Using hybrid toys to deliver physical therapy is an innovative way to engage children in personalised healthcare. However, there is an urgency to understand children’s needs in their digital-physical play experience, to effectively design these toys. The aims of this explorative study were to identify the needs of children in their play experience and to examine co-creation workshops as a mean to do that. Ten children and thirteen observers participated. Participants were asked to reflect on what they like most about play, while building a hybrid toy and discussing the rationale behind their actions. The statements were written down by the observers and analysed via concept mapping and network analysis to categorise them. Finally, the children filled in a questionnaire after the session to assess the acceptance of the workshop. We have found that the identified needs can refer to different aspects from psychological to practical functionality, providing a wide panorama of requirements. The results of the questionnaire show that children enjoyed the topic, the use of technology, and the process of co-creation. The combination of co-creation with concept mapping allows us to collect and categorise the identified needs to further develop future designs.
MULTIFILE
The purpose of this article was to describe a child-friendly modified constraint-induced movement therapy protocol that is combined with goal-directed task-specific bimanual training (mCIMT-BiT). This detailed description elucidates the approach and supports various research reports. This protocol is used in a Pirate play group setting and aims to extend bimanual skills in play and self-care activities for children with cerebral palsy and unilateral spastic paresis of the upper limb. To illustrate the content and course of treatment and its effect, a case report of a two-year-old boy is presented. After the eight-week mCIMT-BiT intervention, the child improved the capacity of his affected arm and hand in both quantitative and qualitative terms and his bimanual performance in daily life as assessed by the Assisting Hand Assessment, ABILHAND-Kids, Video Observations Aarts and Aarts Module Determine Developmental Disregard, Canadian Occupational Performance Measure and Goal Attainment Scaling. It is argued that improvement of affected upper-limb capacity in a test situation may be achieved and retained relatively easily, but it may take a lot more training to stabilize the results and automate motor control of the upper limb. Future studies with groups of children should elaborate on these intensity and generalization issues.
