The world is such a busy place with so much external stimuli. Imagine being a student of autism and trying to cope with all of this external stimuli and lacking the communication skills to inform others of your needs or wants.
Children of autism are such a mystery to educators because we do not always know where to find the missing puzzle pieces to ensure each student the opportunity for success.
One thing research has demonstrated is that children of autism become sensory overloaded by the world around them. This over-stimulation can manifest as aggression, screaming or other maladaptive behaviors. There are resources available to assist students in self-calming during these times of frustration or to aid in preventing an event due to frustration. Unfortunately our low-socioeconomic school lacks the ability to purchase these needed resources for these special children. We lack many of the necessary sensory items needed to put together a quality program for our students.
My Project
The "Conversation Pit" is a large soft pit that will allow my students to burrow in to receive sensory feedback, which will provide them comfort in the form of pressure. This tool will be used to teach a way to self-calm and will be a "safe" zone for students when they feel themselves loosing control and becoming frustrated. When frustrations are limited or controlled without aggression this allows for more learning to occur.
It is well known that in order for learning to take place children need to feel "safe" and to have their needs met.
This "Conversation Pit" will provide my students with the opportunity to put themselves in better space for learning to occur. Your contribution to this much needed resource will allow students the chance to develop concrete self-calming techniques and provide a safe zone for children who need a quiet place to ready themselves for learning.
Half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Packwood and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.