Read about Pima Girl Scout Sylvia's Gold Award Project. If you're interested in sewing one of these quilts, please view the video and contact the neighborhood if you need to get in contact with Sylvia (pima.neighborhood@gmail.com).
Growing up with my mom as a school-based occupational therapist, and spending 13 years as a student in my local public school district, I’ve had a close view of the lack of monetary support and student specific resources provided for students, paras, teachers, and therapists in special education classrooms.
After speaking with one of the middle school occupational therapists, I learned that the special education department’s mission for the 2025-2026 school was self-regulation, or equipping students with personal calming strategies.
In order to address this mission, I designed my own student-specific resource: a sensory quilt. After discussing with paraprofessionals, teachers, and therapists who work in the special education classes, I created this weighted, textured, and tactile resource that would support emotional regulation. I received initial feedback from the occupational therapy department about tailoring the quilts to student needs, such as including more fidgets (pom poms, zippers, etc.). Then, I scaled my project by collecting ‘scrap’ fabric from sewers across my region and hosting a workshop teaching other women how to sew sensory quilts.
Finally, I created a video and an online guide of how to sew sensory blankets, sharing it with other OTs and sewers to create sensory quilts for individuals within their own communities.
