OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I work with individuals with developmental disabilities. I am thinking of trying to teach table tennis for fine motor skills and coordination.
I am imagining a larger paddle and a slower, larger ball etc...
Does anyone have experience trying anything related to this?
Is there equipment that you have found successful?
I am not a table tennis player other than ping pong in the basement with my kids. Am I allowed to say "ping pong" here? .
Thank you in advance for your time and ideas.

Nittaku makes 44mm "large" balls. You can check out here: https://tt-japan.net/index.php?main_pag ... ts_id=1819

You can also do a search for TTX, those are intended for recreation players and probably easier to get a grasp on.

That being said "ping pong" is a relatively fast paced and unpredictable sport, does take some practice to come to terms with.

The 44mm balls are actually for special 44mm competition - there are leagues mainly in Japan, but I've heard of them in Europe, too. The rackets are limited to 1.5mm sponge short pips. Nittaku, Butterfly, Yasaka etc. make special "large ball" rubbers. The net is a little higher, too. Why this class? It's the same sort of thinking that gave rise to hardbat and sandpaper competition - a form of tabletennis with less of a spin component. I suppose TTX probably carries it TOO far..

The 44mm balls are great for ab-initio training. For people who are picking up the racket for absolutely the first time. You might not be aware of this but Joe Public off the street usually can't keep a table tennis ball on the table with regular equipment - the ball just ends up flying off into the wild blue yonder.

As for people with developmental disabilities - you know there are Paralympic classes for them, right? They can develop the skills to play regular table tennis at pretty high levels. But to start off.. 44mm balls might be a good idea, but I'd also buy some hardbats. Nothing fancy needed, just get some Wal-Mart hardbats.

Iskandar