How can we motivate children with cerebral palsy to participate in playful exercise?
2024
14 Weeks
User Centered Design
Problem Solving
Ideation
3D Modeling
Play and stay healthy all day
Moveme is a balance bike designed for children with cerebral palsy ages 7 to 10. Encouraging them to engage in playful exercise while making physical activity fun and interesting.
Letting balance guide the way
Moveme lets the kid rest their upper body weight on the chest support, allowing them to focus on lower body mobility through stretching and movement.
Learning about Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is the most common motor disability in childhood, which affects movement, balance, posture, and hand-eye coordination. While it cannot be cured, physical therapy can significantly improve adaptability and quality of life.
Children with cerebral palsy can often feel unmotivated to start the day, reluctant to exercise, and hesitant to step out of their comfort zone. Their challenges and limited accessibility can make it difficult for them to engage in play, affecting their choices and opportunities.
How can we design a product that makes physical therapy fun and motivating for kids with cerebral palsy?
Talking to Experts
Aragna Ker
Curatorial and adaptive Designer manager
“Designing for enhancing dexterity doesn't necessarily mean designing something new, but understanding what adaptive tools or modifications someone with cerebral palsy might need.”
Anonymous Parent
Parent of a 7 year old kid with Cerebral Palsy
“The equipment that the doctors provided looked very medical and bulky. It is really hard to motivate my kid to use them.”
Reverse Ergonomics: Rethinking Physical Therapy
Inspired by ArtCenter’s chairs, I was pulling an all-nighter when my back started hurting. I realized how comfortable the backrests of the office chairs were, so I turned the chair around and used the backrest as a chest rest. This relieved my neck pain and improved my posture.
Beneficial • Dexterity, Coordination Training • Independence Promotion •
Beneficial • Dexterity, Coordination Training • Independence Promotion •
Design Criteria
Visualizing the Concept
Form for Friendliness
Medical equipment often looks clinical and harsh, making it unappealing or intimidating to kids. Through thoughtful form development, I aimed to create a design that feels inviting and fun, encouraging kids to engage with it.
Form Exploration Through Hands-On Prototyping
Using the paper overlay method, I sketched the bike’s overall form and size, referencing measurements from average kids’ bikes for accuracy.
Designing foot rest
I created a physical 1:1 scale prototype with cardboard to test and refine the measurements.
I 3D printed a 1/4 scale model and added color for a realistic preview.
A journey to Confidence and Coordination on wheels
After acquiring new 3D modeling skills in my 3D Modeling 2 class, I remodeled the bike to make it appear more realistic and less like a toy by implementing a new CMF.
