My students need Manual Dexterity vests to learn to manipulate fasteners; Nasco Gears Pounding Board Set, Theraputty, and Pop Tubes for hand strengthening; and self-opening scissors to develop cutting skills.
I am an Occupational Therapist servicing special needs students that live in the suburbs as well as open-enrollment students from the city. Some families in our community struggle to make ends meet. They come from low socioeconomic households with seventy-nine percent of our students receiving free and reduced breakfast and lunch plans daily, which is configured based on income. They come from diverse backgrounds and have many different ability levels.
Students that receive occupational therapy services are learning fine and visual motor skills in order to improve their self-care, handwriting, keyboarding, and cutting skills.
They also may have sensory processing concerns and need special environmental adaptations to help them focus and self-regulate their behavior in order to most effectively and independently participate in the classroom.
Students receive occupational therapy individually and in groups both in the classroom and in a designated therapy area. My students have a range of disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, multiple disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, other health impairment, visual impairment, and specific learning disabilities. They each learn at their own pace and have individualized education plans.
My Project
The students that are on my caseload need to strengthen their hands and upper body in order to complete activities such as cutting, developing a pincer grasp for holding writing instruments, and manipulating fasteners.
The Manual Dexterity Vests will help students to develop zipping, buttoning and snapping skills.
The PETA self-opening scissors and cutting skills workbook will develop bilateral hand skills needed for cutting. Resistive activities such as the Nasco Gears Pounding Board Set, Pop Tubes, and CanDo Theraputty, will develop muscles in the shoulder and hands. The Free Play Magnatab, Abacolor Abacus Geometric Shapes Set, Fantacolor Junior Pegboard and Tricky Fingers not only enhance visual-motor skill development but will also encourage a mature pincer grasp needed for manipulation of fasteners and writing instruments.
The items that I have requested will provide an enjoyable way for my students to develop their upper body, hand strength, and overall fine motor coordination skills.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Meigs and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
