Re-imagining children's toys to support kids on the autism spectrum or with sensory sensitivities communicate their need for help to caregivers.
User Research & Testing, Children’s Products, User Experience & Branding
OVERVIEW
Kids on the autism spectrum or with sensory sensitivities have difficulty communicating with caregivers when they need help dealing with emotions or environmental triggers.
Cue is a therapeutic toy that gives a visual signal to caregivers whenever kids need support while simultaneously giving them agency to begin the soothing process themselves.
Cue was awarded two International Design Awards(IDA): Silver in Children Products & Silver in Design for Society
THE USER
Kids on the autism spectrum or with sensory sensitivity process the world differently—everything gets amplified, and their brains have trouble discerning all that stimulus. As author Nancy Peske points out:
It's tough to handle yourself when all you want is to run from that situation.
THE CHALLENGE
Adversity can take many forms, and for some kids, it means that they have needs that contradict and compete with those of the mainstream. I ran a co-creation workshop to understand how kids feel empowered and safe.
The key insight from the workshop was the need for agency over themselves to truly feel in control, even if it's only perceived control.
Mighty Kids
Participants included five children from different socioeconomic backgrounds, ranging from 5 to 13 years old. The 2-hour workshop was divided into three sections: - Create a superhero. - Make a tool for their friend's superhero. - Create a story for their hero to help with anything in their life.
I realized that how we interact with the world does not work for some kids and that the interactions we take for granted can be too overwhelming for them. When these kids flee from a room or have a horrible, prolonged tantrum, it is likely linked to how they perceive the environment.
What if children had more agency over their surroundings? What if they could communicate to their parents that they are overwhelmed?
HOW IT WORKS
The toy helps children communicate with their parents when they feel overwhelmed or triggered by the environment but can't express it verbally. It allows them to initiate the calming process by pressing on the soft foam material, activating the shell to cover the toy—just like a tight hug or a turtle retreating into its shell—thus signaling the need for their parents' help.
THE LOGIC BEHIND IT
The toy helps children communicate with their parents when they feel overwhelmed or triggered by the environment but can't express it verbally. It allows them to initiate the calming process by pressing on the soft foam material, activating the shell to cover the toy—just like a tight hug or a turtle retreating into its shell—thus signaling the need for their parents' help.
IMPACT
Understanding what triggers and calms children could be a huge game-changer for parents with kids on the spectrum as it means they can minimize these experiences and work together to develop coping mechanisms. Expanding to a broader audience, the toy could also work for kids who are experiencing emotional changes: kids who are going through bullying, kids whose parents are getting divorced, and those who are moving, as it allows children to signal a need for support from their parents without feeling the pressure to explain why.
DESIGN DIRECTION
The project took many turns and went through several form explorations and prototypes: from character-like figures to very literal hedgehog concepts to more abstract extractions of a fetal position.
next steps
Moving forward, I want to better understand how kids and parents feel after using the toy. While I tested the product with one family. I recognize there should be a more significant sample over an extended period to truly understand its wins and limitations.
