As a physical therapist in a school system, I work with students in special education who have mobility impairments. What exactly does this mean? My students are delayed in hitting their gross motor milestones and have trouble independently sitting, standing, walking, jumping, balancing, running. These delays interfere with their ability to fully participate in their education and keep up with their peers. As Providence services 24,000 students and has a large special needs population, the PT budget is spent on standers, walkers, hoyer lifts, and supportive seating for children without enough head, neck and trunk control to sit in a regular chair. One of these supportive chairs or standers for a middle school student can cost up to 5k. This leaves little to no money for equipment for our students who are working on higher level activities such as stairs, balancing, jumping, core strength, etc. Given that these children live in the city and most don't have backyards, school provides a large portion of the gross motor activity they participate in.
I would like to provide a room in my home school that would allow my students to reach their full potential and become as independent as possible, while still having fun! The hurdles would be used to help students with poor balance who fall when stepping over objects. The spot markers would be used as guides for jumping or for where to place feet when ascending and descending stairs. The magnets can either be used as incentive for squatting to ground to work on lower extremity strength, or to stand on a balance board to work on balance reactions. As I travel to 7+ schools a week, some of this material would be able to travel with me to provide services to all my schools.
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As a physical therapist in a school system, I work with students in special education who have mobility impairments. What exactly does this mean? My students are delayed in hitting their gross motor milestones and have trouble independently sitting, standing, walking, jumping, balancing, running. These delays interfere with their ability to fully participate in their education and keep up with their peers. As Providence services 24,000 students and has a large special needs population, the PT budget is spent on standers, walkers, hoyer lifts, and supportive seating for children without enough head, neck and trunk control to sit in a regular chair. One of these supportive chairs or standers for a middle school student can cost up to 5k. This leaves little to no money for equipment for our students who are working on higher level activities such as stairs, balancing, jumping, core strength, etc. Given that these children live in the city and most don't have backyards, school provides a large portion of the gross motor activity they participate in.
I would like to provide a room in my home school that would allow my students to reach their full potential and become as independent as possible, while still having fun! The hurdles would be used to help students with poor balance who fall when stepping over objects. The spot markers would be used as guides for jumping or for where to place feet when ascending and descending stairs. The magnets can either be used as incentive for squatting to ground to work on lower extremity strength, or to stand on a balance board to work on balance reactions. As I travel to 7+ schools a week, some of this material would be able to travel with me to provide services to all my schools.
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