Guess who is nearly here? The Easter Bunny!!
There are lots of ways that children with cerebral palsy and complex disabilities can be involved in Easter celebrations. Below we list some of our favourite activities around Easter time that gets everyone involved and having fun together.
Craft
Easter craft can include activities like a bonnet parade, making an Easter basket and decorating Easter eggs. You could try:
For textas, pasting and painting to decorate, using hand-sized objects that are easy to grasp will make it easier for the child to participate. This might include bent textas, adapted brush, a pencil holder or crayons that fit – see photo below!
Glitter and confetti can be tricky to manage - try putting it in a little cup with a handle so your child can tip out just the right amount (and not glitter the whole house!) or put glitter into a salt shaker and shake it out
Use a slant board to stabilise the paper/Easter card/wrapping for egg/bonnet cutout
If cutting templates are involved (e.g. cutting out an Easter basket template), plan to take extra time - this might mean splitting the activity into two sessions instead of one. Or assist by adult doing some of the cutting, and child participates with pushdown scissors for key parts
If your child is learning to using two hands together, put the things they need in containers like a pencil case or lunchbox containers. This will help develop bilateral hand skills as well as encouraging independence for school-readiness by opening and closing containers, and if needed, practicing asking for help.
Easter egg hunts
Hiding the eggs! This is a great time to practice lots of action and position words like: in, under, on, off, open etc.
For children with cortical vision impairment, try sticking eggs in preferred colours (e.g. yellow or red wrappers) on a black board with blu-tac. The child can reach or point to the egg to 'find' it. You could also use a torch or other light-cue to help draw vision to the egg
If your child is learning to squat down to play and pick up objects from the floor, place the eggs down low in a place they can stabilise e.g. on the floor next to the coffee table - a great way to build in some squat practice and using hands!
For children with less mobility, they could use a pointer like a bright torch to find the eggs for a helper to collect
Learn and practice reach and grasp by picking up eggs and putting them in your Easter basket. Position the basket in different places (e.g. out to the side, then the other side) to encourage your child to learn and practice different shoulder and elbow movements as they reach in different directions.
Please below for an Aided Language Display (ALD) for an Easter Egg Hunt.
If you would like to speak with to one of our friendly therapists about Easter activity ideas or have any questions, please email info@cpec.org.au
Happy Easter!