Equipment: Suspended rubber ball with letters of the alphabet, bunt stick.

Purpose: Development of eye-hand coordination, tracking skills, cognitive abilities, motor planning, bilateral integration.

Procedure: Therapist swings ball horizontally across patients’ field of view, patient calls out letters that he/she can see as the ball spins.

Gradations:

• Patient hits ball alternation right hand, left hand, while calling out letters.
• Patient and therapist hit ball back and forth while calling out letters of the alphabet in sequence.
• Patient hits the ball with various body parts e.g. head, shoulder, wrist, elbow, hips, knees, ankles, etc. (great for motor planning!)
• Patient hits ball with wooden dowel with color stripes on it, call out a specific color to be hit with. (Good for bilateral integration also)
• Have patient lie supine on floor and track ball horizontally, along midline, diagonally, and circularly.
• With patient supine again, have patient follow ball with finger always kept a specified distance away from ball, e.g. 5inches, or ½ half inch? This is also good for depth judgments and motor planning.
• Knock down cones placed on table opposite either by direct hit, or making a circle with the ball.
• With patient seated directly under a ball therapist swings ball around patient’s head. Patient attempts to close eyes when ball goes behind head, and open eyes when anticipating it going across the field of view. This also works on sense of timing and rhythm.