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Jackie Buchanan

OTA 1270
April 21, 2016

Service Learning Project Description


For my service learning project, Melissa asked me to organize her sensory closet. I
approved this request with Lyndsay in advance, however, once I actually saw the
closet I knew I needed a bigger task. Melissas idea of messy and mine are not even
in the same stratosphere. The 3-shelf closet was already well organized, however,
there were a few items out of place. I completed the task in under 30 minutes. Cost:
$0
As I was cleaning out the closet, I found 6 stuffed birds that were supposed to chirp
when pressed. None of them worked, and so Melissa threw them away. I asked if I
could take them home and see if I could get them working again. This required a
reasonable amount of minor surgery to open them up and remove the noise maker.
I replaced the batteries in the noise makers and sewed them up again. They all
work, and will be a nice addition to the sounds sensory bin. This activity took me
over 5 hours. Cost:$5
I asked Melissa for another task, and she requested that I come up with a unique
and gradable FM intervention to use with a kindergarten student. I came up with
two separate interventions, and I was able to use them with multiple students. The
first activity was a pompom sorting task, where the client had to pick up a pompom
and choose the appropriate color container to put it into. The tiny containers had
matching lids with small holes melted into them. This activity addressed visual
perception, visual motor, fine motor, finger isolation, and color matching. It could
easily be graded up or down depending on the ability level of the client.
The second activity was similar in nature, but required more FM strength. I filled 12
small, colored, plastic eggs with wheat berries and glued them closed. The heavy
eggs provided weight and noise for proprioception and auditory input. The child was
required to push an egg through a slit in the top of one of 4 matching colored
containers. This gradable activity addressed visual perception, visual motor,
strength, hand manipulation, color matching, focus, and attending to task. I spent
over 5 hours creating these two activities. Cost: $10
Finally, Melissa asked if I could recreate a simple, multi-step, flower puzzle out of
wood for the OT Shop that would be appropriate for students who could follow 3-4
steps. This puzzle was designed to fill the gap between the simple, 1-2 step

assembly projects, and those with >5 steps. I drafted a design based on her verbal
description and had my son cut it out for me. The flower puzzle addresses
sequencing, fine motor, bimanual manipulation, and problem solving. Total time
spent from conception to creation was over 3 hours. Cost: $2

Service Project Photos

First treatment

Second treatment

OT Shop.......insanely organized.

The messy sensory closet after I cleaned it.


It looked
pretty much exactly the same
before I started.

Service Learning Reflection


Sensory Closet: This project was so minor; it was almost funny. Melissa is a
world-class organizer extraordinaire, and I knew right away that there was
absolutely nothing I could do to improve on the sensory closet. Instead, I simply
cleaned each bin and sorted the misplaced items the appropriate bin. I also washed
down the shelves. I enjoyed working on this project, because I was able to play
around with each sensory item and reason out their therapeutic benefit. I was able
to get a feel for what I should put in my own sensory bin.
Bird Surgery: This project was born when I rescued the discarded birds from the
trash. I wanted to save them from extinction by whatever heroic measures were
necessary. Turned out that they only needed batteries. I sewed them up and will
return them to their natural environment after my presentation on Friday. Melissa
actually gave me the birds to keep, but they are so charming that I want to make
sure she gets them back so that the students can enjoy them.
Intervention #1: I created this project with a particular student in mind who
exhibited tactile defensiveness. He didnt like to touch very many things, and so I
wanted to make something that would be visually appealing, but that would also
provide a just right challenge. (I created the second intervention as a back up,
incase he wasnt able to tolerate the texture of the pompoms) As it so happened,
that particular student didnt come to school that day, and so I was able to use the
activity with 5 other students instead. I was worried that my project would be too
simple, but it turned out that it had to be graded down for 4 out of the 5 students
because they werent able to manage the level of FM dexterity necessary to push
the pompom through the hole. Each student appeared to enjoy the task, and I loved
being able to work one-on-one with the children using something that I created. It
was very rewarding.
Intervention #2: This was the egg and cup project, and it was the activity that the
students enjoyed the most. One particular student struggled with bimanual
manipulation, and almost never used both hands at the same time. He tried to push
an egg into the cup, but found it too challenging. I took the lid off the cups, and
showed him how to pick up an egg using the scissor scoops. This child took the
scissor scoops, and used both hands make it open and close. He sorted every single
egg using this bimanual method, and was engaged and attended throughout the
entire activity without any v/c or redirection. Melissa was amazed. Apparently, this
child rarely attended to any task, and never exhibited this level of engagement. This
was a breakthrough moment for him, and I was so happy that my idea was received
so well, and had such a positive impact. Melissa loved the scissor scoops, but had
never seen them before. I gave mine to her so that she could continue to use them
with this activity. How could I do anything else?

Melissa allowed me the freedom to work independently with each student, and only
offered support when I asked for it. She was really excited about the projects I
made, and chose to keep them in the kindergarten room so that she could
incorporate them into her regular routine.
Wood Flower Puzzle: The idea for this project came about during a conversation
we had about the variety of tasks in the OT Shop. The bulk of the tasks required
only 1-2 steps to complete. I noticed that there was one task that required about 56 steps. I asked her about this task, and wondered why there werent any 3-4 step
tasks. She told me about her wood flower puzzle, and said that she gave it to a boy
scout to use as a model for a bulk production for his eagle scout project. She never
heard from him again, and she hasnt been able to find a similar pattern. I had her
describe it to me, and I worked up a prototype. Then I had my son cut it out for me,
and, once she approves the design, he will make her 20 more just like it so that she
can add it to the OT Shop. He is planning on doing it this summer for his eagle scout
project, and she will be able to use it for the upcoming school year.
I know I probably did more than I should have, but I loved every single minute of
each project. It was 100% complete and total validation to see my projects in
action, and to witness how much each child enjoyed using them. Best spring break
ever.

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