Tip of the Month – January 2018: More PowerLink Ideas!
It’s always hard thinking of new ideas of what you can use your PowerLink for – so here are some new activities.
Using a hairdryer
A hairdryer has a surprising amount of creative uses, and the great thing is that most people have them in their homes.
Use a hairdryer to dry your own hair, or someone else’s after a shower, or going to the pools. You could also help dry the fur of a pet, or hair of a doll or toys.
Have a friend hold a hair dryer while the user operates it to dry nail polish.
Blow out birthday candles, or other candles.
Make some crayon art! Glue some crayons to the top of a canvas, then use the hairdryer to melt the wax.
Blow some bubbles! Take it to the next level by putting some food colouring into the bubble mix, and blow the bubbles onto paper to make some artwork.
Blow feathers, confetti, glitter, or whatever you want onto a sheet of paper that is coated with glue.
Play a game of bowling with some lightweight balls and pins which can be knocked over using the hairdryer.
Water Pik
A water pik is a tool which shoots out a stream of water – generally used to floss teeth, but it can be adapted for some fun activities to use in conjunction with a PowerLink.
Use the Water Pik to water some plants – start a vegetable or flower garden!
Feed or water pets with the Water Pik.
Help with cleaning to wash down benches, tables, and anything else.
Participate in cooking activities by pouring the water into a kettle to make hot drinks, or to pour water needed in recipes.
Have a water fight! Have someone else hold the tube – or strap onto the person’s hand or wheelchair.
You can even use it to floss your teeth!
Get creative in the kitchen
There are a huge number of kitchen appliances out there, which are perfectly suited for using with a PowerLink. Food is often highly motivating for a lot of people too.
Use it with a hand beater to whip up batter for cakes and other treats.
Use with a food processor to chop nuts, cut vegetables, crush biscuits, make pesto, and much more.
Turn on a kettle to make hot drinks.
Use a smoothie blender to make smoothies and milkshakes.
You can use many other appliances too, like a toaster, popcorn maker, waffle maker, toasted sandwich maker, can opener, coffee machine, chocolate fondue fountain, pie maker, and more!
Play around with PowerLink modes
Don’t be afraid to get creative with what you can use the PowerLink for! Make use of extra features such as the different modes to make the activities more interesting. For instance, you could use a ‘Timed’ mode to allow a switch user to control the music on a radio for a game of musical chairs or statues. Or use the ‘Latch’ mode to allow a switch user to control the pacing of an audio book or to pause the story to engage in discussion.
Talk about the activity
As always, adding in opportunities for communication is key! Make sure the user has a communication board or device nearby so they can make comments on the activity, for example – “More”, “Finished”, “On”, “Off”, “Turn”, “Stop”, “Go” and more! You could also incorporate a Step-by-step switch to read out instructions to a smoothie recipe, where the switch user can then use the PowerLink to operate the blender.
Drop a comment to share any other fun activities that you have used a PowerLink for!
To download a PDF version of this Tip of the Month, please click here
Created by Kate Charlesworth (Occupational Therapist) on 15/01/2018.
It’s always hard thinking of new ideas of what you can use your PowerLink for – so here are some new activities.
Using a hairdryer
A hairdryer has a surprising amount of creative uses, and the great thing is that most people have them in their homes.
Use a hairdryer to dry your own hair, or someone else’s after a shower, or going to the pools. You could also help dry the fur of a pet, or hair of a doll or toys.
Have a friend hold a hair dryer while the user operates it to dry nail polish.
Blow out birthday candles, or other candles.
Make some crayon art! Glue some crayons to the top of a canvas, then use the hairdryer to melt the wax.
Blow some bubbles! Take it to the next level by putting some food colouring into the bubble mix, and blow the bubbles onto paper to make some artwork.
Blow feathers, confetti, glitter, or whatever you want onto a sheet of paper that is coated with glue.
Play a game of bowling with some lightweight balls and pins which can be knocked over using the hairdryer.
Water Pik
A water pik is a tool which shoots out a stream of water – generally used to floss teeth, but it can be adapted for some fun activities to use in conjunction with a PowerLink.
Use the Water Pik to water some plants – start a vegetable or flower garden!
Feed or water pets with the Water Pik.
Help with cleaning to wash down benches, tables, and anything else.
Participate in cooking activities by pouring the water into a kettle to make hot drinks, or to pour water needed in recipes.
Have a water fight! Have someone else hold the tube – or strap onto the person’s hand or wheelchair.
You can even use it to floss your teeth!
Get creative in the kitchen
There are a huge number of kitchen appliances out there, which are perfectly suited for using with a PowerLink. Food is often highly motivating for a lot of people too.
Use it with a hand beater to whip up batter for cakes and other treats.
Use with a food processor to chop nuts, cut vegetables, crush biscuits, make pesto, and much more.
Turn on a kettle to make hot drinks.
Use a smoothie blender to make smoothies and milkshakes.
You can use many other appliances too, like a toaster, popcorn maker, waffle maker, toasted sandwich maker, can opener, coffee machine, chocolate fondue fountain, pie maker, and more!
Play around with PowerLink modes
Don’t be afraid to get creative with what you can use the PowerLink for! Make use of extra features such as the different modes to make the activities more interesting. For instance, you could use a ‘Timed’ mode to allow a switch user to control the music on a radio for a game of musical chairs or statues. Or use the ‘Latch’ mode to allow a switch user to control the pacing of an audio book or to pause the story to engage in discussion.
Talk about the activity
As always, adding in opportunities for communication is key! Make sure the user has a communication board or device nearby so they can make comments on the activity, for example – “More”, “Finished”, “On”, “Off”, “Turn”, “Stop”, “Go” and more! You could also incorporate a Step-by-step switch to read out instructions to a smoothie recipe, where the switch user can then use the PowerLink to operate the blender.
Drop a comment to share any other fun activities that you have used a PowerLink for!
To download a PDF version of this Tip of the Month, please click here
Created by Kate Charlesworth (Occupational Therapist) on 15/01/2018.