New Materials for Students With Motor Impairments and Developmental Delay
My students need specialized materials and adaptive tools to help them to improve their foundational gross motor and fine motor skills to be able to write/create/play more easily in school.
$441 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My students are differently abled - not disabled. They may not be able to do what other students in their grade level can do. It may be effortful for one of my students to carry his lunch tray to the table. It may be difficult for one of my students to trace her name. It may be tactilely unbearable for one of my students to use glue and glitter to complete a project. My students are creative, clever, and hard-working. They are surrounded by adults and children who make everything look easy, but my students never lose hope. When they come to my "OT Room," they are learning to get stronger, to improve the quality of their movements, and to process sensory input more capably, with the goal of being able to function more independently in their main classrooms. We do so many fun things together that don't seem strictly therapeutic, but really are. I hope, as their school-based occupational therapist, that all of my students leave feeling a little bit more confident than they did before, and a little bit more "able" in their own eyes.
My Project
As of data from 2016, 13 percent of students ages 3–21 who were enrolled in public schools received special education services. I am a school-based occupational therapist working at an elementary school with five special education classes, ranging from mild, to moderate, to severe needs. The kids who I work with receive specialized academic instruction based on eligibility criteria including: developmental delay, orthopedic impairment, autism, specific learning disability, multiple disabilities, and more. My role is to provide direct intervention or consultation on how to make motor tasks related to school function easier.
I've come to realize that we take so much of what kids can do for granted.
Common school tools (i.e. counting blocks, pencils, and paintbrushes) can be challenging to hold and frustrating to manage for my students. Even the playground can be a scary and unsafe place. It has been a struggle to order things through the school district (which is in a budget crisis), but I am lucky to have a classroom space to call my own. I am also blessed to work with teachers who generously share their supplies with me. I've salvaged other used materials, such as a trampoline, a plastic slide, and some toys/games from retiring coworkers. I also make a lot things out of cheap (or free) materials, such as my famous duct-tape phonebook booster seats and footrests, or my hair-roller pencil grips. I am requesting specialized things that I can't necessarily make: Egg Oh pencil grips, Twist N Write pencils, EazyHold Grips, hand weights, adapted paint brushes, large blocks, Mad Matter dough, and other preschool-level toys that I can use to help students refine their hand skills and upper body control for school function. By donating, you would be providing fresh, new, and versatile materials that will enable kids with unique needs!
EazyHold Therapist/Teacher Grip Assist (7 Pack) Daily Living Eating Aids for Special Needs- Universal Cuff- Adaptive Utensils - Occupational Therapy Tools - Special Education Supplies
• Amazon Business
$49.99
1
$49.99
Milliard Soft Foam Blocks, JUMBO Size, for Stacking Sorting and Building, 24 4" Cubes with Removable Covers and Carry Bag
• Amazon Business
$39.99
1
$39.99
Little Tikes Rocking Horse Blue
• Amazon Business
$29.99
1
$29.99
Little Tikes Push & Ride Racer
• Amazon Business
$29.99
1
$29.99
SQUIGZ STARTER SET - 24 PIECE SET
• School Specialty
$23.64
1
$23.64
Popular Playthings Playstix (150 pieces)
• Amazon Business
$22.48
1
$22.48
VTech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker Amazon Exclusive, Blue
• Amazon Business
$20.99
1
$20.99
WEIGHT HAND CANDO RIGHT 1/2LB
• School Specialty
$17.96
1
$17.96
WEIGHT HAND CANDO LEFT 1/2LB
• School Specialty
$17.96
1
$17.96
Mega Bloks 80-Piece Big Building Bag, Classic
• Amazon Business
$14.92
1
$14.92
DOUGH PACK MAD MATTR 10OZ BLUE
• School Specialty
$12.77
1
$12.77
ACCESSORY WRITING EGG OHS SET OF 3
• School Specialty
$8.51
1
$8.51
BRUSH PLASTIC BEGINNERS CHUBBY SCHOOL SMART SET OF 10
• School Specialty
$7.02
1
$7.02
TWIST N' WRITE PENCILS PACK OF 4
• School Specialty
$6.60
1
$6.60
Materials cost
$302.81
Vendor shipping charges
$9.45
Sales tax
$27.71
3rd party payment processing fee
$4.54
Fulfillment labor & materials
$30.00
Total project cost
$374.51
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$66.09
Total project goal
$440.60
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal
$440.60
2 Donors
-$320.40
Donations toward project cost
-$272.34
Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
-$48.06
match offer
-$120.20
Match offer toward project cost
-$102.17
Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
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. Chiu Wong and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
