Rachel Federman Morales Uses the Octaband with Children with Cerebral Palsy

Rachel Federman Morales works at HMS School with children with Cerebral Palsy. She recently shared a new structure she's been doing with her kids.

Still and Move

"We use a big physioball in the middle of the Octaband. When the music’s on, we move with the Octaband and get the ball around to all the group members. When the music stops we have to be still and balanced.

The higher functioning class rooms are able to do it and they love it because it’s problem-solving, working with each other. They love the colors and the shapes. Having the ball in the middle really helps them to focus.

The lower functioning kids holding also use the physioball in the middle; they work at holding, lifting, and lowering the physioball.

The Octaband really motivates the students. They love it."

This photo is of Rachel's group in 2008 doing a performance with the Octaband.

Previously, Rachel had shared using the Octaband in the following ways:

With higher functioning groups, Rachel had the kids pulling, 
reaching, shaking, moving fast and slow, up and down with the breath, putting
 different objects on the middle and as a group keeping the objects on and
 finding ways to get them off. She asked them to describe how they moved differently when there are feathers in 
the middle from when there are beanbags. They connected to the Octaband with the loops over their 
hands, wrists, and/or feet, ankles, legs. They shared the leadership, where each
 member moved the Octaband however they wanted and the rest of the group tried 
to do the same movement with them.

In another group, the children lifted the Octaband and looked at each other under it. They sometimes use the Octaband as a connector for their good-bye 
song.