Regulation Rendezvous-- Heavy Work Jobs and Activities.

Many of our students with autism need proprioceptive input embedded throughout their school day to help them feel calm and regulated. One of our favorite ways to embed this input is through the use of proactively scheduled heavy work jobs and activities. Today's Regulation Rendezvous will focus on some of our favorites that we have seen.

Many of the heavy work jobs we see in schools are used during transitions. Students may deliver heavy materials to a designated location such as reams of paper or cartons of books. Other jobs include pushing or pulling a weighted cart from one location to another.

Example of weighted grocery cart
Emily Ottmar
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Example of Weighted Pusher
Robbie Whorton
Trotwood-Madison HS, Trotwood 

Tubs filled with recess equipment
Greenmont Elementary

Using a wheeled chair or scooterboard can also provide heavy work input as students propel themselves to their next location.

Scooterboard with back
Tabitha Eaton
Main Elementary, Beavercreek

Some heavy work activities can take place in a designated location. This is especially helpful in instances where students cannot transition independently and staff is not available for a transition job. 

We love this example from Colleen Williams at From the Inside Out and More. Detergent bottles are filled with rice and students can sequence them based on the numbers attached.  

https://fromtheinsideoutandmore.com/

In this example, students sort covered encyclopedias by color.

Emily Ottmar
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River

Some students enjoy completing functional tasks like crushing cans using this can-pactor.

Tracy Click
Dixie Elementary, New Lebanon

Students can also benefit from a heavy work warm up before completing an academic task. A weighted ball toss is a great way to warm up. Students can recite the alphabet or practice skip counting.

Taylor Ruef
Stevenson Elementary, Mad River