Contact:
Elizabeth Blevins, Director, Office of Communications
Office: (740) 351-3810; FAX: (740) 351-3179; Cell: (740) 464-4854
940 Second Street – Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
E-mail: eblevins@shawnee.edu 
Web site: www.shawnee.edu

            Imagine a place where disabled children can go to escape from the classroom improving their senses, coordination and overall awareness. Shawnee State University’s Dr. Miller & Genevieve Toombs Children’s Learning Center will have this kind of room available the near future thanks to a grant from the Autism Project of Southern Ohio.
            Wendy Potts, president of the Autism Project donated $2,000 for the sensory room and the CLC must raise $1,000 to complete the sensory room.
            “The room will be of special use to our young learners who may have a sensory processing disorder that impacts their learning and development,” said Beth Rice, director of the CLC.
            The Autism Project has donated money for sensory rooms at East Portsmouth Elementary in Sciotoville and in Pike and Lawrence counties also.
            A sensory room is a place where students with disabilities will be able to escape from the classroom setting. Sensory rooms are usually equipped with a variety of activities for students. For instance, in some sensory rooms students may explore textures of fabrics, experiment with tearing different types of paper, or listen to a recording of nature sounds. Many students with disabilities have trouble processing sensory input but in this room they will be able to manage their sensory input.
            For more information, contact Beth Rice at (740) 351-3252.

Photo:
The Autism Project of Southern Ohio recently donated $2,000 to Shawnee State University’s Dr. Miller & Genevieve Toombs Children’s Learning Center for a sensory room. The CLC needs to raise another $1,000 to complete the room. In the photo, Wendy Potts, president of the Autism Project (third from left), gives a check to Beth Rice (second from left), director of the CLC. Also in the photo are CLC teachers, Amanda Hedrick, left, Hetty Phillips, second from right, and Teresa Davis, right.