About MOR-PLAY
Assistive technologies play an important role in supporting the every day lives of many children with disabilities. However, due in part to some inappropriate research and development practices in the field of rehabilitation, the full potential for the creation of practical technological solutions to facilitate play by these children has not yet been realized. Through a critical, participatory and interdisciplinary approach to research in disability, technology, and rehabilitation, our project focuses on the creation of “MOR-PLAY”, a mobile robotic platform to facilitate play by young power wheelchair users.
Rather than focusing on the enhancement or treatment of a specific health condition (which would require the child to be defined as a defficient or impaired subject), we will explore the possibilities of facilitated play through a meaningful application of technology based on the legitimacy of children’s right to equal access to recreation. Appropriate evaluations of the impact of such a device on different aspects of these children’s every day lives will be performed using mixed methods drawn from a variety of disciplines such as Biomedical Engineering, Occupational Therapy, Psychology and Sociology.
