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NewsBall!

Joe's Story:

Joe is a 22-year-old man who has just graduated college and hopes to soon find a job and propose to the love of his life. However, he has not been the same independent person since his diagnosis of Transverse Myelitis (TM). This disease has caused Joe to have extreme weakness in his lower extremities, causing him to need help bathing, toileting, dressing his lower body, and transferring. Joe's leg strength is 2/5, and he cannot bear any weight on his legs while attempting to stand. All of these factors prevent Joe from independently doing the activities that he enjoys, including preparing his own meals, attending sports events, and going out to new restaurants with his girlfriend. 

 Extra! Extra! Read All About It! There's a New Sport in Town! NewsBall!

 For this project, everyone drew a random item out of a bowl. The object I picked was newspaper. At first I was completely stumped and had no idea how newspaper could help Joe with his lower extremity problems. Then I came up with NewsBall! NewsBall can be compared to soccer, in that it involves kicking a ball into a goal. First, you must take a piece of newspaper and mold it into a ball. Then you must find a shoebox or any household item that can be used as a goal. Lastly, you must place the ball on the ground and kick it into the goal as many times as you can. You can win by achieving a certain number of goals in a given therapy session, or simply by beating your own personal record of consecutive scored goals! 

 Goals of this intervention:

1. This activity will allow Joe to gain trunk control and balance, as well as leg strength and mobility. This will help Joe maintain balance while dressing his lower body, as well as gaining strength in his legs so he can eventually bear some weight and be more independent with transfers. 

2. Although he does not face many problems with his upper extremities, forming the newspaper into a ball is a great exercise for hand strength and grip. This will help Joe with grooming, ADLs, and meal prep.


 Who could benefit from this activity?

NewsBall is an appropriate and fun activity for individuals like Joe who are having difficulties with lower extremity mobility and strength. Anyone who needs to gain trunk control, balance, leg strength, and overall mobility would greatly benefit from playing NewsBall. This game also greatly incorporates the use of hand and grip strength. Balling up that newspaper is not as easy as it sounds! This game is especially enjoyable for individuals like Joe who enjoy sports.







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