A child with Rett syndrome needs an accessible and enjoyable way to communicate their basic needs and interact with the people and environment around them.
The parents of a three-year-old child with Rett syndrome want their child to have a simple and enjoyable way to communicate basic needs, feelings, and choices. Rett syndrome can affect speech and purposeful hand movements, which may make it difficult for the child to clearly tell others what they want. This can cause frustration for both the child and her family. The goal of this project is to create an accessible switch toy that allows the child to communicate by pressing large, easy-to-use buttons.
Each button will include a clear word, color, and picture symbol representing messages such as “yes,” “no,” “food,” “drink,” “help,” and “all done.” When pressed, the button will play a recorded phrase through a speaker. Fun buttons that play music or ocean sounds will also be included to make the device entertaining and encourage the child to interact with it.
The switch toy will have a colorful Shark Tales theme and will be made from Plastic with smooth, rounded edges. It will include removable legs with soft, nonslip bottoms for use on a table or floor. An adjustable attachment will also allow it to be secured to a high chair. The overall purpose is to give the child more independence, reduce communication frustration, and provide a fun way to interact with her family and environment.
Communication:
Easy to use / understand:
Multiple Uses:
Fun and engaging:
Adaptable:
For our Shark Tales Switch Board, we focused on making the design safe, stable, and easy for Athena to use. Since she mainly uses a slapping motion, we designed buttons with different sizes, shapes, and colors to catch her attention and make them easier to activate. We also included foam padding and rounded edges for safety. The board will have removable legs with nonslip bottoms to help prevent sliding or tipping. An adjustable strap will allow it to attach securely to high chairs, tables, and other objects. This analysis helps us evaluate the button force, board stability, and attachment strength so we can make improvements before building the final product. Our goal is to create a safe, comfortable, and fun device that helps Athena communicate her needs more independently.
