Not Exactly Child's Play

Community service is an integral aspect of life at Notre Dame. Approximately 80 percent of University students are active in volunteer service. Some participate in the Holy Cross Associates program. Some spend their fall and spring breaks in Appalachia or other impoverished areas. Some serve as teachers to understaffed Catholic schools through the University’s Alliance for Catholic Education. They serve in any number of ways. Earlier this year, accountancy students prepared more than 2,500 tax forms for area residents as part of the University's 30-year-old Tax Assistance Program.

The ways in which engineering students volunteer are as diverse as the disciplines they study. For example, The Logan Center is a local agency that a group of engineering students is currently assisting. The center is a not-for-profit organization serving handicapped adults, children, and their families. Since 2002 engineering students have been adapting battery-operated toys for toddlers with disabilities.

Playtime is more than "fun time;" it is a vital part of childhood development. Because of their disabilities, some children lack the fine motor skills that allow them to flip the small switches on toys. Others do not have the intellectual ability to understand the switches. Students in the College of Engineering have been altering toys for these children, so that they can be turned on and off by pressing a large plate instead of a tiny switch.

After performing experiments to determine the best way to accomplish this type of retrofit, the students work with the electrical wiring in the toys and solder the press plates. They also document the process in clear, step-by-step instructions for parents to follow if they wish to adapt toys for their own children.

"Adapting toys so children with disabilities can use them may not seem very technical in nature," says Paul R. Brenner, the graduate student who leads the team, "but it's been very worthwhile. It certainly fits with the unique Catholic character of the University. Because as students and teachers at Notre Dame, we recognize the call to serve our community. As engineers, we do that through the application of our knowledge and technical expertise, whether that means modifying toys for handicapped children or developing Internet based Web resources for families with autistic children."

For more information on engineering service activities, visit http://epics.cse.nd.edu.

Pictured above: Engineering students, left to right, Megan Schroeder, Sarah Brown, James McNamara, and Katie Murphy display some of the toys they adapted for The Logan Center during the fall semester.