Special toys for special needs kids

January 3, 2011

By Hetty Musfirah | Posted: 03 January 2011 0744 hrs

SINGAPORE: Many children are spoilt for choice when picking a toy off the

shelves but its often a different story for those with special needs.

Two young individuals are looking to design toys that cater to children with

special needs. And they are hoping their ideas will catch on.

One of them is Ang Wei Quan, who designed " Feel the Beat " , an interactive and

rehabilitative toy for those with cerebral palsy.

Wei Quan said: " It is an effective assistive pulser, so it's designed for

patients with cerebral palsy, for children that has mild conditions,

" The air pump is synchronised with the music, and so it actually pulsates with

the music, with slow music, so when the thing actually pulsates and the kids

actually listen to music through the ear phones, they can actually hold a shaker

or some tambourine on their hand, they can actually learn how to play musical

instruments. "

The " Rock On " , designed by Tan Liren, is a rocking chair equipped with letters

of the alphabets and other interactive functions, is for those with

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

" I actually realised that rocking is actually a simple calming mechanism, so I

brought down simple prototypes to test and basically it was observed that the

students were actually more cooperative, quieter and they weren't actually

dashing out of the classrooms as often as they used to, " said Liren.

Both Wei Quan and Liren, who are graduates from the National University of

Singapore (NUS), hope their toys will catch the eyes of investors, even though

it can be an uphill battle.

" I think it is very difficult for us to find the products in the market and also

in the market, in the manufacturing sector, they do not really emphasise on this

type of project, because the market value or sales are not so big, " said

Associate Professor Yen Ching Chiuan, Head of the Division of Industrial Design

with the School of Design and Environment at NUS.

But all is not lost, as the toys have been on trial in several special schools

in Singapore.

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