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Special Education Teacher Develops Assistive Device
Rob Mayben is a special education teacher in Sonora, California. Several years ago a student was placed in his special education math/woodshop and was unable to actively and independently participate. Since that time, Mayben developed an assistive device that helped him and others become more independent at home, school, work, and even during family outings. His assistive device is portable, lightweight, sets up quickly and is called the desktop desk.
Mayben says, “Over the past several years I have worked with school districts, universities, parents, students, special education agencies, hospitals, and more to help further the development of the desktop desk.” His goal is to help provide disabled individuals greater opportunities for access, independence, and the ability to actively participate while building confidence and enthusiasm.
The desktop desk has helped provide opportunities and access for individuals who have orthopedic impairments, fine motor deficits, visual impairments, hyperactivity and focus limits, and more. The desktop desk can benefit individuals with disabilities on many different levels. It does the small things like helping provide individuals with hyperactive and autistic tendencies the means to focus and participate, while also providing severely disabled students who can’t speak, have limited motor skills, and a full time adult aide the ability to independently participate in classes and activities to the best of their ability.
The desktop desk provides a lightweight and portable, easy to clean work or eating surface that attaches to most tables, dining room to picnic. It creates a large, stable, and functional writing surface that adjusts in elevations and angles while providing opportunities for categorization, organization, and independence. The desktop desk is an adjustable activity center that can provide disabled individuals the ability to access and actively participate more equally in some of life’s everyday activities.
There is a video (http://desktopdesk.com/ showing the desktop desk being used by one of his students and how the desktop desk sets up.
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Meet DesktopDesk Inventor Rob Mayben
I am a Special Education Teacher in Sonora California at Sonora High School, home of the Wildcats . I have a bachelor’s degree in business, a special education teaching credential, and a Masters Degree in Special Education.
I have taught at Sonora High School for 13 years and teach Math, History, Science, and Woodshop to students with a wide range of abilities. My woodshop class allows my students to build many different projects and also participate in community activities. Over the last several years we have replaced park benches in downtown Sonora, built video game cabinets for a youth group in Southern California, bird houses for local vineyards and many other projects in the community.
Most of the students I work with are 9th and 10th graders and because Sonora is a small town I get to know most of my students and their family pretty well. I feel very fortunate to be able to work with my students and take pride that my class is not only a good place to learn, but also place where my students are comfortable and have fun. My goal as a teacher is to help my students prepare for their future and be able to participate and take care of their self to the best of their ability.
My wife and I have two kids, Ashlen who is 14 and Jonathan is 8. Both of our kids are very active and enjoy sports, piano, being outdoors and their friends. As a family we enjoy spending time together and camping. During summer vacations we have traveled through much of the US and been fortunate enough to experience many amazing sights as a family. My wife Diana is also a teacher and works with students who are unable to attend a traditional school, she is a Home and Hospital Teacher. Not only is she a great teacher, she is an amazing mom and wife.
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