We began our class today with presentations of our Ready made items and Inventions that we found at the dollar store that could be utilized as effective assistive technology for an individual with a disability.
The presentations were very informative. One group of classmates presented a piece of loose leaf with smiley face stickers on it. The stickers were placed on the sheet of loose leaf in the place of where proper spacing should be when a student prints. This was geared toward assisting a student who had difficulty spacing his words out correctly when he printed. Another ready made item that they used was a sparkle pen. They used the sparkle pen to trace over the double lines in the loose leaf. That way the child had more of a tactile reference to use to keep his printed words or sentences within the selected space that is highlighted by the sparkle.
Another great idea that was presented was to put Velcro on the students desk and Velcro on their pencil so it can assist them in keeping their pencil from rolling off their desk so often. I am excited to use this idea in my classroom next year. It is great to help keep the students organized. One of the biggest time wasters in my classroom was there would always be one student who could not find their pencil and usually it was because it had fell on the floor. So Velcro pencils for everyone!
An other item that was presented that I plan to use in my own classroom is rubber coated flex tie. The group demonstrated how a spoon and a paint brush can be easily addapted for students with difficulty with their fine motor skills.
The following is the description of the ready made items and our inventions that my group and I presented.
Task A
Submtted by Laura Ross, Shireen Ley, and Julie Ferguson
Description of items:
Item one - A clear soap dispenser in which a pump is used to dispense paint.
Item two - A bowl with a suction cup bottom.
Student item will be used with:
Student is a grade 5 male who has a physical disability and epilepsy. He has frost bite on all of his fingers caused by an incident when he was five years old. The frost bite killed the tissue in most of his fingers on both hands. He doesn’t have the fine motor skills to complete many fine motor tasks. He doesn‘t have good pincer grasp. Therefore, he has difficulty holding items such as pencils and paintbrushes. Also, he shakes due to tremors caused by seizures. This makes it difficult for him to complete tasks that involve objects that can move.
Skill sets and needs:
Student is able to independently grasp an object when it is the proper size to fit his hand. He requires tools that are proper size for him to be successful at independently completing tasks.
How will it improve his/her performance to carry out a specific task?
The student will be able to independently pump paint into a bowl. This is so he can be more independent in completing art activities. He is unable to squeeze a paint bottle so using the pump to get the paint is more successful. Also, the suctioned bowl will remain still when he is getting paint from the boil and it comes of easy for cleaning.
Environment (Milieu)
The student spends 80% of his day in a regular classroom with a very supportive teacher. Items are adapted and available in the classroom so the student can experience success in the regular classroom.
Task B -Invented AT
Student
Student is a grade 5 male who has a physical disability and Epilepsy. He has frost bite on all of his fingers caused by an incident when he was five years old. The frost bite killed the tissue in most of his fingers on both hands. He doesn’t have the fine motor skills to complete many fine motor tasks. He can not make a complete fist. Therefore, he has difficulty holding items such as pencils and paintbrushes. Also, he shakes due to tremors caused by seizures. This makes it difficult for him to complete tasks that involve objects that can move.
Description of itemT
We made an art tray that has adapted tools used to complete a painting activity. Included is several adapted paint brushes. The first paint brush has a razor handle which is used for better grip. This would be used on days when the student has less pain in his hand and he is able to grasp smaller items. The other two paint brushes are adapted so he can hold the brush easier when painting. One is a baby bottle with a paint brush attached through the bottle nipple. The other is a paint brush with a rubber ball at the top for better handling. Paint is in a soap dispenser which makes it easier for the student to be able to access the paint. This is echoed to the table for more stability. It comes off easier for paint replacement. a tray stabilized with Velcro, and a soap dispenser used for paint. Finally, there is a suctioned bowl used to hold the paint. This can be removed and cleaned easily.
Milieu
The student spends 80% of his day in a regular classroom with a very supportive teacher. Items are adapted and available in the classroom so the student can experience success in the regular classroom.
Task
The student will independently use adapted art tray to paint a picture. All of the objects are on the tray and adapted so the student can independently use them.
Item 2
Student
Student is a grade 2 male who is diagnosed with Autism. He becomes over stimulated often when in class with his peers and requires support remaining seated. He enjoys animals and loves being in his classroom with his peers.
Description of item
The item is a stuffed dog. We removed the stuffing and placed sand inside the dog then sewed him together. It is now used as a weighted dog.
Milieu
The student has a very supportive family who assist in teaching him strategies to deal with being over stimulated. They want him to be in class with his peers as much as possible. The class is a very structured environment which is conducive with his challenges.
Task
The student will place the dog on his lap to assist him in remaining still during seatwork. The dog will be in his desk in the regular classroom and the student can place the stuffed dog on his lap. The Occupational Therapist working with the student suggested trying something weighted on his legs for deep pressure. The therapist said this should help him to remain seated and focused for a longer period of time.
All in all the viewing of the items presented by others and creating our own inventions really opened my eyes to the amount of low cost assistive technology there really is available.
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