{"id":288532,"date":"2017-12-21T13:32:40","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T18:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=288532"},"modified":"2018-01-09T08:43:36","modified_gmt":"2018-01-09T13:43:36","slug":"toys-for-all-tots-special-needs-play-288532","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/toys-for-all-tots-special-needs-play-288532\/","title":{"rendered":"Engineering students give special needs children the gift of play"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When Noah Meyers saw toys set out on tables in the Rettner Hall atrium, he couldn\u2019t resist wandering over to learn more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI couldn\u2019t say no to being a kid again,\u201d he admits.<\/p>\n<p>Next thing he knew, the University of Rochester sophomore was implanting a switch in a bright red Peek A Boo Elmo toy so it can be used by children with special needs at the University\u2019s Golisano Children\u2019s Hospital. The tables were set out as part of a workshop to teach students and other volunteers how to adapt the toys so that children with limited mobility can activate them on their own.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s a really good cause,\u201d says Meyers, a mechanical engineering major from Pittsford, New York. \u201cAnd not only to help the kids. It helps me. It helps the whole community. It\u2019s giving back while having fun doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-container\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-LsE4szerEY\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" allow=\"encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Indeed, \u201cit\u2019s hard not to smile while doing this,\u201d says Rachel Monfredo, a lecturer in chemical engineering at Rochester. Monfredo encouraged students to start a local Toys for All Tots initiative here after learning about the original program at Ohio State University\u2014and how adapted toys can be a strong motivation for children with special needs to develop other skills.<\/p>\n<p>Staff members who work with the children at Golisano are excited about the project.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlaying with toys is an important part of childhood for all children; it makes them laugh and offers opportunities to interact with others and learn new skills,\u201d says Lorna Patanella, a pediatric nurse practitioner.<\/p>\n<p>However, \u201cfamilies often struggle with finding toys when their children cannot push the button to activate a toy,\u201d Patanella says. \u201cAnd toys that are adapted to allow children to activate them with a \u2018switch\u2019 are usually too expensive and not easily found in any stores.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is so heartwarming to see so many students taking their time to provide something as simple as a toy for these children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though still in its infancy, the Rochester initiative has already received a donation of 28 toys from Mattel Inc. Twenty-three toys have been adapted so far.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"button btn\" style=\"color: #fff;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hajim.rochester.edu\/academics\/undergraduate\/toys-for-all-tots\/index.html\">Learn more about Toys for All Tots and how to make a donation.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The adaptation process can be readily learned, Monfredo says; she has encouraged students from multiple disciplines to get involved.<\/p>\n<p>Judging from the recent workshop, it does help to have a steady hand with a soldering iron.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cActually, the hardest part is taking the toys apart in a way that we can put them together again,\u201d says Danielle Daniels, the director of diversity in STEM at the University\u2019s David T. Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity. \u201cOnce you\u2019re able to do that, it\u2019s pretty straightforward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniels, who worked as a mechanical engineer at Eastman Kodak and ITT before joining the University, said she was drawn to the workshop for the opportunity to \u201ctake things apart and put them back together\u201d\u2014and because her own son has benefited from Golisano Hospital.<\/p>\n<p>Wendi Heinzelman, dean of the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, sees multiple benefits from the project. In addition to helping children with special needs, she says, the project gives students an opportunity to participate in community-engaged learning. It could also create opportunities for engineering students to develop less expensive, more efficient, or more complex switches as part of their senior design projects. And it\u2019s a good example of how the University strives to engage with the Greater Rochester community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a wonderful project,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Toys for All Tots student organization hosts workshops to teach other students and community members how to adapt battery-powered toys so that children with limited mobility can activate them on their own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":286,"featured_media":289422,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1],"tags":[9436,5326,18632],"class_list":["post-288532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","category-uncategorized","tag-community","tag-disabilities","tag-hajim-school-of-engineering-and-applied-sciences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Engineering students give special needs children the gift of play<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Toys for All Tots student organization teaches other students and volunteers how to adapt toys so children with limited mobility use them on their own.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/toys-for-all-tots-special-needs-play-288532\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Engineering students give special needs children the gift of play\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Toys for All Tots student organization teaches other students and volunteers how to adapt toys so children with limited mobility use them on their own.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/toys-for-all-tots-special-needs-play-288532\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-12-21T18:32:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-01-09T13:43:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/fea-toys-for-all-tots.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bob Marcotte\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bob Marcotte\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/toys-for-all-tots-special-needs-play-288532\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/toys-for-all-tots-special-needs-play-288532\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bob Marcotte\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e0d8d271cd290d592461fa9cefca013b\"},\"headline\":\"Engineering students give special needs children the gift of play\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-21T18:32:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-01-09T13:43:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/toys-for-all-tots-special-needs-play-288532\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":597,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/toys-for-all-tots-special-needs-play-288532\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/fea-toys-for-all-tots.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"community\",\"disabilities\",\"Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Campus &amp; 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