Beyond Playthings: Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of Interactive Toys for Rehabilitating Cerebral Palsy Children
摘要
Interactive toys tend to stimulate the senses of kids and encourage their physical and cognitive development. Interaction of kids with toys of different shapes, textures, and bright colors actuates their movements and curiosity to play. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurological condition where kids lack the ability to move, and maintain balance and posture. These kids undergo rigorous physical therapy to improve their movements, posture, and coordination. Physiotherapists use interactive toys to make the therapy sessions interesting. Various types of toys are utilized to assist and treat CP children in their physical and cognitive development. Different combinations of toys are clubbed together based on their features and benefits by physiotherapists to execute physical exercises on a trial-and-error basis. As of today, there is no toy kit available specifically for CP kids which encourages them to do exercises willingly. This study focuses on the need for an interactive kit that helps in the overall development and rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy. Novice and expert physiotherapists were interviewed to understand the needs of the toys during each therapy session. Parents were interviewed through semi-structured interviews to identify the tools used at home for play and exercise. Observations of cerebral palsy kids were done to understand their activities, mood, and responses while receiving physical treatment. The data collected was analyzed qualitatively through thematic analysis. This research concluded by raising an opportunity to design a complete set of toys that can be used by therapists to perform various kinds of exercises during therapy sessions. CP kids are attracted and respond to the different colors and various textures of toys. Interactive toys help in enhancing gross motor skills, fine motor movements, and cognitive functions such as abstract and logical thinking and contribute to the social development of children with cerebral palsy.