Most of us have great childhood memories of making gooey mud pies, having friends and siblings bury us in the warm sand at the beach, squishing jello through our fingers instead of eating it, and smearing soapy bubbles all over our face during bath time for the facial hair effect. Not all children have those memories, and if they do, they are not always pleasant. Autistic children often struggle with sensory issues, the sense of touch being just one of those that can be a struggle in everyday life.
As teachers, we try to teach students by engaging as many of their senses as possible. For autistic children that can sometimes mean having rough day in school. Ironically, one of the ways to help a child work through that is by exposing them to areas that are challenging to them. This April, for Autism Awareness Month, Engineering For Kids Central VA will be hosting an event for autistic children and their parents to provide an opportunity for kids to experience engineering through their senses.
Our goal, for this and future events, is to provide parents with an opportunity to meet with each other for support and networking and offer autistic children a time to learn about engineering, make new friends, and continue to work on sensory areas they may struggle with. Activities may include chemical engineering, where they will make solutions and mixtures, mechanical engineering where they will build toys and roller coasters, as well as robotics.
Please check our website for the upcoming date and time in April!
Dara Dawson and Sara Butler are the owners of Engineering For Kids of Central VA. They began their business two years ago after nearly 20 years of classroom teaching.