North Penn Shows Support To Students With Disabilities

LANSDALE, PA - The North Penn School District recognized the culminating efforts put forth by North Penn High School (NPHS) teachers and an FCS career study student to produce eight hand supporters for students with disabilities at NPHS, they announced in a press release.

The hand supporters were created for students at NPHS with physical disabilities that prohibit them from grabbing and holding onto an object such as a stick or the handle bars of an adapted bicycle.

This past October, Mrs. Kristen Panaski, a Health and Physical Education (PE) teacher at NPHS, and Mrs. Alysha Pettie, a special education teacher, were given supportive straps for their students to use by Eric Pollock, a physical therapist from Austills Rehabilitation Services, who contracts with NPSD.

“He explained to me that the company who produced the supportive strap was no longer in business and he could not find one similar from another company,” said Mrs. Panaski.

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It was then that she and Mr. Pollock collectively came up with the idea to reach out to the Family Consumer Science (FCS) Department for assistance.

Mrs. Joelle Townsend, an FC teacher at NPHS, was happy to help. She recruited her Clothing, Textiles and Fashion Merchandising Career Studies student, senior Nicole Owens, to create a prototype. Nicole researched fabric choices, pricing and worked hard to develop the final product.

Once tested and approved, Nicole made an additional seven hand supporters made of neoprene fabric to be used in PE classes as well as physical therapy sessions for students with disabilities throughout the year.

Both Mrs. Pettie and Mrs. Panaski said they are both “overjoyed” to now have support hand straps for each of their students to use on a daily basis.