Girl Scout Amber Matlach creates touching project

When Amber Matlach was choosing a project for her Girl Scout Gold Award, she had to look no further than her two neighbors for inspiration. Sydney Whitman is a fourth-grader with developmental disabilities and has difficulty communicating, and Nicholas Pena is a third-grader with autism.

Amber wanted to create sensory items after seeing how well they worked for her two young friends.

“I wanted to be an advocate for them to help them, and that’s what really inspired me,” she said.

Amber calls her project A SENSE of the World, and she has been sewing and putting together sensory bags, beanbags, cubes and pillows; marble mazes; rainbow rings; I Spy bags; fine-motor skills bracelets; and shape and color manipulatives. She made a total of 140.

“I’ve just seen Sydney with the items in her house and seen how much they helped her with fine-motor skills,” Amber said. “And it helps decrease their discomfort in their environment and helps with their communication skills.”

Amber gave Sydney one of the sensory toys, and she plays with it constantly.

“The I Spy bag, she takes it every day on the bus,” Amber said. “It gets her thinking about colors and shapes and numbers and all sorts of things.”

A majority of the project involved fabric, and to gather what was needed for the project, Amber went to craft stores, thrift stores and yard sales.

“Sensory toys and other therapies can be very expensive and a financial burden to some families' budgets,” Amber said. “Through my project, A SENSE of the World, I hope to relieve this financial burden by making various sensory items and donating them to families. … This is important because these children need sensory items to assist in stimulating their five senses. This benefits them by helping improve their communication and decreasing discomfort and fear.”

The items are especially useful for tactile people who are comforted by touching different textures.

“I have seen firsthand how much progression there can be when sensory-stimulating items are present,” Amber said.

This project has allowed Amber to use her sewing skills, which she acquired at the age of 5. It also gave her a chance to practice project management, budgeting and presentation skills. She solicited the help of a Clermont quilting group, Kindred Stitchers, which made an additional 50 marble mazes.

The products were tested on Sydney and Nicholas for effectiveness; they approved.

“Their reaction was critical,” Amber said.

Once the project was completed, Amber donated a portion during an expo held in South Florida last month. She also is donating some of them to the Exceptional Student Education program, where Sydney’s and Nicholas’ teachers can use them to work with students. Another donation is going to Nathaniel’s Hope, an Orange County nonprofit that organizes events for parents of children with disabilities. Amber is partnering with its Buddy Break program at First Baptist Windermere.

LIFETIME SCOUT

Amber joined the Girl Scout program 10 years ago as a Daisy and has advanced through the ranks of Brownie, Junior and Cadet. She is a Senior, with only the Ambassador rank after that. She’s a member of Troop 60726, a travel troop that meets several times a month.

Obtaining the Gold Award is Amber’s goal; she already has earned her Bronze and Silver awards and wears them pinned onto her scouting vest.

The Gold Award ceremony is June 13.

“Not very many girls earn their Gold Award,” Amber said. “It’s hard work, but I’m glad I did it. … Girl Scouts just gives you a lot of opportunities in the community and really gives you a chance to advocate for the people in the community, and I’m thankful for that.”

At West Orange High School, the freshman runs cross country and plays varsity lacrosse. Her goal after graduation is to attend either the U.S. Military Academy or the U.S. Naval Academy — so she can continue serving others. She is the daughter of Chuck and Nicole Matlach, of Winter Garden.

Her project was a success, Amber said, and she doesn’t want it to end.

She set up an Instagram page — @a.sense.of.the.world or #asenseoftheworldgs — that includes instructional videos for people wanting to try their hand at making some sensory items.