Mental Health Resources for Students With Disabilities

Funded Oct 11, 2024

Thank you so much for the generous support from Donors Choose! The social-emotional supplies you provided have made a significant impact on my special needs students. The diffuser and Buddha create a beautifully relaxing environment that helps my students feel comfortable and at ease. The huggable weighted plush toys have been a tremendous hit, especially among my students with autism, as they use them to self-regulate their emotions. Your contributions have truly transformed our space, allowing us to focus on social-emotional well-being and health. I'm incredibly grateful for your kindness and support! Working with the special needs community has been my life's passion but I don't always have the resources to give them the experiences they deserve. Having people to donate and the incredible support from Donor's Choose has truly made a huge different this year.

When I began my career, the population that I was working with was mostly with students with intellectual and emotional disabilities. However, over the years, the population of students with Autism has boomed. Our students with disabilities have entirely different needs than my other students with Intellectual, Emotional or Physical disabilities. They often need their sensory needs met in different ways throughout the day. Having items like the meditation cards, diffusers and the Buddha for meditation allows my students to enter a world of relaxation and to learn how to deep breath and learn mindfulness.

Mindfulness and meditation have been a tool I have been utilizing especially this year as I find it to be extremely helpful in assisting my students with regulating their emotions. A simple five or ten minute meditation could make all the difference in my students day especially if they are having a more difficult one. Allowing them the time and space to reset the button so that they can continue to have a successful day is so impactful. Having resources like the calm ball can be utilized as a fun activity to incorporate mindfulness into my student's daily life especially if they are new to understanding or engaging in that type of activity. The yoga pads for our seats and sometimes the floor is an amazing way for our students to fully engage in a meditation activity.

I cannot even begin to express my deepest gratitude for having my Donor's Choose project funded and receiving so many incredible resources. It means everything to me and my students that we have been able to create a relaxing, mindful and socially engaging space in which they can be themselves, explore their emotions and explore healthy strategies for managing big feelings. We all try to teach our students that big feelings happen sometimes and that we have to handle them in a healthy way so that it doesn't impact our entire day or life. Teaching them these types of strategies can be something they can use in and outside of school which is so impactful. So many of my students since I have been able to create this space, have requested these items and are excited to participate and that really says it all.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity and support. We are so very grateful!

Warmest Wishes,

Catherine Schiazza & The Hungerford Students at New Dorp High School”

With gratitude,

Ms. Cat