Classroom
The Universal Design of Clixo Toys as Featured in a Forbes Article
Inclusive Play
According to a Forbes article by Steven Aquino titled “Children’s Toy Clixo Proves Prioritizing Accessible Design Has Relevance Beyond Tech,” Clixo’s unique malleability makes it stand out from other magnetic building toys. Clixo’s flexibility “not only aids in spurring creativity, it also aids in accessibility because it makes for easier manipulation.”(Aquino, 2023). You can read the full article to learn more.
In a world where toys are often specified to a target age group and skill set – Clixo is universally designed for kids (and adults) with varying abilities. As a great tool to help develop social, verbal, emotional, and motor skills, the Clixo pieces’ affordance, rounded shapes, the flexibility of the material, and auditory feedback, allow kids with varying fine motor abilities and communication skills to enjoy playing and creating inclusively.
Universally Designed Toys
Playing is a crucial activity for a child’s development in terms of motor skills, cognitive development, communication, and emotional and social development. While many toys come out each year with accessibility in mind, toys designed for specific groups of people or that include adaptive add-ons are still missing the larger goal: Universal Design. This principle emphasizes design that can be accessed, understood, and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of age, size, ability, or disability.
Assaf Eshet, the award-winning toy inventor, design educator, and creator of Clixo, puts this concept at the heart of all his designs. He believes Universal Design is the most advanced level of inclusivity & accessibility and would allow for creating better toys for everyone vs. focusing on adaptive design.
Clixo was designed to be inclusive of all age groups and simultaneously suitable for kids with all abilities, with its motor, cognitive, emotional, social, and sensory elements considered from the get-go. Clixo offers the same play experience to all users; it’s simple and intuitive, it requires low physical effort, its size is made to fit in any hand, and it has an unlimited tolerance for error as there’s no wrong way to use it.
Occupational Therapist Perspective
Noa Nitzan, an occupational therapist with expertise in child development and an accessibility consultant, found Clixo to be a great tool to help kids with social, verbal, emotional, and other skills. Through different activities, Clixo can help kids with intellectual disabilities work on cognitive and planning skills, and other children with complex motor disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, work on fine motor skill development.
Workshops in Schools
and Working Places
Clixo’s versatile qualities have been proven during workshops our Clixo Team hosted with a range of different populations. During the Super Science Friday event at PS 29, groups of Pre-K-5th grade children dropped by to play with Clixo, accompanied by parents and siblings. While engaging with Clixo, each person took their own approach. Some kids collaborated to build a long snake or fortify the structure of the tallest tower. Siblings of ages 3-4 were fascinated with exploring how the individual pieces bent and connected in their hands.
One kid created wearable crowns and bracelets while a parent designed a complex robot. Some chose to plan; while others decided to get to work and see where the process might lead them. Clixo’s universal capabilities further came to light when we hosted a workshop for Google employees in their office earlier this year. During this, participants took part in team-building exercises that harnessed their individual creativity to work as a group. The open-ended play and activities allow everyone to connect and meet them where they are.
Above all, Clixo’s universal design qualities level the playing field by making it possible for children with and without disabilities to play together, therefore creating opportunities for connections rather than creating a divide.
