Try: Ask the cr to hold the pegs in his or her hand and place them in the peg board holes with the same hand that is holding the pegs

Materials: Peg board and pegs

Categories: Medical Physical

Information: n/a

References: Adapted from the internet website www school-ot com activities to promote hand development for pencil use and other tasks by jennifer dodge no date

Keywords: Poor hand movements fingers hands using hands using fingers

*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: Cut a slot into the plastic lid of coffee can and draw a face on the lid ask the cr to place pennies or buttons into the slot as if the cr is feeding the can

Materials: Pennies or flat buttons coffee can

Categories: Sage, Topic, Medical Physical

Information: n/a

References: activities to promote hand development for pencil use and other tasks by jennifer dodge

Keywords: Hand movements fingers hands

*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: Ask the cr to use the kit to create the intended craft the sewing activity should help strengthen the cr’s hand and finger strength

Materials: Beginner sewing kit with yarn and felt

Categories: Sage, Topic, Medical Physical

Information: n/a

References: Adapted from activities to promote hand development for pencil use and other tasks by jennifer dodge

Keywords: Poor hand movements fingers hands

*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: Ask the cr to think about moving one finger at a time by focusing on moving one finger at a time the cr may be able to make twitches in his or her fingers

Materials: n/a

Categories: Medical Physical

Information: n/a

References: Adapted from the internet website www strokeassociation org – stroke connection magazine – fine tuning tips for improving fine motor skills september october 2003

Keywords: Poor fine motor skills weak hands hands fingers can’t move fingers

*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: Instruct the cr to push his fingers and hand against the mattress several times a day to strengthen them celebrate every little gain even if it’s just a twitch in the cr’s fingers

Materials: n/a

Categories: Sage, Topic, Medical Physical

Information: n/a

References: Adapted from fine tuning tips for improving fine motor skills stroke connection magazine september october 2003 available at

Keywords: Fine motor skills weak hands hands fingers

*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: If the cr has excessive earwax it can often be prevented by a regular ear check-up with a nurse or physician the healthcare professional can generally remove the earwax without damaging the ear canal another removal option is to use a kind of dissolving or softening agent there are usually commercial ear drops that can be purchased over the counter softening the wax allows the ear to remove hardened wax itself and dissolving it will allow it to drain away do not use eardrops if the cr has a cut or irritation in his eardrum also be aware that drops may irritate the skin and cause soreness in for some cr’s note a cr with a history of earwax problems or ear canal infections should see a physician regarding the medical condition

Materials: Commercial dissolving drops

Categories: Medical Physical

Information: n/a

References: n/a

Keywords: n/a

*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: Before you clean the hearing aid remember that they are high tech devices that could be damaged by certain actions if the care recipient’s cr only has ear wax build-up on the outside of the hearing aid the wax may be cleaned by wiping it with a cloth however wax on the receiver portion of the hearing aid will probably require a wax cleaning tool this may have come with the hearing aid or it can be purchased be sure to follow the instructions for the cleaning tool the cleaning tool could damage the hearing aid if used improperly if the cr continues to have earwax issues with his hearing aid consider switching hearing aid types if the cr has any difficulties removing the earwax have him visit his hearing physician for safe cleaning adapted from healthyhearing com

Materials: Cloth commercial cleaning tool

Categories: Medical Physical

Information: n/a

References: n/a

Keywords: Earwax hearing healthcare

*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: Time the cr putting pegs in a pegboard and taking them out repeat this activity daily to improve fine motor skills

Materials: Pegs pegboard

Categories: Sage, Topic, Medical Physical

Information: n/a

References: Adapted from fine tuning tips for improving fine motor skills stroke connection magazine september october 2003 available at

Keywords: Poor fine motor skills weak hands hands fingers

*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: Have the cr use his fingers to flick marbles into a shoe box or other small container several times a day

Materials: Shoe box or other small box container marbles

Categories: Sage, Topic, Medical Physical

Information: n/a

References: Adapted from fine tuning tips for improving fine motor skills stroke connection magazine september october 2003 available at

Keywords: Fine motor skills weak hands hands fingers

*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: Use rubber bands to exercise the fingers have the cr place his right hand on a table and loop a rubber band around one of his fingers instruct the cr to pull the rubber band up and down with his fingers to exercise the right fingers then have the cr place his left hand on a table and loop a rubber band around one of his fingers instruct the cr to pull the rubber band up and down with his fingers to exercise the left fingers perform this exercise several times a day to improve finger strength

Materials: Rubber bands

Categories: Sage, Topic, Medical Physical

Information: n/a

References: Adapted from fine tuning tips for improving fine motor skills stroke connection magazine september october 2003 available at

Keywords: Fine motor skills weak hands hands fingers

*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed