Item #1 - Plastic Suction-Cup Bowl
"Olivia" (pseudonym) is a grade 5 student with Cerebral Palsy. She can do many things such as walking using her walker, peddling her custom made tricycle, and she is working towards being able to eat independently. She struggles academically and is on an IPP for academics and for gross motor skills. She receives support from a Resource teacher, an EA, and occasional visits from an Occupational Therapist and Physiotherapist. All of the above (including the parent and classroom teacher) have formed a Program Planning team that meet each term to discuss "Olivia's "IPP goals, and make changes or updates when necessary.
Since "Olivia" is in the regular classroom for most of the day, we wanted to look at a low tech assistive technology device that would help her in this setting. We knew that she was working towards being able to eat independently without EA support at lunchtime in her classroom with her friends. She finds it difficult to manoeuvre her lunch around, and often knocks items on the floor by accident. We have also noticed that due to her age, she is really starting to become more self-conscious about this and sometimes gets embarrassed.
At the Doll
ar Store, we found a plastic bowl that has a big suction cup on the bottom. This enables the bowl to stay securely on the table. There is also a cover that goes with it. If "Olivia" used this for anything in her lunch that could fit in a bowl, it wouldn't matter if she bumped it, it wouldn't be going anywhere. This may enable the EA to sit somewhere else in the classroom for parts of lunch. The other great thing about it is that it looks like any other bowl a student may bring to school with something in it to eat.
Since "Olivia" is in the regular classroom for most of the day, we wanted to look at a low tech assistive technology device that would help her in this setting. We knew that she was working towards being able to eat independently without EA support at lunchtime in her classroom with her friends. She finds it difficult to manoeuvre her lunch around, and often knocks items on the floor by accident. We have also noticed that due to her age, she is really starting to become more self-conscious about this and sometimes gets embarrassed.
At the Doll
ar Store, we found a plastic bowl that has a big suction cup on the bottom. This enables the bowl to stay securely on the table. There is also a cover that goes with it. If "Olivia" used this for anything in her lunch that could fit in a bowl, it wouldn't matter if she bumped it, it wouldn't be going anywhere. This may enable the EA to sit somewhere else in the classroom for parts of lunch. The other great thing about it is that it looks like any other bowl a student may bring to school with something in it to eat.Item#2 - Ring of Colour Overlays
"John" is a Grade 6 student who is average academically and has great fine and gross motor skills. He has no medical conditions and appears to be a very typical Grade 6 student. "John" loves to read novels but often struggles with reading text photocopied onto regular white paper, which his classroom teacher uses often. He frequently avoids any work on "worksheets" and can cause a disruption. He also claims to get headaches frequently in school.
We have created a ring of various colours of translucent overlays. We have also included a magnification overlay. It has been proven that some students find reading black print on bright white pape
r "hard on the eyes". Sometimes headaches are a factor. Sometimes the sharp contrast causes a distraction. With various colours to choose from "John" can pick an overlay and simply lay it on the white paper his teacher gave him, still being able to read the text through it. The overlays are actually pieces of plastic subject dividers. Depending on the child, certain colours can help with the sharp contrast in colour of a regular photocopied sheet of writing. We decided to put the various colours on a ring so a student can quickly flip through and choose the colour they would like to work with for th
e lesson. We also decided to cut the overlays to the size of an index card. From our experiences using full size overlays from the "Low Tech" AVRSB kit, they were too big, bulky, and were often difficult to move over a folded text book. This way, the student can also be moving it as they read along, to help them stay on track. The ring could hang there when not in use, and is easily accessible for the student. In fact, they were so inexpensive and easy to make, a classroom teacher could provide them for many other students too.
10 (+) Other Items We Found At the Dollar Store
1. a variety of sensory materials (squishy balls, sponges, kitchen scrubbers)
2. giant pen for difficulties with fine motor
3. bottom part of a broom for easier to handle scrub brush
4. giant foam dominoes
5. hula hoop for gross motor activities
6. foam blocks
7. rotary cutter ( a type of scissors, easier to use)
8. tambourine with large handle
9. travel pillows to stabilize head
10. plastic water glasses with cover and built in straws
11. aprons for art/eating
We have created a ring of various colours of translucent overlays. We have also included a magnification overlay. It has been proven that some students find reading black print on bright white pape
r "hard on the eyes". Sometimes headaches are a factor. Sometimes the sharp contrast causes a distraction. With various colours to choose from "John" can pick an overlay and simply lay it on the white paper his teacher gave him, still being able to read the text through it. The overlays are actually pieces of plastic subject dividers. Depending on the child, certain colours can help with the sharp contrast in colour of a regular photocopied sheet of writing. We decided to put the various colours on a ring so a student can quickly flip through and choose the colour they would like to work with for th
e lesson. We also decided to cut the overlays to the size of an index card. From our experiences using full size overlays from the "Low Tech" AVRSB kit, they were too big, bulky, and were often difficult to move over a folded text book. This way, the student can also be moving it as they read along, to help them stay on track. The ring could hang there when not in use, and is easily accessible for the student. In fact, they were so inexpensive and easy to make, a classroom teacher could provide them for many other students too.10 (+) Other Items We Found At the Dollar Store
1. a variety of sensory materials (squishy balls, sponges, kitchen scrubbers)
2. giant pen for difficulties with fine motor
3. bottom part of a broom for easier to handle scrub brush
4. giant foam dominoes
5. hula hoop for gross motor activities
6. foam blocks
7. rotary cutter ( a type of scissors, easier to use)
8. tambourine with large handle
9. travel pillows to stabilize head
10. plastic water glasses with cover and built in straws
11. aprons for art/eating
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