Tech Students Adapt Toys for Children with Disabilities

Children and play go hand in hand, but what about the children with special needs? TN Tech Students addressed the needs of specific children by adapting toys. The Adapt-A-Toy project started as part of the physical management and support services for orthopedic motor and special health impairment class.

Jennifer Yates teaches the class.

“It has kind of just grown each year. We add extra special judges,” Yates said. “So a lot of times they’re children that receive services at the school or at an outpatient therapy clinic. They get to come in and help these judges and these college students that are presenting these toys.”

Each student chose a specific case study to base their toy adaptations.

One of the students, Chelsea Browning studies Exercise Science. Her toy was adapted for children with spina bifida and related back issues.  

“For my adapt-a-toy, I made an easel with a magnetic cookie sheet, and I put magnetic strips on the back of the puzzles,” Browning said. “So that they could stand in tall kneeling and be able to do the puzzle without hurting their back and keeping correct posture.”

Browning said she designed the easel based on safety and usability.

“We used PVC pipes to create the easel itself. And then we used screws with wing nuts to hold the cookie sheet in place which we drilled holes into,” Browning said. “Then we put pool noodles around the PVC pipes for added safety.”

Erin Lewis, a Special Education major, designed a teaching puzzle for deaf-blind children. Lewis said her project started with just a Thomas the Train puzzle.  

“My child was deaf-blind. So I what I did was I tried to work with her goals. One of her goals was to connect an object to the picture underneath,” Lewis said. “So I had objects of different colors to the color word underneath. And underneath each puzzle piece was the sign for the color so she could work with her deaf teacher to learn the signs.”

Lewis said she wanted to make sure that no matter who played with the child, they would know the coordinating signs. This allows for better reinforcement for students and teachers, Lewis said.

“My mom is the vision specialist for the Williamson County School System. So she has all these little characters that I used, they are different colors,” Lewis said. “So I actually hot glued them on top of the puzzle pieces. I just printed off pictures of the different signs.”

Lewis said the puzzle was awarded the Children’s Choice by the judges. The project was donated to a local therapist office.

“I actually am planning on making another one. There is a thing called a Go-Talk,” Lewis said. “It has got nine different spots where you can press a button that says a word that connects to a picture. I am hoping to build a puzzle that will connect to the Go-Talk and help the deaf-blind student learn the signs for their Go-Talk.”

Most of the students donated their toys to local therapy offices and children in town, Yates said.

“I encourage them to donate their toys.  And I would say that about 95% of the students donate the toys,” Yates said. “Occasionally students will want to keep a toy for themselves, maybe as part of their portfolio.”

Yates said she started this project because she had a similar assignment in her graduate school at Belmont. Yates includes the project in the curriculum each semester.

“Overall, I believe it was extremely successful,” Yates said. “The students, just talking to them afterward, its something they are so very proud of.”