Engaging STEM Education for Children with Cerebral Palsy: 5 Fun Activities

September 25, 2024 / Heather Reyes

A young girl, wearing a blue and white dress with her hair in two buns, is playing with a toy fishing game. She is holding a wooden fishing rod with a line attached to it. The line is hooked onto a blue plastic fish that is floating in a blue inflatable tub filled with water. The girl is smiling and looking at the fish with delight. The scene is full of childlike joy and the simple pleasures of play. It looks like the girl is having a lot of fun, and she is enjoying the challenge of catching the fish.

Play is crucial for children's development in all aspects, especially in motor, cognitive, emotional, and social areas. However, children with cerebral palsy often face movement and posture difficulties that limit their ability to explore the world. This doesn't mean they are unwilling to explore like other children; they may simply need more stimulation and an environment conducive to play. Incorporating STEM education into activities for children with cerebral palsy can provide engaging and adaptive learning experiences that encourage exploration and growth.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, with its multisensory and inclusive experiences, provides a fun and more meaningful way of play for children with cerebral palsy. Children acquire important skills such as problem-solving abilities and creativity through play. This will help them build a stronger foundation early on for better learning and development in the future.

Benefits of STEM Education for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Improving Motor Skills

Compared to boring rehabilitation training, STEM activities provide a fun and relaxed way to help children with cerebral palsy improve their motor skills. Through hands-on creativity and games, children can significantly improve their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Some movement-related activities, such as yoga games in camping STEAM activities, can also help them practice balance and coordination while playing.

Boosting Self-confidence

When children complete a project or solve a problem by themselves, they gain a sense of achievement and confidence in their abilities. This confidence will encourage them to face more complex challenges and social pressures with a positive attitude.

Cultivating Critical Thinking

STEM education encourages children with cerebral palsy to discover problems, analyse issues, verify thinking, and solve problems, thus achieving comprehensive ability improvement. The critical thinking and problem-solving skills children cultivate in this process will help them effectively deal with challenges in academic and real-world situations as well as build their confidence.

Developing Friendships and Social Skills

Fun STEM activities bring children together, providing a great opportunity for them to develop social skills and integrate into teams. Working together towards a common goal encourages children to communicate, share ideas, and support each other. These friendly interactions will help children build friendships and better integrate into society.

Increasing Happiness

Play is an activity that makes children happy and provides stimulation. Parents often expect interventions that look like medical treatment or therapy, forgetting that children's primary activity is play. STEM activities provide children with opportunities for meaningful play. In addition to rehabilitation therapy, STEM activities allow children not only to learn but also to increase their sense of happiness.

Fun and Effective STEM Activities

1. Outdoor Camping Yoga Activity

A young girl, wearing a blue tulle dress and her hair in pigtails, is sitting on a colourful rug in a grassy field. She is holding a card with a picture of a frog on it, and she is looking at it with a thoughtful expression. There is a small orange tent and a green frog puppet on the rug. The scene is full of childlike wonder and the joy of play. It looks like the girl is enjoying a quiet moment of imaginative fun, and she is using her imagination to create a world of her own.

Outdoor activities have many benefits for children with cerebral palsy! They not only enhance children's physical coordination and muscle strength but also stimulate sensory development and increase opportunities for social interaction. Outdoors, children can freely explore and breathe fresh air, which also has a positive impact on their mood and mental health. Simple activities like walking, playing with sand or water are excellent choices.

The Camping STEAM Box, in addition to hands-on activities like making camping packs, building paper tents, and creating campfires, also provides a very creative "Feed the Frog" yoga game. Children will imitate the yoga poses on the cards for a multiplayer game, making otherwise boring physical training fun. Children will strengthen their muscles and balance abilities through the game while learning social skills by playing with others.

2. Music Creation Activity

Two young girls are playing with musical instruments. The girl on the left is holding a pair of wooden clappers, and she is smiling happily. The girl on the right is holding a pair of wooden drumsticks, and she is looking at her friend with a mischievous grin. The girls are both wearing sailor-style tops, and they look like they are having a lot of fun making music together. The scene is full of childlike joy and the simple pleasures of play. It looks like the girls are about to create a beautiful melody.

Music not only has a soothing effect on emotions but also has additional benefits for children with cerebral palsy. Children use body movements while enjoying music, such as clapping to the rhythm or moving freely, which will improve their mobility. Children who need to improve their language skills can increase their vocabulary and vocalization abilities through singing. Moreover, making and playing instruments is an excellent sensory activity to enhance upper limb function.

The Music STEAM Box provides instruments suitable for children with cerebral palsy to play, including rattles, xylophones, and tambourines. We encourage children to create these themselves, and these hand activities are very beneficial for exercising their finger skills. Children will make and decorate their own instruments, which is a very challenging and fun process that will give them a sense of accomplishment.

3. Pizza Math Sensory Game

A young girl, wearing a white chef's hat decorated with colourful vegetables, is smiling as she uses a yellow plastic tool to spread a yellow substance on a table. There is white powder sprinkled around the yellow substance and a blue object to the left. The table is covered with a white tablecloth with a red and white striped border. The girl is clearly enjoying her culinary adventure, and she looks like she is about to create something delicious. It is a heartwarming scene of a child's imagination and creativity.

Children with cerebral palsy may encounter challenges in sensation and perception, but this still cannot prevent them from enjoying sensory games. Rich sensory stimulation and interactive activities help improve their sensory abilities and cognitive development.

In the Pizza Maths STEAM Box, we stimulate children's creativity through "cooking" and help children develop cognitive skills and fine motor skills. Children will play the role of pizza shop owners, simulating restaurant ordering and making pizzas for customers. Children will unlock new actions such as mixing, kneading, rolling, cutting, and scooping, exercising the strength and control of their hands. Although it might get a bit messy, children will be immersed in it and learn about shapes, mathematical knowledge, and concepts through play!

4. Water Exploration Sensory Game

Two young girls are sitting at a table, each holding a colourful sea creature toy. The girl on the left is wearing a blue and white dress and holding a red crab. The girl on the right is wearing a green floral dress and holding a green crab. Both girls are smiling and looking at the camera. On the table, there are some craft supplies, including a bottle of water, some markers, and a booklet of instructions. The scene is full of childlike joy and the simple pleasures of play. It looks like the girls are having a lot of fun learning about sea creatures and making crafts together.

Children have a natural curiosity about water. Playing with water has many benefits for children with cerebral palsy in terms of physical, emotional, and social development. The buoyancy of water allows them to exercise their muscles more easily, improving coordination and flexibility. The tactile, auditory, and visual sensory experiences in water help reduce tension and anxiety. Playing with water together with family or peers can also promote social skills and parent-child relationships.

The Sink or Float STEAM Box provides a creative and flexible way of exploration for children with cerebral palsy. Children will experience making cute sea creatures, engaging in fun fishing activities, exploring the mysteries of buoyancy through simple scientific experiments, Messy Play art creation, and more. Each activity can be carried out independently, allowing children to play and learn flexibly.

5. Dinosaur Creative Role-playing Activity

A young girl, wearing a felt dinosaur hat, smiles brightly as she looks down. The hat is a light brown with a white underbite and a large, black eye. The girl is wearing a white dress with a lace trim and her hair is pulled back. She is sitting in a room with a white wall and a wooden shelf in the background. The scene is full of childlike wonder and the joy of play. It looks like the girl is having a lot of fun pretending to be a dinosaur.

Research shows that role-playing games have many benefits for children's development. This not only helps them exercise their imagination but also helps them cultivate empathy and release emotions. For example, pretending to be a fierce dinosaur not only promotes children's physical and cognitive development but also brings positive effects on emotional and social aspects. It also provides a safe way of emotional expression, helping children release and process their inner emotions.

We can provide more similar creative ideas! For instance, pretending to be a Native American and experiencing hunting culture; or being a pirate for a day, embarking on a great adventure.

Children with cerebral palsy enjoy playing just like other children. You can choose suitable activities for them based on their abilities and interests. We hope that every child has the opportunity to participate in STEM activities. Regardless of their physical abilities, they all have the chance to develop their potential through STEM learning, learn more happily, rehabilitate, and better integrate into society.

More Resources and Support

STEM Education Resources for Special Needs Children

STEM Learning

Provides a wealth of educational resources and activities covering students of various ability levels, including children with special educational needs.

TES Resources for Special Needs

Offers a large number of STEM teaching resources for EYFS and primary stage students with special needs.

BBC Bitesize Special Needs

Provides rich learning resources, including course resources for different learning needs and content in STEM fields.

NASA's Space Place

An interactive space science website. Provides simple and easy-to-understand visual and interactive content suitable for students of different ability levels.

Some Potentially Helpful Supportive Resources

Scope

Provides detailed information about cerebral palsy, including life guides, support services, and resources.

Cerebral Palsy Sport

Focuses on providing sports and exercise opportunities for children and adolescents with cerebral palsy. The website provides information about cerebral palsy sports, activities, and support.

The CP Society

This is an organization that supports families and patients with cerebral palsy. The website has resources, support services, and research information about cerebral palsy.

NHS (National Health Service)

Provides medical information, symptoms, treatment options, and care advice about cerebral palsy. Suitable for those seeking professional medical information and resources.

Action Cerebral Palsy

This is an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with cerebral palsy. They provide information, resources, and support services related to cerebral palsy.

Cerebral Palsy Alliance

Provides a lot of research, resources, and support information about cerebral palsy.