Interactive Pretend Play (iPPy) Toys for Children with ASD

Abstract

In the recent past, Tangible User Interface (TUI) has shown its positive impact on children with ASD in affluent countries. However, limited research is conducted on designing low-cost TUI for children in low-resource countries. Hence, this paper investigates how to design affordable, child-friendly and culturally-adaptable tangible toys for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in low-resource countries. We designed a set of interactive pretend play toys (iPPy) that allow playful interactions with a multi-touch surface. These iPPy toys were co-designed with Sri Lankan practitioners iteratively and developed utilising low-cost materials such as everyday play toys used at therapy centres. Furthermore, after iteratively improving the prototype, practitioners were satisfied with the overall design of iPPy toys and were ready to use iPPy toys with children with ASD.