity and creative thinking.

Tuban meets many of the needs of therapists. One of the ideas you can use is to prepare artificial snow yourself. The container contains all the necessary ingredients. The child mixes them until a gently fluffy and sticky mass is formed. Its appearance resembles a collection of many crystals. Interestingly, such mass can also be added to the slime to make playing with it even more attractive. In the artificial snow, for example, you can hide blocks, which the child will pull out with his hands and make a certain construction out of them or put them in the right places. This is another exercise that will work well with children who are busy, have problems with concentration, planning their activities or who are chaotic and disorganized in this activity. This is because it will allow them to calm down, stop and focus on the activity.

In addition to dirty and sticky substances, we can also offer the child to play with dynamic sand. Such games are great for promoting sensory integration. Tuban has many interesting solutions in its offer. On the one hand, you can purchase sand in large containers, which will last for several weeks or months. This is very important, especially when you work with a large number of children in the office and use this type of aid frequently. The sand can be used to make cupcakes or used in mold play. The second option is to buy smaller sets that offer additional aids and several colors of sand. You can then play with your child, for example, in an ice cream parlor. In addition to jointly preparing beautiful-looking and, just as importantly, fragrant ice cream, we will also introduce a shopping element, where our little patient will count money, make a choice or, on the contrary, it will be him who will turn into a salesman. Good fun combined with learning is guaranteed!

Kinetic sand can also serve as an excavation field. For example, just hide dinosaur figures in it and ask the child to search for them. Such a task can be carried out in the following way: in a plastic container we place the figures, which we cover with sand, so that they are not visible. The child lies down on a platform suspended on his belly, so that his hands rest on the floor. He also gets a small shovel and broom to play with, in order to clean up the toys he finds. In this way we improve concentration, focus on the task, attentiveness, stimulate the tactile, proproceptive, visual and vestibular systems.

Sensory integration and soap bubbles

Who among us doesn’t like them? We as adults are fascinated by bubbles, so it’s no surprise that children are eager to get into activities involving them. The liquids are very efficient, and can be used to play with strings or hoops, but they also work great when we want to make a larger number of bubbles at one time, such as with a bubble maker or a special gun. What skills can we improve with this? Conflating soap bubbles has a very good effect on strengthening the shoulder girdle and improving eye-hand coordination. It also improves precision. It gives a lot of pleasure to the child and use affects the development of his motivation. Interestingly, you can also purchase a set with gloves, on which the prepared bubbles last longer and do not burst. Bubbles prepared in this way can also be bounced with specially adapted palettes.

As you can see, the assortment of Tuban company is very wide and can meet many needs of therapists conducting sensory integration therapy. The products are very efficient and attractive to children. They perform well in a variety of conditions. They do not spoil or change their properties, which is extremely important in classes. They can be used freely for a long time. Importantly, these products work well with neuroatypical children and those with inharmonious development, at different ages and with different needs. Examples include activities with children with cerebral palsy, who need strong stimulation. Multisensory gel provides them with this stimulation on many levels.