Our school is an inner-city transition program. Students are 18-21 and all have disabilities. Our focus is to prepare students for their future as adults with as much independence as possible. We are the only school of this type in the district and our school pulls students from a large geographic area. Many are immigrants or first generation Americans, and 75% are students of color. 68% of our students receive free or reduced lunch.
My students, even though they have disabilities, are quite capable of becoming certified nursing assistants for their future careers.
This class introduces students to the medical vocabulary and skills needed to succeed in a CNA class in the future (as you can see by the photo at the right, we've already had a CPR training class). They're all eager to become self-supporting adults.
My Project
My students can all walk, yet they need a wheelchair. Why?
They need a wheelchair to learn transferring, safety, body mechanics and what it feels like to navigate the world in a wheelchair.
Here are more details on how my students will be learning from having a wheelchair in the classroom. It will help them:
1. To learn how to transfer patients. Transferring involves remembering to lock wheelchair wheels (very important to prevent falls and injuries) and involves learning proper body mechanics, balance, and confidence.
2. To learn how to adjust the wheelchair and learn its safety features. My students need to be trained on remembering to engage the brakes when their patient needs to be stationary, adjusting the foot pedals for the patients' comfort and using proper ways to secure a patient to prevent patients from falling out of the chair.
3. To practice what it is like for a wheelchair-using person to navigate the world on wheels. For a day, they will navigate the halls in a wheelchair, go to classes, get lunch, enter and exit doors, and sometimes they will have to ask for help.
The first time I taught this class, upon the end of the semester, I asked students what activities helped them learn the most. Several students replied that spending the day in a wheelchair helped them understand better what it must be like to need a wheelchair to get around. They described how uncomfortable it was to be in a wheelchair, how much it annoyed them when people walked up and started pushing them without asking, and how difficult it was to use the bathroom.
Medline Lightweight and User-Friendly Wheelchair with Flip-Back, Desk-Length Arms and Elevating Leg Rests for Extra Comfort, Gray, 18" Seat
• Amazon Business
$194.93
1
$194.93
Materials cost
$194.93
Vendor shipping charges
FREE
Sales tax
$0.00
3rd party payment processing fee
$2.92
Fulfillment labor & materials
$30.00
Total project cost
$227.85
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$40.21
Total project goal
$268.06
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal
$268.06
6 Donors
-$263.65
Donations toward project cost
-$227.85
Donations 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 Ms. Hagen and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.