Usability Insight

This is an excerpt from the Wired article-

‘This Stuff Doesn’t Change the World’: Disability and Steve Jobs’ Legacy

Researcher Daniel Donahoo wrote about this admirably well in an op-ed for GeekDad in March:

"[T]he potential of the iPad is not achieved by the iPad alone, nor by simply placing it in the hands of a child with autism. The potential of the device is realized by the way professionals like speech pathologists, educators, occupational therapists and early childhood development professionals apply their skills and knowledge to use the iPad to effectively support the development of children. The potential is realized by engaged parents working with those professionals to explore how the device best meets the individual needs of their child."

Its a point that I have been thinking about a lot recently. Its why we need to not only do a research study of how the toys impact the children but also a usability survey of how it is used through interactions with others who are a part of their lives- therapists, teachers, family, freinds.

Textured Storage Pillows

Design by Canadian designer, Sandy Wang, the textured storage pillows helps children store and camouflage their plush toys.

My Keepon Toy

My Keepon also has the backing of one of the world’s largest toy stores, Toys “R” Us, which has the exclusive U.S. rights to sell the robot, originally a therapeutic tool for autistic children.

Keepon’s story begins about seven years ago with Hideki Kozima, a Japanese expert in artificial intelligence and robotics at the School of Project Design at Miyagi University. Kozima theorized that an emotive robot could help autistic children, who can be overwhelmed in face-to-face interactions, by reducing the complexities of communication to a few simple gestures. A child pats the robot on the head. It responds with a playful bob. The child talks to the robot. It turns to face him and nods.

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Mom-made toys

A project by plan toys based in thailand.

Auti: teaching children with Autism Positiv Play

"Autistic children find it difficult to play," said designer Helen Andreae, who developed Auti through an industrial design paper at Victoria University in the final year of her Honours degree last year under the supervision of lecturers Tim Miller and Edgar Rodríguez Ramírez.

Auti is a responsive, mechanised toy designed especially for autistic children six months and up has been created to teach positive play behaviours. The toy develops speaking, touching, and collaborating skills. It shuts down in response to any negative behaviour such as hitting or screaming, but quickly responds to the slightest positive interaction such as speaking gently or stroking. Each sensor can be adjusted to respond appropriately to a child's individual characteristics.

Read more: http://www.dexigner.com/news/23330#ixzz1RP3ZTek9

Autism Games

A great site with a variety of simple games with easily available objects. The categorisation is great for understanding the benefit of the activities.

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Toy Target Skills