On University of Delaware’s Reading Day this May, a team of judges from across disciplines witnessed presentations by 5 teams competing in the Delaware Design Institute’s First Annual Social Innovation and Design Challenge. The Design Challenge, set forth by the Delaware Design Institute for the 2012/2013 academic year, asked students to identify a “wicked” problem and work together as a team to design a product or program to address that problem. Teams were granted one brainstorming session with a contest judge and were asked to articulate not only their problem and solution, but to also describe their design (and re-design) process. Teams of students from multiple departments came together to present their ideas and research innovations, all vying for the $500 Grand Prize. Congratulations to all of this year’s teams for a job well-done! Grand Prize Winners: Team YesUCan University of Delaware seniors Mike Pfeifer, Matt Klixbull and Matt Durst began their project as senior mechanical engineering students this past fall.
Their objective was to retrofit a full-sized tricycle with a steering mechanism and braking system that would allow an adult with limited mobility to still enjoy the benefits of biking. This grand prize winning project was undertaken to benefit YesUCan USA – Center for Adapted Sports, Fitness and Recreation, a Delaware-based nonprofit promoting mobility for persons of all abilities. First Runner-Up: ADHD: An opportunity for creativity Recognizing a relatively recent increase in the number of children diagnosed with ADHD and the resultant struggles faced by both parents and teachers, this team sought an inexpensive solution that would allow integration of ADHD students into the mainstream classroom and benefit both ADHD children and those without ADHD. The team put together a Teacher Toolkit complete with: exercise balls (to be used as chairs), Classical Music, dry erase board and markers, paper clips (for math work) and letter tiles (for spelling work) as well as a list of hand signals commonly used in classroom management.
The team also developed a sample lesson plan to be used in an early elementary classroom. Using tangible items like tiles, paper clips and dry erase boards were presented as well-researched methods of connecting with and learning in all students. Exercise balls as chairs have been shown to effectively allow for some literal “wiggle-room” that is non-distracting in the classroom environment. In assembling this kit, the team hopes that all classrooms could be inexpensively transformed into ADHD-friendly environments that benefit all students. The Energy Conservation team proposed the addition of a three-way switch in University of Delaware dorm rooms that would automatically turn off lights when the door was locked from the outside. As proposed, these switches would reduce energy usage without requiring a large change in habit on the part of the student. In addition, this team was able to troubleshoot a solution to a roommate leaving the room while the other remained.
After identifying as their “wicked problem” this relatively high rate of divorce in the United States, this team proposed the inclusion of a “Healthy Relationships” class in the standard curriculum for all high school students. This course would pair students together to practice open communication skills and problem solving methods. Not afraid of a challenge, this team also drafted a piece of legislation that, if adopted, would raise the age of consent for marriage. Not Pictured: Team High School Triathalon This team proposed the development of a club team for Red Clay School District High Schools that would encourage at-risk youth to train for and participate in triathalon events. Participation in training and events was proposed as a means of building team camaraderie and self-confidence in participants from a wide range of backgrounds.An unhandled exception was generated during the execution of the current web request. Information regarding the origin and location of the exception can be identified using the exception stack trace below.
We talked this week about how movement, fidgeting, is scientifically proven to help focus. Longtime ADHD researcher Dr. Mark Rapport, believes movement is a key component in the ability of certain children to focus. A published study concluding in 2009 by the Department of Psychology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, investigated whether children’s activity level is functionally related to working memory demands. Following this, a second comprehensive two-year study by UCF was undertaken in 2010 in which the Move Stool was selected for use due to its unique ability to encourage movement while sitting. The data is still being analyzed, but according to researchers, when asked, the children involved in the study overwhelmingly preferred the MOVE to the control chair. Back in November, Adrienne and Kay attended the CHADD conference and met lots of moms and dads on a similar parenting journey, as well as experts and manufacturers in the ADHD field. The President of Varier USA was one of those people, attending the conference with his Move Stool.
He tells me the Move Stool was a hit at the CHADD conference, so much so that he sold out of the inventory he brought with him and had requests for more. After Adrienne met him, she sent me an email from Orlanda to say he may be contacting us to try out these stools and that she’d really like to try it at their house. I think it’s fair to say she was eager to see if this stool would help Jaime attend while eating meals and doing schoolwork. Sure enough, I was contacted after the conference to review the Move Stool on this site. Varier was kind enough to send a stool to both Adrienne’s household and mine. Following are our experiences with this unique product. When we first got the Varier Move Stool, Little J. took to it right away — but probably not in the way the manufacturer intended. The stool is designed to enhance posture, to provide an active sitting experience, to help manage a kid’s fidgets, wiggles, and other need for proprioceptive input. The idea is that kids with ADHD sit on the stool but be able to move as needed, allowing them to attend in a classroom or work environment.
It’s a great concept, and Little J definitely got a lot of energy out through his use of the stool…but he didn’t do a whole lot of sitting, at least not at first!Instead, he saw it as a new toy! First, he sat down on the floor with the Move Stool between his legs, driving it like he was in the number 1 slot in the Indy 500. Next, he dragged it around his house, slamming it into doors, walls, and furniture. Then the spinning, spinning, spinning, started. Finally, after a few days I announced (in a very firm voice) that the Stool was for SITTING, and ONLY for SITTING. He sat, but adjusted it to its top height, so when he managed to haul his little butt up to the seat, he struggled to balance, screaming “WHOAH WHOAH!” and finally toppling to the floor. So, week 1 with the Varier Move Stool didn’t go very well. This was predictable, as our previous experiences with devices like this — exercise balls, textured wiggle seats, etc. — have often been initially received with a high level of enthusiasm coupled with creativity.
But then week 2 arrived and the novelty wore off. The stool migrated to a spot at our kitchen table, and now it’s J’s favorite place to sit while eating. He likes moving — rocking, wiggling side-to-side, balancing on his toes — while eating, and I’m sure that were he in school and he had access to something like this he’d respond positively there, as well. So, overall my response to the Move Stoolis positive, but I do think that some caution is necessary if your child is as impulsive as mine. If I had been having a less-than-patient week (or even day), I would have probably put the stool in a closet after the first 24 hours. Now, several weeks later, it’s a useful and favored sitting spot in our home. And although we were sent the child version, at 5’4” it is also appropriate for someone of my height, and I can see many adults or young adults using it for its ergonomic benefits. Active sitting is something that helps build core strength, and you know I need more of that!
That said, I think the Move Stool’s price tag (available through retailers starting at $365) is very high and not something I’d have ever considered even trying if I hadn’t been given a sample for review. In order to truly recommend it to my fellow parents I’d need to see the price come down at least 50%, if not more. Obviously, we are having a very similar experience with the Move Stool at our house. While Luke didn’t think to lay it on it’s side like a steering column, he does lie on his belly on the seat and spin until I’m quite certain he’s going to achieve lift-off, right into space. {My tendency toward significant motion sickness actually causes me to have to look away from him while he spins like this.} While this isn’t the intended use of the stool, I don’t mind him using it in this way honestly. It is providing much-needed proprioceptive input and is akin to a spinning activity Luke used to do with much trepidation at Occupational Therapy. The spinning is actually quite calming, and I’ll take calm any way we can get it.