Quote:
Originally Posted by Jessi Kaestle
I understand that special needs students provide additional challenges, however those students are often greatly benefited by this program, so in my opinion, all avenues should be exhausted before barring a special needs students from the team.
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We had one student the last two seasons, at least, who had some sort of physical difficulties (maybe from childhood polio?). He was not able to do the things that needed fine motor control like drive the robot nor was he able to work on the wiring. It was great to see that the team members "just accepted" him and treated him "normally" without being told to do so. They listened to his ideas when designing and building the robot. The only accommodation they made for him was that someone would always stay with him when we had to walk a long distance to make sure he did not get left behind. He would help pack for tournaments and he would help clean up at the end of the day. There were occasions where we could have him clamp some pieces in the drill press and have him drill the holes or have him turn a wrench. His smiles on these occasions made it all worth while :-)