Creating an Accessible Society Through Adapted Toys
Whether it’s though structured activities or recreation, ‘play’ is an essential part of a child’s physical and mental development. Incorporating play into your child’s life will provide a strong developmental foundation, helping refine motor skills and improve their general learning experience. For children with disabilities, it’s doubly important that you are giving you son or daughter the most beneficial playtime resources. Adapted toys are one of the most effective playtime tools, helping your child build their self-esteem and improve their physical capabilities.
The History of Adapted Toys
After years of studying the role of playtime and its impact on children, there is widely acknowledged
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Symbolic toys – The primary function of these toys is to stimulate your child’s imagination during play.
Building toys – A physical toy that is commonly used to develop fine motor skills and improve hand-eye coordination.
Rule-based games – These games (cards, board games etc.) are built around a set of ideas and guidelines, introducing children to cooperative play and rules-based fun.
Educational games – A great combination of entertaining play and interactive education (flash cards, quizzes etc.).
Common Types and Examples of Adapted Toys
If you’re creating an adapted toy, it’s essential that you consider the type of disability that is driving the toy’s development and function. Whether it’s a visual, motor or auditory disability, it’s important that you’re refining your adaptions to maximise the toy’s accessibility. Two of the most common adapted toys are:
• Remote controlled toys, which allow a user to operate and control toys from afar.
• Computer extensions and peripherals, which make computers more accessible for the user and give them an excellent resource for recreation and
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However, the designer must be attuned to the requirements of the user. This means that the designer should know the following information about the target group:
• The disability influencing the toy design.
• Age group.
• Most common requirements.
Adaptions for Physical, Visual and Auditory Disabilities
A different series of adaptions are required for children with disabilities that affect their mobility or motor skills. If this is the case, the toy adaptions should be designed to mitigate the impact of the disability on physical playtime, helping children find more joy in their daily activities. Some of these adaptions include:
• Preventing toys from sliding or movement by attaching Velcro straps.
• Increasing the size of toy handles, levers, rings or other attachments, ensuring that they are easier to move and manipulate.
• If the toys are designed for dragging movements, ropes or cords can be used to facilitate easier movement.
• Changing the dimensions of the toy to make handling it easier.
If the adapted toy is meant for a child with a visual impairment, the most important adaptions will use textured surfaces, sound effects and relief.
• Board games and card games must include braille instructions and
In Chapter 2 Toys Aren’t Us Elkind explains how most children have too much and can not focus on what is important. “All of these changes have impacted the personal, and social skills, attitudes, and values children acquire from toy play” (Elkind, 15). When Elkind mentions changes he means how toys
In this paper I will discuss two different case studies. The first case study involves a 35-month old girl named Kim who struggles with meal time, potty training, and play time with others. I will discuss four assistive technology devices, that would work for Kim. These devices will assist Kim with balance, mobility and undressing. The second case study involves a school age child name Billy, who struggles with benchmark objectives. Billy is in the fourth grade and use Assistive technology devices reading and math. I will discuss different AT devices that can be used to assist Billy with reading and math.
Jayden, a two and a half year old boy loves story time, being social, and has mental and sensory functions typical for his age. However, Jayden was diagnosed with impairments in his neuromusculoskeletal and movement functions. This condition causes poor muscle control, which prevents Jayden from being mobile. As a result, Jayden sits in a baby stroller when out in the community. Adding to Jayden’s problems is dysarthria, which restricts him from producing clear speech, preventing him from communicating with peers and adults. The combination of Jayden’s neuromuscular skeletal impairments and dysarthria, restricts his engagement in self-care, communicating with classmates, directing his own play, creating interpersonal relationships, mobility
Additional environmental cartoon stimulus may foster enhanced development temporarily. Paiget’s cognitive-developmental theory may be useful in the child’s adaptation of how he or she plays. The child may also be able to maneuver the toy, but may not be able to understand the concept or story of the Transformer. The child is able to understand the symbols that label what toys are and may also be able to better process the parent’s teachings with symbolic knowledge. Works Cited Bee, Helen, & Boyd, Denise (2010).
Disability: may have limitations to physical activities and affect several areas of development. If physical movements are restricted due to disability, then certain skills are hard to develop. Early support might help minimize the effects of disability. These children require additional support to help them develop which can involve providing the child with equipment that can allow the child to be more independent. for e.g. wheelchairs, walking equipment can help child move around and access resources.
The purpose of individualized adaptations is to enhance at least partial participation in a wide range of challenging, interesting, functioning, enjoyable environments, and activities for both students with/out disabilities. ( Students with a severe disability are able to engage in appropriate activities within numerous environments without the use of adaptations.)
o recommending changes in layout and design of the home or school to allow children and adults with injuries or disabilities greater access and mobility
Abstract: Assistive technology is one way that individuals with learning disabilities have been able to overcome the difficulties with comprehension that they possess. This form of technology comes in many forms, ranging from low to high technology devices.
Assistive Technology or “AT” is a term used in this context to describe an item or technique used to make the navigation of a home, school or play environment more accessible for a child with special needs (Lowenthal & Egan, 2003). This paper is written to explore some of the assistive technology (AT) options available to serve two children with special needs in separate circumstances. Low, mid and high tech options will be addressed with regards to the specific needs and intentions of the parents and teachers in each child’s life. Attached is a table offering options for assistive technology in the classroom to support the educational goals of each child.The first case study addressed in this paper is Savannah, a three-year old student who is wheelchair bound. She has a seizure disorder and has been diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy. She has limited vision but seems to be able to recognize items presented to her such as shapes and colors. Savannah participates in “social” language. She loves music and cause/effect activities. She knows all of her colors and shapes, is able to recite the alphabet by rote. In written word, Savannah recognizes both her name and those of her classmates. Savannah’s parents have expressed a desire to have her placed in a more restrictive classroom, and her teacher is interested in working more to support Savannah in the areas of writing and organizational skills. Some assistive technology suggestions for use in supporting Savannah are discussed below. Because Savannah’s teacher is working on encouraging Savannah in the area of writing, assistive technology options to support this area of development will be discussed herein. A low-tech ...
The origin of the word toy is uncertain but according to Harper, in 1300 a toy is meant t0 be an “amorous playing, sport later piece of fun or entertainment.” Today’s definition is an “object of a representation of something familiar, as an animal or person, for children to play with.” The definition of a toy doesn’t say a very fancy and shiny electronic device that effects a child’s development. The exact time of when toys were created on Earth is unknown due to the fact that we as humans haven’t been around for a ver...
The first principle of universal design is to make sure that the product is usable by persons with disabilities. Equitable design means products should be created in a way equivalent to products used by persons without special needs and does not alienate the user with special needs in anyway. Not only should the design be appealing, but also meet safety and privacy needs of the user (Connell, Jones, Mace, et al, 1997). The second principle also focuses on the use of the product. Flexibility in the design should accommodate a range of physical abilities, e.g. right or left handedness, and usage options (Connell, Jones, Mace, et al, 1997). Likewise, the design should facilitate the varying intellectual and physical skills of the intended user. Prompting and information should be simply arranged to meet user expectations.
Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative play.
... in my daily work and in my future classrooms by including diverse activities that challenge different aspects of physical and motor development, such as safe outdoor activities like climbing, encouraging motor development through an art station, and developing fine motor skills through the use of finger plays. It will encourage me to always be aware of the uniqueness of each child's developmental abilities so my teaching methods are inclusive and in-depth.
But how is this achieved? The range of special needs covers a very wide spectrum. It will be necessary therefore to examine how ICT can support the various needs. Standard equipment is often suitable for children with SEN. the settings of the computer can be changes to make it more computer friendly.
Resnick, M. (2006). Computer as Paintbrush : Technology , Play , and the Creative Society An Example : Alexandra ’ s Marble Machine. (D. G. Singer, R. M. Golinkoff, & K. Hirsh-Pasek, Eds.)Play Learning How play motivates and enhances childrens cognitive and socialemotional growth, 1-16. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/playlearn-handout.pdf