Occupational Therapy Clinical Assistant Professor Jennifer Misiura and Education Assistant Professor Cassie Grassmyer have collaborated to launch a Switched Adapted Toys Chapter at SFU.
Switched adapted toys make play and educational opportunities accessible for children with limited mobility.
Students and faculty from the Occupational Therapy and Education Departments will work together on this initiative, adapting mainstream toys by adding accessible switches to them.
This will make play more attainable and enjoyable for children with motor and other developmental disabilities.
“When you look up these toys in a catalog that are specific to special needs, they’re often very costly” said Grassmyer. “A toy on Amazon could be $14, but in a catalog, they can cost upwards of $50.”
The toys are modified: large, user-friendly switches are added to allow children with limited mobility or dexterity challenges to engage with them.
Once modified, the toys will be distributed to area children through partnerships with other organizations.
“We are pretty much able to adapt any toy that has an on-off switch,” Grassmyer said. “These toys can teach children cause-and-effect, numbers, letters, colors and songs.”
Grassmyer and Misiura have already received some funding for the project from UPMC-Altoona and the Dorothy Day Center.
The initiative is the first of its kind in Pennsylvania.
