5 Simple Reminders for Exercise Programs

Therapists frequently recommend exercise programs for the classroom, home or community.  It can be difficult for individuals, teachers and parents to remember to perform the activities.  Here are a few simple reminders to increase the likelihood of completing the exercises:

1.  Set an alarm – Get an inexpensive alarm clock and set it to go off one time per day when it is convenient to perform the activities.  Each day that it goes off it is time to perform the exercises.

2.  Provide the child with a wristwatch – There are inexpensive digital wrist watches that you can set an alarm on.  When the child is at school they can receive the reminder to perform the activities.

3.  Apps – There are many apps that can provide push notifications to remember to perform certain tasks.  For example, Remember the Milk is free and allows you to customize online or via the app to get reminders via text messaging and email.

4.  Match it up with a daily activity – recommend that the exercises be performed each day when changing into pajamas.  Too busy at that time, try after lunch.  This will help the exercises to become part of the daily routine.

5.  Provide written instructions to hang on the refrigerator or stick inside a binder – Make sure you provide simple exercises with written instructions that the individual can refer to if necessary.  Keep the exercises simple in order to remember to do the set of the exercises each day.
Therapeutic Exercises for Home and School offers simple ideas for exercise programs that can be reproduced.