Task A - AT Seekers and AT Inventors

Our final assignment in this course was to scour the shelves of local stores such as the Dollar Store and/or Walmart.  As my partner Michael Corbett said in his blog, it was a cold and rainy Sunday morning in Halifax.  The purpose of this assignment was to find items that could be used to assist students with adaptive needs.

 Item #1: Luggage Straps

Luggage straps for any student could be used to help organize and hold things inside a binder.  With smaller luggage straps a student could neatly organize a binder and secure a laptop, cellphone, ipad, calculator and earphones (small ear buds variety).  We all know students need to be organizing their new electronics.

 Item #2: Thick Glue or Texture glue

The art classroom can be a place of discovery for students with visual disabilities and that is where the item of thick glue/textured glue can enhance the experience of a visually impaired student.  The thickness of the glue allows the student to create finished projects that they can feel and therefore find success in a classroom that is often a place for regular students.

 Item #3: Fanny Pack

The ever popular fanny pack!  This item has transcended time and has served many different uses in other areas of mankind's existence, but in the classroom this item is a multi-faceted carrying case for pencils, it could serve as a holder for medical needs of a student, such as an epi-pen or prescription drugs of students.  The fanny pack is making a re-surgence!

 Item #4: Frisbee

A frisbee has multiple uses in a classroom context, one of the primary uses as a throwing device in a frisbee golf game.  However, if you flip the frisbee over it becomes an adaptive dinner plate for a student who does not have fine motor skills to pick up food off of a regular plate.  The raised edges would allow the student to hopefully not lose the food onto the floor of the cafeteria.  The frisbees ability to be multi-functional continues to amaze me!

 Item #5: Hair Scrunchy

I personally have no use for a hair scrunchy as I am balding middle aged man who does not need it.  But for a student who may have a cortical visual impairment, a colourful scrunchy is just what they might need to keep them focused on a task of drinking from a water bottle.  The CVI problem is a depth perception issue within the eyes and thereby limiting vision.  With a well-placed scrunchy, a water bottle and its contents would end up in the users mouth as opposed to on its lap :).

 Item #6: Painting Canvas

A painting canvas is a great way to help students learn about grid patterns.  If a teacher or EPA were to place a grid on the canvas, the student could then paint within the lines creating a pre-formed/designed piece of art.  Students with visual impairments or spatial acuity issues can use these grids to fill with paint and thereby create cool pieces of art for the local school gallery.

 Item #7: Baby Ice Cube tray

An ice cube tray could be used as a math aide.  You could write 2-digit numbers on white labels for each hole, kids toss a cube in each tray and add numbers together on recording sheet or whiteboard.  It is a tactile and fun game that students could use to learn math.  This type of activity can engage students with math difficulties in an unconventional addition game.

 Item #8: Rug Hook

Students who have issues with fine motor skills could use this rug hook to help with pulling a pre-tied shoelace tighter.  Or it could be used to close a pencil case.  A student with a chiari malformation could use this item to help as their fine and graphomotor skills can be hindered.

 Item #9: Shoe Horn

Shoe horn...what to do with this item?  We thought as the photo shows it could be used as a brace or support for student with with tremors associated with essential tremor or Parkinson's disease can sometimes be an arduous task, and at times, near impossible.  This type of stabilization can help overcome this barrier.



Item #10: Stress Ball

Developmental dyspraxia can cause issues in the ability for students to grasp small items such as a pencil.  The item pictured is a stress ball with a pencil through it.  This adaptation could be used to help those with a developmental coordination disorder to function and complete writing tasks that require a pen or pencil.



After completing Task A of assignment #3, Michael Corbett and I have begun construction of an invention that I think will wow your senses...well at least your visual senses :).  The activity today really showed me that assistive technology is everywhere and also that many items in our department stores are not adequate for individuals with disabilities.  Within a classroom environment and certainly from a larger school perspective, I am more conscious of the needs of students who require assistive technology. I also found that it was relatively inexpensive to build an invention that could serve a need within the classroom environment.

Invention day is almost upon us.