John Schimmel created what he calls an “Humana Instructable“. In it, he demonstrates a neat idea for how to adapt a toy train for use by a child with a physical disability. He writes:
For many kids with physical disabilities playing with off the shelf toys is not possible. Depending on their unique abilities a toy might not be accessible.
However, if a child can move their feet, head, arm, mouth or any other part of their body it is possible to use a switch to play with the toy. Accessibility switches come in a variety of styles enablingdevices.com/catalog/capability_s witches/best-sellers .
This particular toy is a remote controlled train, we will add to switch jacks to the remote control unit so any accessibility switch can be used. If a child can move the mouth and left foot they can chase their cat with this train.
Adding switch jacks to this toy will not affect the original quality of use, the existing buttons will operate as normal.
This is a very cool idea! It’s obvious, but something you might not think about: disabled children may not be able to play with off-the-shelf toys. Fortunately, makers are in a unique position to improve the situation. Think about what an awesome gift it could be, and a great community project for a hackerspace, too!
After all, you know you’re going to hack that toy anyway.
Finally, I just wanna throw this out there: the Kinect is uniquely suited to be an accessible input device. Hack amongst yourselves… 🙂
UPDATE: check out this awesome contest over at Instructables for creating assistive technology!
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
Just a quick note, there is a friendly competition on Instructables for assistive technology that everyone should enter. It’s not about the prize but getting people thinking about how to support each other and do a little hacking at the same time.
This mods are indeed very easy to make! I know first hand from participating with a charity group in Cleveland, OH that holds workshops at universities and local companies to modify and repair these custom toys for disabled kids in the area. Check them out! http://www.replayforkids.org
Thanks for the post John.
Just a quick note, there is a friendly competition on Instructables for assistive technology that everyone should enter. It’s not about the prize but getting people thinking about how to support each other and do a little hacking at the same time.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Enter-the-Humana-Health-by-Design-Contest/
This mods are indeed very easy to make! I know first hand from participating with a charity group in Cleveland, OH that holds workshops at universities and local companies to modify and repair these custom toys for disabled kids in the area. Check them out! http://www.replayforkids.org