On November 15, 2025, our team had the amazing opportunity to attend The
Inclusion Collective’s Includ(Ed): Early Childhood Disability Inclusion Conference, held at Temple Emanuel, Mt. Lebanon, and I’m still thinking about everything we experienced.
Even though I’m just a 9th grader and attending this conference for the first time, I was amazed by how many people appreciated and were genuinely interested in our efforts to use our engineering skills to support children with disabilities. Being surrounded by people so passionate about inclusion was incredibly inspiring, and it showed us how engineering and empathy can work hand in hand to make real change.
We had the chance to share our team’s Assistive Technology efforts. We presented the retrofitted ride-on cars we built through the GoBabyGo program, giving kids with mobility challenges the freedom to move and explore. We showcased our adaptive toys (bubble blowers), like the ones we donated to Child’s Way, which make it possible for children with limited motor control to experience the simple joy of bubbles. And we demonstrated our 3D-printed adaptive switches, which allow kids to activate toys or devices with just gentle press. Seeing the reactions from the audience reminded me that even small engineering projects can have a huge impact on a child’s happiness and independence. Presenting at the conference also helped our team explore local collaborations. We’ve already connected with families who are eager to donate ride-on cars for us to retrofit and give to children with mobility challenges, which makes our work feel even more meaningful and impactful.
A big reason our team is able to do work like this is because of the FIRST Robotics program. FIRST isn’t just about building robots, it’s a holistic way to learn and grow as students by applying science and engineering skills to solve real world problems, as well as to connect with real people and real needs.
Presenting our assistive technology at events like these gives us an opportunity to learn how meaningful engineering can be outside the classroom. Even without being in the room for the keynote speech, hearing about its message helped our team realize how care, creativity, and collaboration shape early childhood disability inclusion. Seeing how our creations bring joy and confidence to children has inspired us to dive even deeper into assistive technology. It personally showed me that engineering isn’t just about designing machines, it’s about designing opportunities for others. Thank you to @inclusionpgh for hosting such an inspiring event and helping me see the kind of engineer and person I want to become.
