by Kevin Mcdaniels

Created on: December 20, 2009

I am a Special Education teacher who has a Wii system in the classroom.  The concept of using a Wii for therapy is almost as old as the Wii itself.  Many therapists who work with senior citizens have been using a Wii for therapy for a while.  A Wii in the classroom can be fun, but it is also a lot of work.   It is work for the kids and for the teacher as well.  There are many challenges that a teacher faces when presenting a classroom Wii for therapeutic purposes.

This article will cover the following areas:
Using the Wii Remote
Using a Wii Fit with special needs students
How Does the Wii Help (various students with special needs)

Using the Wii Remote

Having a Wii for the students to use is fun, and it teaches the kids to take turns as well as win or lose with dignity.  When we first started using the Wii in our classroom, only one student knew how to use it.  Most of the students picked it up quickly enough, but we still had our fair share of problems.  One of the biggest problems we had (and from time to time still have), is all of the buttons on the Wii remote.  Depending on the severity of the student’s special needs, they may not be able to figure out which is the “A” button, or the “plus” or “minus” button.  Likewise, there is a chance that they may not remember that the Wii remote has a button on the underside of the remote.  You may want to consider purchasing a controller by Nyko.  They have some controllers that have colored buttons.  That way you would be able to say, “Press the red button” instead of “Press the A button”.  That would also be a good idea for younger kids too.

After having been through training the kids, I would recommend not having an orientation when first getting the Wii.  It would probably be better to show the students how to perform the various tasks as they need them.  The added benefit to this is that as you slowly show them one action at a time, the repetition involved will help reinforce what they have just been taught.

Using a Wii Fit

We have used a Wii Fit in my classroom several times.  I would recommend blocking out a big chunk of time when registering your kids on the Wii Fit.  If any of the students have issues with standing still, or waiting 15 seconds, you may want to come up with other ways to get them to freeze while the Wii Fit is calculating their

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