Interactive soft toys to support social engagement through sensory-motor plays in early intervention of kids with special needs

Abstract

Transitional Wearable Companion (TWC) is a novel design concept, implemented as an interactive, smart, soft toy, which aims to stimulate curiosity and encourage social engagement in kids with special needs, during play activities with their caregivers. We propose the TWC as a potential support tool for neurodevelopmental therapists, during early intervention in disorders characterised by impairment in the social area, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The TWC might be helpful to set up sensory-motor games, conceived for encouraging and reinforcing critical social competences, pivotal for cognitive development, such as eye-contact, imitation, joint-attention and turn-taking. In this work, we present two working prototypes of TWC called PlusMe and X-8, currently used in pilot experiments with children diagnosed with ASD.