Hand ball - punch ball - thumb ball

HAND BALL

Place your patient in the starting position, so their body is just out of reach of the ball, and demonstrate the safety of standing in this spot. This is more important for patients who have poor spatial awareness and who may feel anxious during ball sports. The ball should be hit back and forth between you and your patient by using the whole palm of the hand.  Patients should continue to alternate hands, hitting first with the right hand and then with the left and continuing to alternate, regardless of the direction of the incoming ball. Your patient is to try to return the ball straight back to you, regardless of which direction the ball comes to him from. 

PUNCH BALL

As your patient masters all the levels of difficulty with the open palm we then go back to the beginning and start again but this time using a smaller hitting surface.  After doing handball with the open hand and hitting with the palm, your patient should begin to work with the fist and punching the ball.  They should work to achieve the same level of control of the ball that they had with the open hand but this time with the fist.  This smaller hitting area challenges them to channel their visual attention into a smaller area and helps them learn to more accurately direct their visual attention and more accurately direct movements.  You should go through all the same demand levels as you did before but this time with the fist and the hitting surface.

Thumb Ball

Lastly, you should take your patient through all the levels of difficulty but this time the hitting surface is their thumb.  The thumb is popped up out of their fist and used to direct the ball back to you as you once again take them through the developmental sequences.