These special tennis ball chairs for kids with autism are FAB

A teacher in Illinois has made some pretty special chairs for her students that experience sensory issues. 

Amy Maplethorpe is a speech and language pathologist at Raymond Ellis Elementary School, and works with children with Down Syndrome, autism and/ or sensory processing disorder. 

She knows that some of her pupils have "difficulty processing information from their senses and from the world around them" and so decided to do something to help them.

That's where her tennis ball chairs come in.

Feeling inspired by a post on Pinterest, Amy set to work with a lot of hot glue and even more balls. 

The school posted a picture of the chairs on Facebook, and shared exactly how she went about making them.

"Thank you for such the high interest in the tennis ball chairs," Amy said.

"It is exciting to hear that they could benefit students across the world!

"The materials used to make the chairs included: a chair, ½ tennis balls, fabric, modge podge, paintbrush/paint sponge, and hot glue."

And the best thing?

One quick look through the comments and it's clear just how many people Amy has inspired as well.

"Could you please reply with directions for these chairs ? I am so excited to try one for the boy I work with – ASD, SPD, ADHD …" wrote one. 

While another said: "I love this! I'm going to pass on to our autism focus department!"

We salute Amy's ingenuity and determination to help her students. 

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