The Thoughtful DWARFS

Abstract

Existing education policy in Hong Kong puts most of the ASD (autism spectrum disorder) children in Hong Kong attend ordinary schools. However, the emotional expressions and verbal exposition of ASD children sometimes impose communication and learning barriers to them at school. In this social-innovation design project, Jack Man-Wai Wong produced a thoughtful educational kit, DWARFS, which combines Emoboard with Emobjects. Each color in DWARFS represents one emotion, such as anger, fear, sorrow, disgust, love, peace, and joy. By combining tactile and auditory treatment, ASD children could learn how to manage their feelings by experiencing how positive emotions overcome the negative ones. Because product design, as Jack firmly believes, has the power to connect people.