Leka, a United States company, has come up with an interactive robot that facilitates learning in children with disabilities. The multi-sensory smart toy offers children with special needs the ability to play fun and educational games that motivate social interactions.
Equipped with multiple sensors, the Leka robot responds to a child’s interaction through autonomous behaviours. According to the company’s Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, the smart toy turns red when it’s mistreated, a colour associated with sadness. “Interactive responses like this aim to help children better understand social cues and improve their social skills,” writes the company.
The Cairer delivers personalized anxiety and depression support to those who care for dementia sufferers. Devised for healthcare providers such as the National Health Service and Medicare, this integrated service monitors caregiver well-being through well-established AI-directed cognitive behavioral therapy. Therapy is administered for an identified issue via six Bluetooth micro-vibrating tappers. These reproduce the anxiety-relieving effects of the Emotional Freedom Technique, also known as needless acupuncture or tapping. Placement of the tappers on the facial meridian points is guided by the AI in the app. The tappers are induction charged while stored in the protective case.
Gold Award of IDSA 2020
From the combined creative minds of Shirin Amini and Farid Hatami comes a masterpiece, “Things”: a game therapy for kids, especially those diagnosed with Autism. At first glance, it’s quite a confounding piece of work, something which has the ability to pique your interest at once. It evokes a “tell me more” feeling within us. But here’s why “Things” truly caught our attention! Though it can be used as a handy bedside lamp or reading light for kids of all ages and helps them to recognize textures and colors, the designers took into consideration the needs of Autistic children, allowing “Things” to have a therapeutic effect on them. Not only that, it can be used by them for ‘sensory development’. It helps to strengthen their tactile and visual senses, in turn solidifying their interpersonal skills and social interactions.
What this particular product, the “Repeat,” does, is to teach the child to limit their repeated actions to a time frame indicated on the product by flashing LED lights. There’s also a small numbered timer for goal-setting.
Understanding and acceptance of autism is a growing movement, and with that includes design that aims to aid the development of social skills. This simple yet effective tool, called Joyco, is a game for parents and children that focuses on playful interaction. Tactile elements stimulate pleasure in the form of touch and an interactive hoop game encourages eye contact with mom or dad!
Croatian brand Tink Things creates kids’ furniture with "sensory intelligence" in mind. Designed on the premise that learning and creativity are processes that involve the entire body, the Mia and Ika chairs explore how furniture can support the mental state of autistic children.
Mia is a cocoon-like spherical enclosure of black fabric held within a timber frame. The seat has a gentle swing to help with concentration and soothe the child, and the soft, embracing form can be opened up and closed off to create a sense of privacy and escape when they’re feeling overwhelmed.By contrast, the Ika chair is for kids who need physical stimulation. The seat is a soft, padded swing suspended by rope from outer timber legs. It encourages the child to rock and bounce to release frenetic energy for more engaged learning.
Memo is a concept design of a caregiver robot for early to middle stages of Alzheimer patients. The robot acts as a good companion by playing games and movies, or singing songs. Plus, it can monitor the patients and remotely communicate with their family members and doctors. Memo also provides patients some pills by schedule.
The true magic of Relish Aquapaints is that people in the later stages of dementia are able to express themselves creatively whilst feeling a sense of joy and accomplishment. Each soothing stroke of the brush, with just a dash of water, reveals a beautiful image below. Spending time in the creative process can enhance mental wellbeing and relaxation for people with dementia. Best of all, when the water dries, the canvas will fade back to white ready to paint again!
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A participatory product design process with children with autism spectrum disorder This study aims to explore the ways of involving children with autism in participatory product design processes. Due to the impaired skills of children with autism, a key aspect of the process is to gain an understanding of the nature of the disorder and how these children interact with their social and material surroundings as well as their daily life problems. Considering this, a case study was conducted with children with autism, their parents and teachers, and also industrial design students in a public special education centre in İzmir, Turkey. The design task was to reconsider the conventional trampoline design with respect to the needs of the sample group and the special education centre as well as the benefits it provides. The task was based on the patterns of behaviours, actions and movement. Observations, interviews and questionnaires were carried out, as well as collaborative meetings and discussion meetings. Through the case study, the findings provided insights into conducting a participatory process with children with autism, the roles of the participants, and the interaction and communication among them. Furthermore, participants’ attitude towards participatory design, the potential benefits of the design process, and innovations to benefit children with autism were explained.
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Neurological, Psychiatric, and Developmental Disorders
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Brain disordersâ€"neurological, psychiatric, and developmentalâ€"now affect at least 250 million people in the developing world, and this number is expected to rise as life expectancy increases. Yet public and private health systems in developing countries have paid relatively little attention to brain disorders. The negative attitudes, prejudice, and stigma that often surround many of these disorders have contributed to this neglect. Lacking proper diagnosis and treatment, millions of individual lives are lost to disability and death. Such conditions exact both personal and economic costs on families, communities, and nations. The report describes the causes and risk factors associated with brain disorders. It focuses on six representative brain disorders that are prevalent in developing countries: developmental disabilities, epilepsy, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and stroke. The report makes detailed recommendations of ways to reduce the toll exacted by these six disorders. In broader strokes, the report also proposes six major strategies toward reducing the overall burden of brain disorders in the developing world.
ISBN: 0309570085Publication Date: 2001-01-01 -
The Five Senses and Beyond
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How do our human senses work and help us interact with our surroundings, and what happens when these senses malfunction or are impaired? This book provides in-depth information that answers these questions and more. The Five Senses and Beyond: The Encyclopedia of Perception supplies students and general readers with accurate, up-to-date information about the human senses. It explains the "big five" senses in detail as well as lesser-known but important senses--perceptions such as balance, kinesthesia, temperature, and pain. After a helpful introduction, this reference work provides A-to-Z, cross-referenced entries on hundreds of topics in the realm of human perception that allow students to find and digest information quickly and draw connections between related topics. Through the use of activity sidebars, readers will also be able to explore the workings of the senses firsthand, lending an element of interactivity to this accessible encyclopedia. A convenient end-of-volume glossary provides definitions of unfamiliar terms. Provides an introductory essay that gives readers a firm conceptual framework on the subject of human senses before delving into greater detail Includes further readings sections and a comprehensive bibliography that serve readers looking to research the topic more in depth Supports study of the anatomy of sense organs, particularly the eye and ear, that are frequently studied in courses in biology; of perception (and its shortcomings) as addressed as part of psychology classes; and of sensory impairments, such as blindness and deafness, which are topics commonly discussed in health classes
ISBN: 9781440834165Publication Date: 2016-11-07 -
Cognitive Disability Aesthetics
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Cognitive Disability Aesthetics explores the invisibility of cognitive disability in theoretical, historical, social, and cultural contexts.
ISBN: 1487515111Publication Date: 2018-12-03
