Has anyone created a home sensory gym?

[Anonymous]

My 4.5 year old has adhd and sensory regulation issues. I have a big basement and would like to make a "home gym" for him, but I don't want to spend a lot of money. Gym mats are super expensive. I was thinking of getting a tunnel, some beanbag chairs and a little indoor trampoline. Does anyone have experience with this and or ideas of where to get the stuff? OT catalogs are super expensive. So far we are looking at amazon. Thanks!!

[Anonymous]

we bought a trampline. We let DS take the coach cushions apart and jump on/roll around on them. We got a bungie cord hopper thing that he uses and a couple of other items suggested by our OT. We bought the trampoline new (the mini one person kind) and use dog pillows as crash mats. The other stuff (minus our couch) I picked up at consignment sales. It's not a room just for these items, but we have these items available and know when DS needs to use one/some of them. We are always looking around for new things, but what we currently have for DS seems to be working.

[Anonymous]

14:45 Can you tell us more about the bungie cord hopper thing? We have a trampoline for our 5.5 yo, but that hopper sounds promising too.

For OP, We also have a hippity-hop/whopper hopper type ball that seems to provide a different experience from the trampoline. Something like this.
http://www.amazon.com/Hippity-Hop-Inch-Rainbow-Ball/dp/B0010XEIF4

We got a little roller board and a bunch of cones and things for obstacles courses from Discount School Supply, they might be cheaper than the OT places. www.discountschoolsupply.com

We got one tunnel at IKEA, another at a yard sale.

[Anonymous]

14;45 here. It's a bungie cord pogo stick. I could not think of the name before. DS really likes it. We need to get a roller board (OT suggested a large skateboard would do) also. We also have a tunnel that DS used to use. In addition, we ordered two different types of therapy puddy that DS uses on and off. He also uses a grabber type of toy and we do a lot of balloon tossing (he has to keep it up in the air and alternate hands).

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your suggestions... dog pillows are good to crash into it... I will look up the roller board thing too. It'd be neat to get an indoor swing thing too, but don't want to get anything that could be dangerous.

[Anonymous]

We turned our basement into a big sensory gym. All the kids in the neighborhood love it, too. In addition to the stuff already mentioned, we have an Ikea swing like this one http://www.amazon.com/Ekorre-Swing-hanging-hammock-outdoor/dp/B002XPNMFU . We've gotten hula hoops and therapy balls off Freecycle and I purchased therabands for the kids to play and do row, row, row your boat. It's not hard or too expensive once you start thinking creatively!

[Anonymous]

Our stuff is all around the house. At 5 1/2, she also enjoys the sit-n-spin, block stilts, and our swing set.

Also, gf play dough, moon sand, and sensory bins I made with different size beans and kitchen tools measuring spoons, cups, etc).

These are great and only $15:
http://www.backtobasicstoys.com/item/productid/8567/txt/Wooden_Block_Stilts