Accessibility Workshop: DIY Big Mack Switches and Musical Paintbrushes with Katie Butzu and Mark Lyons

April 23, 2021

We've partnered up with Makers Making Change chapter Leaders Katie Butzu and Mark Lyons to present a series of free workshops for disability professionals. (Follow Katie and Mark on Twitter @KatieButzuOT & @MrMarkLyons)

Yesterday, we hosted our first live session where we built our own big mack style switches to provide switch access for students of varying abilities. Plus, we learned how to make paintbrushes musical to make therapy fun for children who have poor grasp or need to work on fine motor skills.

View the Webinar Recording

New Guide: Make Your own Big Mack Switch

Katie and Mark are writing us more guides for our accessibility resources. Check out this new free guide for upcycling materials to create your own DIY big mack style switch to provide switch access for students or clients.

Grab the Guide

New Guide: Musical Paintbrushes

Learn how to provide switch access with a Makey Makey musical paintbrush! The ‘Musical Paint Brush Activity’ offers a variety of therapeutic benefits to include: improving fine motor coordination, improving grasp, improving visual motor coordination, improving cause/effect understanding and improving social play.

Make Music with Makey Makey

More Free Workshops for Disability Professionals

We are so honored to continue this partnership with Makers Making Change, Katie, and Mark! There are two more FREE workshops for disability professionals. Make sure you sign up and bring your hula hoop and yoga ball to the next two sessions.

Make-Along Workshop: Hula Hoop Controller

When: May 20th, 2021 4:00- 5:30 pm Central Time

Make sure to sign up for this exciting 2nd session, where Katie Butzu and Mark Lyons will demonstrate how Makey Makey can be used for to create a game controller with a hula hoop! (Sign up: https://bit.ly/MakeyOT2)

Bring a hula hoop, some foil, and your Makey Makey to learn how to create alongside us! Gamify your therapy sessions with Makey Makey!

Supplies Needed for the hula hoop controller: Hula hoop, speaker wire, aluminum foil tape, wire strippers, electrical tape, and a Makey Makey kit!

You won't want to miss this session!

Sign up for the Assistive Tech Hula Hoop Workshop:

https://bit.ly/MakeyOT2

Last Session: Make-Along Workshop: DIY Therapy Ball

When: June 24, 2021 4:00-5:30 pm Central Time

In the 3rd session, Katie Butzu and Mark Lyons will teach you how to turn a yoga ball into a therapy ball. (Sign up today: https://bit.ly/MakeyOT3 )

Bring a yoga ball, foil, and your Makey Makey to make your own Therapy ball!

Supplies Needed for the DIY Therapy Ball: Yoga ball, aluminum foil tape, speaker wire, and for the switches: cardboard, wire strippers, Duct tape, glue stick, scissors, and a Makey Makey kit.

Sign up for the Third Workshop:

https://bit.ly/MakeyOT3

See our previous work with Katie, Mark, and Makers Making Change where we worked alongside disability professionals who created even more assistive tech ideas!

More Resources from the Webinar

For more info on Makers Making Change visit: https://www.makersmakingchange.com/

Check out our partnership with Makers Making Change and Katie and Mark last fall.

Make Your Own Braille Calculator with this guide by Tracy Zhang.

Discover even more resources for Assistive tech and Makey Makey.

Check out the work of Matt Richards and students that designed a Minecraft Foot Controller (Colleen said the wrong name in the webinar).

Learn about this great project where high school students made assistive tech for their peers by designing cash registers for students with special needs.