Have you heard or seen us talking about our beloved fuzzies? They may look like a fun, quirky craft project, but they’re actually an incredible therapy tool for children.
Learn all about their benefits and how we use them here at Royal Far West.
What is a fuzzy?
A fuzzy is therapy tool that children and child health clinicians use during telehealth therapy sessions.
To make a fuzzy, a tennis ball is cut slightly – think of it like a mouth, so it can ‘talk’ when squeezed. It’s then decorated with tactile embellishments, making it as unique as the child who receives it.
In our therapy tool packs for telehealth sessions, every child gets their very own fuzzy.
What are the benefits?
Fuzzies help to support children’s fine motor skills, coordination and social interactions, which can help them engage in practical tasks such as writing and playing.
By incorporating the fun into the tennis ball, these fuzzies can help encourage a child’s participation in the therapy session, while also making it an enjoyable experience.
What are fine motor skills?
Fine motor skills are an important part of development and include reaching, grasping and manipulating objects with hands, for example holding a pencil, eating with cutlery or tying shoelaces.
Fuzzies support fine motor skills by strengthening the small muscles in the arms, hands and fingers, enabling the child to become more controlled in these acts.
If a child is struggling with their fine motor skills, it may impact their self-esteem, learning and social interactions. It can also impact independence in their daily life, with acts such as getting dressed, writing and feeding themselves requiring these fine motor skills.
Therapy can help support a child’s fine motor skills, and fuzzies play a key role in this.
Who makes them?
Fuzzies are created by volunteers and our clinical team.
We have some incredible corporate partners who donate their time to create fuzzies. Not only is it a fun and educational day out for the team, but it also provides a great asset and time save for our in-demand team.
Are you interested in arranged a fuzzy building engagement day for your team? [CONTACT OR LINK – CTA TBC].
Hear what other teams have to say about their experience:
“We are thrilled to have been able to support with Fuzzy, it was by far the most highly rated and successful event we have run to date!”
Caitlin Foster, Adobe
“We are proud to be in this mutually beneficial partnership with RFW. It gives us a sense of belonging. Life can be difficult sometimes but remembering we’re all in this together can help us feel more connected to those around us. Through this partnership, whilst we know we are making a difference to country children with complex needs, our business has benefited immensely. We now have a connected team, full of inspired people, with improved performance resulting in maximising outcomes for our business”.
Ray Manio – COO, Sydney Business Park
