ITEEA Dream Ride - Go Baby Go Style: A Guide for Educators

• Published in: Tech directions Vol. 79; no. 4; pp. 12 - 14
• Main Author: Buelin, Jennifer
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ann Arbor Prakken Publications, Inc 01.01.2020
• Subjects: Advisors; Automobiles; Children & youth; Community Relations; Curricula; Developmental Delays; Engineering; Engineering Education; Families & family life; Fund Raising; Individual Characteristics; Learning; Liability; Motor Vehicles; Occupational Therapy; Outreach Programs; Physical Characteristics; Physical properties; Preschool children; School Buildings; Self expression; Social Mobility; STEM education; Students; Switches; Teachers; Teams; Technical education; Therapists; Toddlers; Wiring; Young Children
• ISSN: 1062-9351

The adaptations include changes to the wiring and on/off switches to create individualized access matching the child's strengths, as well as alterations to the car's seating area to increase the seat's postural support. The International Technology and Engineering Educators Association's (ITEEA) STEM Center for Teaching and Learning™ has partnered with GBO to develop a course guide for teachers, higher education faculty, and Technology Student Association (TSA) advisors. Course materials include a Car Use Safety Assessment, a Sample Liability Waiver, and a Parent Training Form template, helping to ensure that parents leaving with a new ride-on car have been shown how to properly plug and unplug the battery, use the on/ off switch, and safely secure their child into the car. Level 1 cars require the following physical characteristics of the driver: able to sit on the floor without any additional supports between 1-2 years of age and of measurements appropriate for the Level 1 car does not require supplemental medical technology to be with them at all times that would need to be accommodated in the car (Tackle this in later, more advanced builds!) A clinician such as a physical or occupational therapist from the community can be a huge asset to a team.