Creating functional therapy space with giant blocks

Occupational therapy students and faculty worked with staff at the Unified Clinics to create a unique new space in the Occupational Therapy Clinic to be used for working with children who have sensory disorders. The space was constructed with large, plastic, interlocking bricks called EverBlocks.

  

Fueled by pizza and soda, volunteers worked late to assemble the structure, which provides privacy and quiet for working with the clinic's young clients.

The project was led by Dr. Carla Chase, OT department chair, and Dr. Michelle Suarez, associate professor and director of the Finicky Feeders program. The room was designed to encourage creative play, like pretend mail deliveries and puppet shows, through small openings in the walls. More focused tasks are staged at small tables and chairs inside.

"The main objective was to give our young clients a place with fewer distractions so they can focus on tasks," says Suarez. "Of course the fact that the space is made out of giant blocks just makes it even cooler for them."

The OT department displayed great creativity with the project, creating additional useful clinical space in a very flexible (and inexpensive) way.