If it is within the budget of your department, consider having a box of low-tech supplies available for any student to trial when a need is identified. Oftentimes, simple, low-tech solutions are enough to meet a student’s needs, and having supplies readily available for trial would offer quick solutions. It also may avert a referral to special education/occupational therapy.
An overview of the box’s contents and procedures on how to use it could be presented during a staff meeting. Be sure to inform staff who should pay for the materials for the student if he/she is successful in the trial. Generally, campuses or families purchase materials for general education students and the district purchases materials for special education students.
Each elementary campus could have its own box, or one box could be kept in a central location and the box or materials could be checked out for a few weeks at a time. The box should include information about how and why the items should be used. Here is a sample guide. You may also want to include information about where to purchase the items (approved vendors), as well as a check-out form for the materials.
Here are just a few suggestions of relatively inexpensive items to include that address issues in handwriting, reading, fine motor and behavior: