Thanks to a groundbreaking collaboration with Blythedale Children’s Hospital, Stepinac High School’s Susan and Daniel P. Mahoney ‘67 Honors Academy students developed a proposed assistive technology (AT) innovation to help improve the quality of life for a medically fragile 10-year-old patient. They presented their innovation at the academy’s recent sixth annual symposium.
The project was the result of a unique partnership between the academy students — all juniors (Class of ’25) –– and the team of expert AT innovators at Blythedale in Valhalla. One of only 14 specialty children’s hospitals in the U.S. and the only independent one in New York state. Blythedale is also the only hospital in New York state to have an onsite public school, The Mount Pleasant Union Free School District, that serves both inpatients as well as day hospital patients.
The collaboration began four months ago when Stepinac and Blythedale began exploring how the academy’s multidisciplined approach might help Blythedale develop an AT solution for a student who is diagnosed with congenital myopathy, a genetic muscle disorder that includes weakness and lack of muscle tone.
The recent 2023-2024 school year marked the first time that the afflicted student was able to attend school outside of his home. Assistive technology is incorporated into every aspect of his physical mobility, academic and social-emotional learning. Blythedale is a renowned leader in developing AT that enables children to function more independently in areas where they would otherwise have difficulty, need assistance or be unable to participate
Regarding the partnership with Stepinac Honors Academy students, Julie Knitter, OTR, director of occupational therapy and assistive technology said, “It’s always exciting to see the next generation of innovators become inspired by what they experience at Blythedale Children’s Hospital. And from an educational standpoint, I love seeing high school students learn about the world of disability and inclusion. That sensitivity and awareness will serve them well throughout their lives.”
The scope of the project also raised the students’ awareness about the need for and the financial challenges with AT as well as cultivated a culture of empathy in understanding that all patients have different abilities, not disabilities.
The academically top-performing students in the academy’s four disciplines —engineering, health sciences, finance and economics and law — presented their research findings and proposed AT innovation for consideration by Blythedale professionals.
It was the first symposium that the Stepinac Honors Academy had undertaken with a prestigious, best practice partner since the small, three-year advanced learning program for academically top-performing students, unique to the region, was launched six years ago. It followed the academy’s five prior symposia that addressed major and very challenging issues, including the flint drinking water crisis, climate change, food insecurity crisis, opioid crisis, and space exploration-colonizing mars.
