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High-tech play
Published 12:00pm Wednesday, April 2, 2008When 25 Fergus Falls special education students visited MSCTC-Fergus Falls Tuesday, it was for no ordinary field trip.
Tuesday was all about play — play with every day toys adapted to meet the needs of children with disabilities. From bubble-makers to dolls, tee ball to Tweety Bird, the toys were modified by MSCTC students and part of the college’s sixth annual Special Events Day.
“The thing I like best about this activity is we’re coordinating this with the college, the community and our school system,” said Kathleen Rittenour, a special education teacher with the school district. “It’s just a really good, united community activity.”
The toys, on display in the college gymnasium, were the work of students in David Seyfried’s Introduction to Assistive Technology and Introduction to Special Education classes, as well as Kent Bothwell’s Introduction to Recreation class. As the students explained, many toys off store shelves are hard for kids with disabilities to use.
“A lot of toys have a little switch and if you don’t have the mobility or the dexterity to get to that switch, you can’t turn it on,” said Joyce Garding. Garding joined fellow student Phena Keil in adding pedals to Spin Art painting machines, giving children a large button to press to get the paint whirling.
The Fergus Falls students tried out the modified toys with the help of Spartan baseball players, who partnered with kids in moving around the gym.
“Each year as I watch the college kids interact with our guests, it makes me feel so good,” said Bothwell, the Spartan baseball coach.
“I’ve always gotten really positive feedback from all the kids and my baseball players.”
Some of the disabilities facing visiting students Tuesday included autism, cerebral palsy and down syndrome. But at heart, Rittenour said, those special education students are the same as other children their age.
“We have a number of kids who are here who are just like other kids,” she said, “and want to play and have fun.”
Seyfried, who’s also the college’s director of disability services, said growing awareness about disabilities has led to some improvement in the way toys are made. Yet the biggest challenge to kids with disabilities remains those tiny switches that require a certain amount of dexterity to operate the toy.
