Help me give my students Washable Sensory Play materials sets, a Play & Explore Sensory Table, cones, alphabet bubbles and other hands-on sensory items.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
My classroom consists of a substantially separate setting for early childhood students with autism. Each student in my classroom has been diagnosed on the spectrum ranging from students that have mild to moderate skill deficits and others who are more severe. Some of our students are non-verbal and many are functioning under age and grade level.
Our classroom is in a high poverty area with little funding and a lack of tools and resources needed for these children to thrive.
Additionally, many of the students who are diagnosed with autism in the classroom also struggle with other co-morbidities ranging from mood disorders, ADHD, ADD, and other developmental delays. Despite their daily struggles and obstacles, these students come to school eager to learn and grow and become successful.
Each and every one of these students are extremely special and have amazing skills of their own to share with the world and I consider myself extremely lucky to be the one teaching them.
My Project
Children with autism see their world in a very different way than typically developing children, and their brains often work differently when processing the senses such as touch, smell, hearing, taste, and sight.
Children with autism may be extremely sensitive to their senses, finding them unpleasant, they might be unresponsive to sensations or they might be seeking extra sensation because their body doesn’t produce enough sensory input.
The child's reactions to a sensory processing disorder can be very challenging and can easily be interpreted as misbehavior.
Having a variety of sensory materials in the classroom will allow us to increase communication, increase social and emotional responses, and provide the sensory input needed for the students that are lacking. These sensory materials will also improve these students overall understanding of the environment, increase their attention skills, increase motivation skills, increase their self-help skills, etc.
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. Glaneuski Hossfield and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.