Smiles and Imaginations Abound at Annual OT Adaptive Expo

的 Master of 科学 in Occupational 的rapy (M.S.O.T.)项目 at the University of New England held its annual Pediatric Adaptive Projects Expo on Tuesday, 4月23日, on UNE’s Portland Campus for the 健康 科学s.

的签名事件 职业治疗(OT)项目, the annual event showcases student-crafted projects designed to assist children with various sensory processing conditions or neurodevelopmental delays. 学生及其家庭, 教师, members of the community gathered in Girard Innovation Hall for the event, which featured over 25 adaptive projects ranging from sensory boards, 巨型棋盘游戏, 攀岩墙, 改装玩具, 等. 

对于他们的作业, students partner with community providers to create projects that meet the needs of a classroom, 户外游戏空间, 或者单个孩子. 的 projects may be related to sensory needs, motor needs, or overall learning strategies. 

All projects are donated to either local families or centers that cater to clients with such conditions, 克里斯·温斯顿说, Ph.D.， OTR/L，项目主管 正规澳门赌场网络的职业治疗, which provides students the opportunity for hands-on learning.

“学生 use evidence-based strategies, 临床推理能力, amazing 创造力 to create the projects,温斯顿说. “每年, it is wonderful to welcome our community to campus to experience the joy that occupational therapy can provide in helping children and others navigate life’s adventures.”

Class of ’25 students Kaleigh Walsh, B.S. 1923年，亚历山大·帕雷，B.S. 23岁的丽贝卡·科贝特，B.S. ’22, used their creative skills to construct enlarged, adaptive versions of the popular toy Lite-Brite, including one four-by-four-foot structure designed to facilitate children’s fine motor skills, 创造力, 解决问题, 认知能力, 手眼协调, 当然，还有乐趣. This larger toy is being donated to a nursery school in Revere, Massachusetts.

“Building these projects put in perspective how OT have to be creative and adapt when things don't always go as planned,沃尔什说。, who is considering a career in pediatric or geriatric OT. “Knowing how many different clients this is going to serve made building it so much more enjoyable. I can't wait to hear all the stories of how the children at the nursery school and the clinic enjoy their new Lite-Brites."

的 group also constructed a smaller, two-by-two-foot Lite-Brite over an existing light table that will be donated to StoreySmith Pediatric Clinic in Falmouth, 缅因州. Before starting their project, they met with StoreySmith to assess the center’s needs.

“的 entire process has really paralleled what OT practice can look like,” Pare said. “We have been able to communicate and collaborate with current practitioners in our field; engage in 解决问题, 反射性的思考, 创造力; and, 最重要的是, meet the needs of children within the community.”

Corbett, who holds a bachelor’s degree in 健康, 健康, Occupational Studies (now the B.S. 职业研究) from UNE, said she was eager to participate in this year’s expo.

“I remember watching a live stream of the expo in an undergraduate class and thinking how amazing and cool the projects were,”她说。. “I was so eager to participate in this wonderful event, it was so rewarding to see our final project and reflect on watching the expo for the first time and thinking with an OT lens.”