Eddy Loco
An Educational Toy for Legally Blind Children
An Educational Toy for Legally Blind Children
Thesis Project 2011
Eddy Loco is a educational toy aimed at encouraging mobility and echolocation in legally blind pre-school children.
Lack of mobility as a result of visual impairment has been proven to delay the development of, amongst others, the child's gross motor skills. This can have long reaching effects and can also lead to delays in other aspects of the young child's development. It is therefore important to encourage mobility and environmental exploration.
Eddy Loco aims to do this by making exploration fun and more enjoyable for the child. The toy acts as a barrier between the child and potential obstacles, in the same way a cane does, making the child feel less vulnerable. Fitting the toy with a big round wheel however makes the product easier to use for younger children than the traditional cane and allows them to use it in a variety of environments.
The toy is also fitted with clickers to encourage the use of echolocation. This helps to introduce the technique to the child early whereby enabling the user to potentially develop the skill naturally.
Lack of mobility as a result of visual impairment has been proven to delay the development of, amongst others, the child's gross motor skills. This can have long reaching effects and can also lead to delays in other aspects of the young child's development. It is therefore important to encourage mobility and environmental exploration.
Eddy Loco aims to do this by making exploration fun and more enjoyable for the child. The toy acts as a barrier between the child and potential obstacles, in the same way a cane does, making the child feel less vulnerable. Fitting the toy with a big round wheel however makes the product easier to use for younger children than the traditional cane and allows them to use it in a variety of environments.
The toy is also fitted with clickers to encourage the use of echolocation. This helps to introduce the technique to the child early whereby enabling the user to potentially develop the skill naturally.
