As occupational therapy practitioners, we often utilize the “just-right challenge” when working with our clients. There are numerous therapeutic benefits for clients when an activity is structured to incorporate both a child’s strengths and needs. As a practitioner, you undoubtedly utilize the concept of the just-right challenge frequently with your clients. This article will explore the roots of the term, what makes up the just-right challenge, and some ideas of how you can adapt activities using Southpaw equipment to design an activity that is both challenging and achievable.
The just-right challenge is often associated with A. Jean Ayres’s Sensory Integration theory, as she frequently included the idea of presenting an activity to a child that challenges the child’s ability to integrate sensory input but is still achievable. However, recent work by Drs. Kuhanek & Spitzer (2024) indicates that it was actually Dr. Elizabeth June Yerxa who coined the term “just-right challenge” in her 1981 review of the book Children Adapt: A Theory of Sensorimotor-Sensory Development. While the term may have initially been associated with sensory based treatments, it is often used more broadly to cover many types of therapeutic activities and tasks in our practice.
How can we determine if an activity is considered a just-right challenge? According to Kuhanek and Case-Smith (2020), an activity can be said to be a just-right challenge if it:
- Considers what the child is interested in and their developmental skills
- Challenges the child within reason when compared with their current performance of a particular skill or activity
- Is both motivating and engaging
- Has the potential to be mastered by the child if they provide focused effort
As practitioners, we can thoughtfully design activities that motivate the child to put forth greater effort during a challenging task by ensuring that the activity is engaging, motivating and developmentally appropriate. Using our clinical observation skills, we can monitor and adjust the demands of the task as needed, including the sensory, perceptual, motor, cognitive and even contextual aspects (Kuhanek & Case-Smith, 2020).
In the BEAR PAW Center, our pro-bono clinic here at Western New England University, we utilize Southpaw equipment in many of our pediatric sessions.
One of my favorite ways to create an appropriate challenge during a session is to adjust the child’s base of support while completing an activity on the rocker board. For example, by changing how far apart the child’s feet are, I can quickly adjust the level of challenge for the child’s balance, core strength and motor planning as needed.
Another way to create a just-right challenge is through adapting an “animal rescue” activity in the Rainbow Acrobat Swing. Using clothespins, we will clip animals at various heights on the acrobat swing and encourage the child to climb up the swing and reach for the animal, utilizing bilateral skills to grasp the animal and manipulate the clip to save them. By adjusting how tightly I hold the swing around the child, I can provide a just-right challenge for their core muscles. By swinging the swing, I can provide the just-right challenge for the child’s sensory systems. I can also make the activity just-right for the child by varying the size of the clothespins and animals.
The ways to utilize Southpaw equipment to create the just-right challenge are endless. By considering the child’s developmental skills, interests and areas of need, we as occupational therapy practitioners can develop exciting and motivating ways to help our clients reach new heights.
References:
Kuhanek, H. & Case-Smith, J. (2020). The occupational therapy process in pediatrics: Overview of essential concepts. In J. Clifford O’Brien & H. Kuhanek (Eds.), Case-Smith’s occupational therapy for children and adolescents, 8 th Edition (pp. -17). Elsevier.
Kuhanek, H. & Spitzer, S. L. (2024). The importance of conceptual origins: The case of the just-right challenge. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 78 (4). doi: https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2024.050619