Durham Tech students transform courtyard for children with autism at Raleigh elementary school

Four students in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program at Durham Tech spent six weeks transforming a courtyard for children with autism, which is used for play and socialization.

The big reveal was July 11.

“It’s exciting to know that we’re able to make such a direct impact on the kids,” said Taylor Greenhill, Durham Tech student. “Especially when we see all that we’ve accomplished. It feels empowering and we’re really proud of it.”

This service project impacted a classroom of nine children with autism at Washington Magnet Elementary School in downtown Raleigh.

The class uses this small outdoor area for play therapy, which helps children improve their social, emotional, and communication skills. The area was in dire need of improvements and Durham Tech students were tasked with meeting these needs.

“This project helped us think outside of the box and how we can create different things to work on upper body strength, parallel play, and really think about how we can make this a more efficient area that helps the kids with play therapy,” said Rachel Hayes.

Students added more than 30 fidgets items to the sensory board; created a music wall with household products that make varying sounds; added plants to the raised garden bed along with a fossil dig; added a cat curtain made from bottle caps to the art studio; painted the solar system on the ceiling of the studio; repainted tires in the play area; created two tic-tac-toe games; and added a bowling set with sand inside the bowling balls to help with upper body strength.

Students were also responsible for raising all of the funds necessary to complete the project, which ended up costing nearly $600.

They received more than $500 on their GoFundMe campaign page, they received $50 from The Scrap Exchange, and The Rock Shop of Durham donated mulch and soil.

Kim Chandler, instructor in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program at Durham Tech, said the group worked well together and utilized their strengths.

“They came up with creative ideas to address the sensory, social, and fine motor needs of children with autism,” she said. “We’re so proud of their efforts.”

This group was just one of five service projects that students in the program completed this summer – a requirement of second year students.

“These are skills the students will put to use in their careers as Occupational Therapy Assistants,” Chandler said. “It allows our students to be involved in planning a project, assessing the needs of the population they are serving, and learning to work together as a team to complete a project. It's not always about the end result, but about the process.”

Other service projects included creating indoor and outdoor activities for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities, and creating activity stations for seniors living with dementia.

To learn more about the Occupational Therapy Assistant program, visit the program page.

(Students that participated in this service project were Kajuan Davis, Lindsay Copper, Taylor Greenhill, and Rachel Hayes.)

BEFORE & AFTER