Elwood teen Olivia LoBue's kits spread comfort in a crisis
Olivia LoBue, a rising senior at Elwood-John H. Glenn High School, has created more than 100 sensory kits since last year that include items such as fidget toys, noise-cancelling headphones and dozens of picture cards to help users communicate through images. Credit: Jennifer LoBue
An Elwood teen who has two cousins on the autism spectrum is striving to help others through the creation of sensory kits.
Olivia LoBue, a rising senior at Elwood-John H. Glenn High School, has created more than 100 kits since last year that include items such as fidget toys, noise-cancelling headphones and dozens of picture cards to help users communicate during emergencies. The kits have been distributed to locations including nurse’s offices at the four schools within the Elwood school district and seven fire departments in western Suffolk County, she said.
LoBue, a Girl Scout, pursued the project as part of her Gold Award, the highest achievement attainable within the Girl Scouts of the USA. She is a member of Troop 2597.
“I wanted it to be something impactful, but also something personal to me,” LoBue, 17, said of her project. “I have cousins that are on the autism spectrum, but I also have paramedics and firefighters in my family, so I decided to do something that would be beneficial to both.”
The kits come in drawstring bags and are intended to help people with autism “feel more comfortable and calm during emergencies.” They also include a manual written by LoBue that helps first responders understand “how to manage potential issues and behaviors” that might arise.
LoBue also partnered with the Elwood Public Library and the Elwood Special Education Parent-Teacher Association to spread the word about her efforts by sharing a QR code that leads to a video about the kits, she said.
In addition, SUNY Binghamton incorporated the kits in its student-run ambulance service after a volunteer from the Greenlawn Fire Department who attends the university asked LoBue to make them for that ambulance service, she said.
“I feel like a lot of people don’t realize how to help people with autism,” said LoBue, who has been funding the kits with the proceeds of a garage sale and a donation from the EJ Autism Foundation in East Islip. “These kits help educate the general public about what people with autism need and how they can react in an emergency situation.”
Lindsay Fritch, assistant principal at Elwood-John H. Glenn High School, called LoBue’s project “a source of immense pride” for the school.
“Olivia’s sensory kits are a valuable educational resource not only for our school, but for the larger community as well,” Fritch said. “There is no doubt her hard work will bring comfort and calmness to individuals requiring first aid, as well as strengthen the confidence of the responders providing that care.”
LoBue is also a member of her school’s chorus, a capella group, Knowledge Masters Club and Tri-M Music Honor Society.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
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