Assignment:
Create a wearable device to enhance a sense of TOUCH using only cardboard, glue, and yarn.
I designed this wearable to be used as a fidget toy, a nature exploration device, an occupational therapy tool, and a fashion accessory.
I modeled this device on the sensory equipment used in occupational therapy that provides children with smooth/rough and hard/soft objects to manipulate. Children can practice identification of different textures by handling different textured objects such as rough vs. smooth shapes. Occupational therapists frequently use “feely boxes” which contain objects with different textures and shapes. I conceived this assignment as a wearable feely box containing different compartments with textures that enhance the sense of touch such as soft, smooth, rough, and prickly. The empty compartments encourage the wearer to look for similar textures in nature and place their finds inside the boxes.