A ZOOM EDITORIAL
Creating
a Work Station
on a BUDGET!
C
alvin Coolidge once said,
“The only difference between a mob and a trained
army is organization.” To me,
this quote is game-changing.
What I’ve learned in my professional and personal life is that
success depends on synchronization and harmonization of
efforts. Bottom line: organization is the staple ingredient
to keeping my family in sync,
especially when it comes to my
autistic son Jacob.
Jacob is one of the smartest
people I know, but, like many
autistic individuals, he tends to
have some executive functioning problems. The thought of
getting organized is just too
exhausting to him, and yet he
thrives on it. A place for everything and everything in its
place is what he needs in order
to feel in control. So, with this
in mind, every school year we
put together what we like to
call a homework/work station,
a comfortable and creative
space dedicated to him (and
my daughter Bella too).
Our homework station addresses many of Jacob’s potential challenges when he sits
down to do his homework. We
tackle sensory and possible
attention/focus issues with just
a few easy inexpensive items
and ideas. The end result is an
environment that not only is
conducive for work but also
allows Jacob to feel in control
and successful.
BY Jacob and Sharon Fuentes
16
ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses
To help get you started on creating your own budget-friend-
ly homework/work station, we broke down the different areas of
Jacob’s, what it is about them that he finds helpful and where you
can find similar type products. Remember: what works for Jacob
may not work for you or your child. Also, the links we include are
by no means products that we are recommending or getting paid
to promote. We are just including them to help get you started.
If you already have a homework/work station, or should you
choose to make one after reading this article, send us the pictures
so we can share with others. Email your pictures with short captions to [email protected].
Magnetic Dry Erase Boards
and Cork Boards
From reminders to make sure
he has everything he needs
before heading off to school
to inspirational and fun
messages, these boards
keep us organized and
on task. If something is
changing, such as rehearsal after school, it
gets written on the board as
a visual reminder.
Why Jacob says it helps: “I can put reminders for tests and the
perfect scores I got on said tests because I remembered.”
Where you can find it: You can find these types of boards in almost
any size and shape everywhere. If space is an issue and you do not
have room for separate boards like we use, why not try this twoin-one option that costs only $11 on Amazon.
Body Ball
This is a new addition to
our workstation and one
that is a huge hit… at least
it is now! At first Jacob did
not want to try it out as
it’s an exercise ball, and as
he said, “Mom, I’m trying
ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses
17