Carolina Adapts Toys for Children fosters partnerships, creates specialized designs

Carolina Adapts Toys for Children is a student-led organization founded in 2018 that strives to bring the "joy of play" to children excluded from the typical toy market.

Members modify the circuitry design and buttons of popular toys to make them easier to use for kids with mobility or cognitive challenges. Through the club’s various partnerships with hospitals and schools, they create custom adaptations based on specific client needs. 

With the grant from Atrium Health in Charlotte, CATCH initiated Special Projects Assistive Technology, a program for advanced club members to work on specialized toys and tools, emphasizing user-centric design instead of mass-adaptations. SPAT uses 3D printers to engineer custom products requested by physical therapists and their clients. 

Co-President of CATCH junior  Katie Chai said she is grateful for the partnerships and the ability to more adequately meet the needs of toy recipients. This semester, a primary focus of CATCH is to expand their specialized projects to serve a wider age range; Chai said that the adapted toys have largely catered to young children.

Chai said the organization also hopes to produce more cultural and gender inclusive toys.

“It’s been cool to see the projects that our members have really pioneered and driven home. Our technical officer, and now CTO, Gavin, he created this awesome Nerf gun, which was born out of a request to create toys for older children,” Chai said. 

Other specialized designs include toothbrush and mascara holders, tweezers, braille-learning devices and lava lamps. 

Each Tuesday in the Phillips Hall basement, students meet to modify toys with step-by-step guides written by members. Newcomers are directed through a training process in which they learn how to use a solder, and according to Communications Lead sophomore Aditi Gajavelly, these members are generally able to work on their own toys by the next meeting.

“We’re definitely trying to make CATCH more than just a club for engineers,” Gajavelly said. 

CATCH frequently meets with physical and occupational therapists to determine real-world user needs. Above everything, the goal of both CATCH and its partners is to introduce play into the lives of children who do not get to experience it in the average, commercially-available way. 

“The impact is pretty tangible," Chai said. "An adapted toy, or like an assistive device, can mean greater independence and greater engagement in physical therapy, through like cause and effect therapy. And most importantly, something that’s a little overlooked — I think just the joy of play." 

CATCH includes students of all majors connected by a common passion to increase accessibility and apply innovation and creativity to something impactful. The club works to bridge the gap between engineering and community service, creating a space for UNC students to gain hands-on, real-world experience. No prior skills are needed to join.

Prior to CATCH’s partnerships, the toys largely came out of funding from the UNC Senate. Now, with SPAT’s use of 3D-printing, CATCH can also engineer client-based items at a lower cost to the club.

CATCH Chief Technical Officer Gavin Bauer is currently working to streamline the process of toy orders from start to finish, using a spreadsheet database where members can sign up for special projects based on their particular interests. 

“We hope through this program that we will be able to extend our reach towards more complex accessibility designs and help meet more needs to the fullest extent,” Bauer said in an email statement to the The Daily Tar Heel. 

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