Way to Go! Student creates 'sensory trays' for special-ed class

A Rockville Centre student with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (known as ADHD) has found a way to assist children in his district with the same condition.

Kieran Woram, a senior at South Side High School, oversaw the creation and distribution of 10 wooden “sensory trays” that contain colored sand, fidget toys, fabric fasteners and phonics phones made out of PVC pipes to help with speech therapy. He donated two trays to each of his district’s five elementary schools for use by students in their special-education classes.

Woram, a Boy Scout in Troop 214, pursued the project as part of Eagle Scout Award, the highest achievement attainable in the Boy Scouts of America.

“Everybody that came to help with his project outdid themselves,” said Woram. Of the project’s importance, he said: “When I was growing up, it was really hard for me to focus, and I felt left out. I just didn’t want the children to go through that same thing that I did.”

To raise funds for the project, Woram said he collected about $200 in donations from family and friends last year. He also secured donations of materials from Home Depot in Freeport, Ace Hardware in Rockville Centre, and the industrial supply company Grainger.

Woram, 17, is also the senior patrol leader for his Boy Scout troop, the accountant for his school’s Woodshop Club, and a member of the Rockville Centre Junior Fire Department.

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.