Toy Tech Adapted Toys Initiative
A technology program in Columbia, South Carolina is making toys accessible for kids with disabilities. The South Carolina Assistive Technology Program rewires toys to make them easier to use and gives them to families for free.
Sparks, the drivers of the initiative, started out as the East Tennessee’s technology access non-profit agency for people with disabilities. Spark’s mission is to innovate and individually tailor technological solutions and accommodations that allow people with disabilities to live, work, play and contribute their skills more fully. It works to provide everything from mobility equipment to specially modified toys, depending on individual needs.
Regular toys that have a hidden or small on/off button in their backs or hands, can be difficult for kids with disabilities to use.
Sparks’ Toy Tech helper, Jedidiah Cuttle, is the Spark Lead Innovator. He modifies typical toys to allow children with disabilities to interact with them and he shows volunteers how to do it, to take it apart, tweak some mechanics, and add a single switch. Then a child who cannot grip or grasp can still interact with the toy, children can trigger the switch with their head or their arm or even by blowing into a special device. He states “It’s all the fun of getting to work with something with your hands that’s a simple, discreet process. You can see it through from start to finish. ItThat is sort of inherently delightful to start something and complete it. But then on top of that Kknowing that the toyit is going to a child that otherwise wouldn’t be able to play with a toy play with a toy like that redoubles that sense of satisfaction,” he said. They have created a public amazon wish list for people to donate toys to, so they can ensure that all age ranges are covered.
This kind of initiative should be become common practice throughout the world to push normalising accessibility to being a standard practice
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