COVID-19 Change Challenge

Elena McLaughlin, a doctoral student in the College of Education, was one of the Division of Research winners of the COVID-19 Change Challenge, an opportunity for FAU students to earn up to $2,000 to help implement their ideas on combatting COVID-19 related issues.

Her project supports children with autism by sending them supplies to enhance their fine motor skills. Supplies include putty to train finger movement, ergonomic pencils, Play-Doh and more.

Q. Talk about the progress of your project, how it's grown or changed and impacted the community.

A. To date, we have shipped out 22 boxes of handwriting and fine motor supplies to children with Autism Spectrum disorder and their families. Each have been affected by school closures and the financial strains of the COVID-19 crisis. We also provided training to 11 families on the best ways to use the materials at home, by creating a motivational environment for fine motor and handwriting practice. The feedback from parents were very positive. The students especially liked the putty that trains fingers, ergonomic pencils and crayons, and Play-Doh. Parents reported that they found the educational books and printouts very informative in terms of teaching their children proper letter formation.

Q. Any plans to continue development?

A. While there is no immediate plans to continue this project at this time, there is one possible benefit of the project to the larger community. The team intends to put out a 15-minute educational video demonstrating ways to help their children improve fine motor skills and letter formations using a few essential supplies. We will use the parents feedback from this project to address common issues with handwriting in the video. The resource that we are planning to record can then be shared with parents of children with special needs through the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD®) and other local organizations.

To download McLaughlin's printable Q&A, click here.