As the fun "teachers on summer" reels start tapering off and the first day of school posts start cluttering our feed, let me show you some items that are available for purchase on this little boutique I love, Amazon. Have you heard of it? All of these items are products I have used in my classroom and have suggested to the teams I work with now. They are products that all students can happily use, but can specifically help give access to students with disabilities.
Child Approved
I know, I am coming in hot with a blog post about materials you have to buy for your class, but I promise you, you will not regret it. These are all affordable items that can give your students more independence, opportunity, and again access. If you are a general education or special education teacher, service provider, or anyone in between, let's starts off this year with inclusion for all students.
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I am going to group the items and then rate them least to most accommodating. Click on the name of the item to be redirected to Amazon.
Desk Items
These items will keep the desk work more easily accessible for your students. These are my favorite chair alternatives/add-ons and desk add-ons.
This is one of the cheaper folding slant boards but still works great. This gives students better access to their worksheets. Whether it is being able to visually see the work, standing or sitting at the appropriate angle, or needing the page somewhere specific to write on it. That is where this board comes in handy.
2. Resistance Bands (These are ones that you can tie if your chairs might be smaller than the average chair). Here is the link for chair bands.
Ok, hear me out! These bands work amazingly on the legs of the student's chairs. Those fidgety moments or the constant leg jumpers will love the bands on their chairs.
3. Balance Disc
Here is another alternative for a seat for a child who likes to move. This can also be a great way for a student to focus on their core. Remember, let students get used to these new items. It may take a few days to a couple of weeks.
4. Wiggle Seat
Another seat alternative from the balance disc.
This seat is slightly different because it keeps the student at a slight angle. This is one of my favorite seats for my students as it keeps them slightly leaning towards their desks, which in my opinion, keeps them a little more engaged.
Pencil/Writing Grips
These are great crayons that focus on the student's hand being completely around it. A great start to writing if the student's hands are still working on fine motor skills.
2. Pencil Grips
Let's work on those fine motor skills! This requires more concentration. Make sure your student has the ability to focus on a fine motor task like this. These grips can quickly become frustrating if a student isn't ready for this step.
This can give assistance to a student who needs the extra weight on their writing utensil.
Scissors
These scissors are for students who don't have the physical ability to grip scissors and open or close the handles independently. These scissors can be used while safely on the table using hand under hand prompting.
Do you need scissors that are extra safe for your classroom? These scissors have blade protectors and are also used while on top of the desk. Hand under hand prompting can help introduce the scissors to the child as well. Friendly reminder, don't grab a child's hand to put on anything. Invite them to participate in the activity.
These scissors always seem to come in bulk and are worth it. Once a child is able to grasp the scissors and clench down, which is the easier movement of the two, these scissors are the ones to transition to. They do have little blades, which can be frustrating, but because the student doesn't have to push the handles apart too, their endurance will usually be higher.
Once a student is able to cut with loop scissors for a solid 5 minutes or can easily squeeze down and starting to lift up or dropping the loop scissors, it is time to switch to these training scissors. The fun little arrow gives the student a visual prompt on how to cut with also mildly assisting with the opening of the hand motion.
I think that is enough equipment for one day.
What other accommodations do you need? Anything I missed? I love growing this list.
