WAUKEE, Iowa — Though Christmas is just days away, students in the Waukee APEX class are busy getting some toys ready.

The class takes toys and modifies them for children who may have some mobility impairments, which makes it hard for them to operate battery powered toys.

“Many of these kids have cognitive and mobile disabilities or limited range of motion,” said Jeev Mathew Maliyil, a Junior. “So our job and our role, let them be able to play with these toys. They’re cause-and-effect toys, but they’re really important for the mental growth of children of any age pretty much.”

The class is one that encourages students to learn skills and work together.

“APEX stands for Aspiring Professional Experience, it’s a work-based learning program out of Waukee school district,” said Tyler Wright, the Waukee APEX Teacher. “Our students learn professional skills, and explore high-demand careers by authentic project work.”

The class project groups worked with Blank Children’s Hospital and Heartland AEA.

The idea is to take apart the toys and wire a large button so children can navigate the toys.

“We interact directly with the client, so we interacted directly with the speech pathologist from Blank Hospital so we would email them, and we would check in with them,” said senior Max Fahrenkreg.

The students are also designing a wheel chair to help mobility impaired students be able to pass and handle a ball, and kick a goal from a wheel chair.

The APEX class will be holding a public open house on December 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Waukee Innovation and Learning Center, at 295 SE Ashworth Rd, in Waukee.

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