New Straits Times

#CHILD: A tool to ease learning for children with autism
By Meera Murugesan - September 15, 2022 @ 8:00am

CHILDREN with disabilities face challenges in doing the everyday things that most of us take for granted.

Something as simple as using a toilet, reading a book or using a spoon to scoop food from a plate, are not skills that come naturally to them but have to be taught.

It always helps when there are the right tools to help ease this learning process.

Keeping this in mind, a talented young woman, an undergraduate at Universiti Sains Malaysia, has invented a pencil that helps improve learning experiences for children with autism, landing her the national James Dyson Award in the process.

The MA-Pencil, is a multifunctional pencil to help children with autism learn how to write independently.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disability that affects 1 in 100 children globally.

Early intervention helps optimise the development, health, well-being and quality of life of people with autism.

While gripping a pencil might seem like an easy task to many, it can be a challenging one for children with autism and this can greatly impact their confidence and ability to learn.

The inventor of the MA-Pencil, Le Qi, is a final year industrial design student from University Sains Malaysia. After a visit to a special needs care centre, she felt compelled to help the community with her design background.

Realising that gripping a pencil correctly is one of the biggest challenges faced by special needs students, she was inspired to create a mechanism that could assist these students.

"Everyone is different. Our needs, personalities, culture, language, age, and so on. I think the existence of inclusive design is necessary to create a better and more comfortable life for all," she says.

The MA-Pencil will progress to the international stage of the James Dyson Award and Le Qi aims to further refine and test her invention to help more children.

The James Dyson Award International shortlist will be announced on Oct 12 and the International winners on Nov 16.

The inventor of the MA-Pencil, Le Qi, is a final year industrial design student from University Sains Malaysia.

THE RIGHT TOOL

MA-Pencil is a multifunctional pencil set to guide children with autism to write independently through different stages.

Coming in an interesting animal-inspired design to appeal to kids, it has both audio output and a break resistance lead.

It helps children with autism write independently through the following stages:

*Beginner stage

This stage supports children's finger placement when holding a pencil. Intentionally designed to have a curved surface, textured lines and circles, the design will guide its users toward the first stage of pencil gripping.

The thicker colourful pencil lead is less likely to break too.

*Adapting stage

Once users are used to the gripping stance, the gripper on the pencil can be turned clockwise to 180 degrees to support the fingers while establishing the correct way to hold the pencil.

*Mature stage

The gripper attachment can be removed and the MA pencil can be used like a regular pencil.

MA-Pencil is a multifunctional pencil set to guide children with autism to write independently through different stages.