Therapy Materials and Equipment for Language Support
The Rusthof School for Learners with Special Educational Needs is a public school near Cape Town. Since 2017 about 300 children with various disabilities are being supported according to their special needs and abilities.
Goals
The therapy materials and equipment will assist the school’s speech therapist to offer comprehensive speech therapies and offer creative forms of language support. The main focus of speech therapy at the Rusthof School lies on:
- Promoting language development
- Promoting speech comprehension
- Therapy of pronunciation disorders
- Promoting communication skills and developing alternative forms of communication with children with severe communication disorders.
BENEFICIARIES
Main beneficiaries are children and youth with mental disabilities, developmental disorders and severe learning barriers. These include children wit Downe Syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Autism and severe forms of ADHS. he majority of learners are from low income urban areas near Somerset West, Cape Town. Their families cannot afford any therapeutic treatment for their children, so they rely on the school to provide the necessary therapies that allow their children to develop to the best of their abilities.
Programs
The Rusthof School offers a holistic learning support program for about 300 learners with special educational needs. Next to academic classes the school offers speech and occupational therapy as well as sport, music, and arts. To prepare learners for government supported employment programs the school also offers lessons in crafts, cooking, house keeping and home economics. The holistic support program aims to enable the learners to lead independent lives despite their disabilities or development disorders.
What are we raising funds for?
This fundraising campaign seeks to collect donations for therapy materials and equipmet for the school’s speech therapy department.
The school’s wishlist includes in particular augmentative and alternative communication devices (AAC) and software as well as learning games:
AAC Devices, Software and Other Digital Support
3 x AAC Devices“: GoTalk 9+, 20+ and 32+Lite Touch: @ approx. ZAR 4500,- to ZAR 5500,-/per device)
Digital Material Box: Boardmaker 7 with Learning and Therapy Materials, which promote interdisciplinary team work of teachers and therapists: @ approx. ZAR 4300,-
Recordable Answer Buzzers – the response buzzers can be programmed with sunds and words and are very helpful for children with severe communication disorders: Set of 4 buzzers @ ZAR 590,-
Learning Games (small selection of the wishlist)
Social Inferences Fun Deck – With the help of picture cards and stories this game helps to enhance comprehension and social skills @ ZAR 859,-
How would you Feel if – This game helps children to understand and express their own feelings as well as those of others @ ZAR 395,-
Learning Sequences – Hygiene – The games promotes next to an understanding of body hygiene and a sense of the own body, self iniative and communication skills. @ ZAR 439,-
Alphabet Marks the Spot – This high-energy movement game allows learning on many different levels – it combines visual and kinesthetic learning to promote language as well as social skills. @ ZAR949,-
Fox in the Box – Positional Activity Set – This game promotes “geographic” vocabulary as well as the ability to follow simple directions.@ ZAR 829,-
Stacking and Nesting Cubes – Happy Animals Besides the playful expansion of vocabulary this game also enhances the joy of speaking and communicating as well as hand-eye coordination and other motor skills @ ZAR 419,-
The Very Hungy Caterpillar Magnets – The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the most popular children’s books in the world – these magnets make it easy to tell the story, teach children new vocabulary, and allow them to share verbally or non-verbally what their favorite foods are. @ ZAR 95,- /Set
What is the problem?
Government funding for school operations is severely limited. Although the Rusthof School has beautiful buildings, class- and therapy rooms , the number of teachers and therapists is very limited and the supply of learning materials is also reduced to the bare essentials. Due to a recent restructuring on the part of the Ministry of Education, a large part of the existing logopedic therapy materials was assigned to another institution – new materials have to be purchased by the school itself. This is only possible through fundraising campaigns like this one.
Make your contribution! Leave your foot print!
Support the Rusthof School LSEN with your donation
How does your donation help?
With your donation you support the purchase of new teaching and therapy materials that help the speech therapist to make therapies more creative and playful. The new materials also promote interdisciplinary work and closer cooperation between teachers, occupational therapists and speech therapists.
The devices for “AAC” allow adequate support of children with severely limited communication skills.
Educational games cost between ZAR 95,- (EUR 5,-)and ZAR 1000,- (EUR 50) per game.
Digital media and AAC devices cost between ZAR 590,- (EUR 30,-) and ZAR 5500,- (270,- EUR).
For the entire wish list we need an amount of ZAR 30 500,-) or EUR 1563,- .
Every contribution counts!
