Occupational therapy students help Glencoe junior high schoolers build therapy toys for children
When Glencoe middle-schoolers needed feedback in designing therapeutic toys for a STEM project, they partnered with a team of experts: 40 UIC occupational therapy doctoral students.
”The project was a great example of community engagement and OT advocacy,” said Ashley Stoffel, OT clinical associate professor.
The 58 Glencoe seventh and eighth graders were developing prototypes of toys to be used in occupational therapy for children with cerebral palsy.
At the same time, in Stoffel’s class, “our OT students were learning about inclusive and universal design of toys and play spaces such as playgrounds,” she said. “So the toy fair project fit right in with our course objectives.”
The middle-school students were participating in Project Lead the Way, a nationwide program that supports STEM education, under the direction of Glencoe District 35 teacher Clair Durkes.
Durkes and Stoffel arranged the collaboration between their students, who teamed up for a session to review and critique the designs. The UIC students returned to Glencoe three weeks later to score the final projects at the Toy Design Fair.