“It’s been huge for Nolan to be able to progress his skills, which means he’s increasing his awareness of the world…”
—Lauren, Nolan’s physical therapist
Story
Custom solutions for student success
With every design, the Assistive Device Center at Perkins supports our students' abilities to learn and play.
The Assistive Device Center (ADC) at Perkins honors the individual needs of students with disabilities at Perkins by bridging the gap when commercial adaptive equipment falls short. No two children learn or communicate in the same way. That means tools used for seating, positioning, or to help optimize vision don’t serve everyone equally.
“Seating and positioning is one of our foundational ideas,” said Andrea, an occupational therapist who runs the ADC. If you don’t have a stable base to start with, learning and play is difficult.”
Every device or piece of equipment crafted by the ADC is a true collaboration with the child’s physical therapist (PT) and teacher. For children like Nolan, a Perkins student, the collaboration is ongoing, with multiple, creative solutions that support his progress over time. Because of his positioning equipment crafted by the ADC, Nolan improved not only his mobility, but also his independence and academics.
Nolan began receiving services from the ADC when his PT, Lauren, couldn’t find the right equipment on the commercial market to support his needs. This became a trend as Nolan’s needs evolved, inspiring a series of ADC-designed equipment to support each stage of his learning journey.
“It’s been huge for Nolan to be able to progress his skills,” said Lauren, “which means he’s increasing his awareness of the world, his concept development, his independence, and his autonomy.”
Depending on use, the ADC creates low-cost solutions using cardboard, wood, plastic, or PVC. They also make alterations to existing items, like toys, to make them more accessible by adding switch devices. The ADC relies heavily on volunteers with varying expertises, from woodworking to painting. And there’s no shortage of projects. In fact, the ADC completed over 2200 projects in 2023.
For Nolan, the ADC collaborated with his Perkins team to design a floor sitter, a crawling box with wheels, and a torso cradle swing with padding and straps, among other items. Each design has played a unique role in his growth, both inside and outside of the classroom.
“The ADC is always super responsive and ready to help at a moment’s notice”, said Jennifer, Nolan’s teacher. “And that kind of on-the-fly adaptability really allows us to individualize the education even more. It means we can go at Nolan’s pace.”
These days, you can’t walk through the ADC without seeing a photo of Nolan using one of his ADC-designed pieces of equipment: a testament to the critical impact these collaborative projects made on his growth. And these designs have even been helpful to other students as they explore their own opportunities for learning.
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