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(Design Project: Choice Board – Team 2a Fall 2024)
The objective of our design project is to create an adaptive choice board tailored to the specific needs of a three-year-old girl with Rett Syndrome. Due to her condition, the board must be lightweight and durable, enabling her to practice motor skills and facilitate communication. It will also include features for enjoyment and ensure her comfort while using it.
Claire has Rett Syndrome, a condition that affects brain development and leads to the gradual loss of skills and abilities. Due to this condition, Claire primarily communicates through her eyes, as activities like pointing or picking things up are challenging. The choice board aims to enhance her communication abilities and potentially support improvement in her motor skills. Claire requires an adaptive choice board to aid her fine motor skills, communication, and overall growth as a child.
Due to her condition, the project requires several specific design elements and safety measures to ensure a secure and user-friendly experience.
Specifications:
Rett syndrome is a rare genetic neurological disorder that primarily affects girls. It leads to a significant loss of motor skills and causes difficulties in various areas such as speech, walking, eating, and breathing. We explored numerous avenues of ideas, in which a choice board could benefit a child with Rett syndrome.
We researched basic designs to modify them according to our specific needs. Although there are many types of choice boards available, most are commercialized which results in simple and fragile designs. This would not meet our design requirement of durability. We also proposed a dollhouse-like design that could offer several benefits; however, it was not portable and therefore did not meet our requirements. As a result, we decided to incorporate elements from other choice boards to create the version that would best serve the family.
Implementation:
Having a sensor or pressure trigger to activate audio when the slider hovers over a particular object/picture would aid in the improvement of the child’s communication skills. Two rails on ball bearings would be implemented to help slide a square around for easier motion in any direction within the board. The slider would measure the position of x and y to pinpoint location. The background and pictures can be attuned to the color and design specifications of the family.
Evaluation:
Doing a sensory board with audio may aid communication skills; however, it may entail rigorous electrical aspects for proper functionalities.
Implementation:
Having a book design for our project would allow for a compact and portable sensory board. The features are simple detachable mechanisms for the child’s play. The book would consist of various textures, colors, and moveable objects.
Evaluation:
Creating a portable design would allow access to the sensory board in various locations and settings. Multiple pages would allow greater interaction which sanctions a longer attention duration.
Dimensions:
6” x 2” x 12”
Implementation:
A choice board that could be used as an eye tracker would be very beneficial for Claire because she uses her eyes the most to communicate with her family. Another implementation would be a recording device. This would allow the mother to record various messages that Claire looks at. The picture could then be replaced so that new words and phrases are learned, adapting to Claire as she ages.
Evaluation:
Implementing a board where she could look at an object and it speaks whatever she is looking at, for example, an apple could be beneficial to her learning how to talk or know what things are. Having a book design for our project would allow for a compact and portable sensory board. The features are simple detachable mechanisms for the child’s play. The book would consist of various textures, colors, and moveable objects.
We took the cost, durability, and manufacturability of each and finalized our decisions to incorporate aspects from Concepts 1 and 2. The concept will have the overall appearance of Concept 2; however, the design will include similar communication aspects of Concept 1. The cost and manufacturability of Concept 2 are the lowest and simplest to create; however, the aid in communication and motor skills was a positive aspect of Concept 1.
