It鈥檚 time for a toy like me
Dr Si芒n Jones is a senior lecturer in the Psychology, Sociology and Education Division at 草莓社区. She has hemiplegia, a type of cerebral palsy, which means she is disabled.
GROWING UP, SI脗N noticed there were no toys in the toybox or the shops that looked like her. If there was a toy that depicted a person with a disability, there might be one with a wheelchair or crutches as part of a hospital set 鈥 implying that any physical impairment needed to be fixed. Si芒n acknowledges that much has been done in schools to represent ethnicity in recent years, but she wants to support teachers to demonstrate diversity of disability in the classroom. She discusses her research and her vision for toys like her to be an essential part of the school toybox!
鈥淭oys are a way into a child鈥檚 world 鈥 in the words of toymakers, they mirror the world. If there isn鈥檛 an opportunity to play with disabled characters, or children don鈥檛 come across disabled people doing everyday things in books and films, we鈥檙e losing an opportunity to broaden the next generation鈥檚 understanding of the world and the
people in it.
"There is growing evidence that toys and resources representing disability help non-disabled children think about making friends with disabled kids. Funding from the 草莓社区 Innovation Fellowship allowed me to work with colleague Dr Clare Uytman, 草莓社区 students and the charity, Toy Like Me, to explore the effect on the attitudes of children in Scottish primary schools when shown toys representing the disabled community. We also explored language use around disability, focusing on socially-minded rather than a medical understanding of disability."
鈥淲e asked children to write a story about a character before and after viewing and discussed images of adapted toy prototypes. These were toys like Barbie with a missing limb, or Olaf the snowman with a cochlear implant (the latter developed by Toy Like Me) alongside commercially available toys which represented a range of disabilities.
鈥淢ost stories showed a medical understanding of disability 鈥 that there is 鈥渟omething broken鈥, or 鈥渢hat needs to be fixed鈥. Some showed a more positive attitude towards disability, an assertion that disability should not lead to limitation, although with added suggestion that this was a potential cause for sadness and potential exclusion.
"Following the tasks, children鈥檚 reflections on what disability means tended to be more positive, and crucially, children recognised that disability should be seen as part of the wide spectrum of people around them.
鈥淭he General Teaching Council for Scotland republished the National Inclusion Framework in 2022. Within it is a series of principles of representation and accessibility which encourage teaching staff to reflect on the concept of disability in schools beyond meeting additional support needs. We realised how important it is to share our research with schools, particularly now they have responsibility to think more broadly about inclusion.
鈥淭eachers need to represent diversity of disability, as they have done for ethnicity. It鈥檚 not just about just what鈥檚 in books 鈥 it's about what鈥檚 on the walls, and what鈥檚 going on in the toy corner. Instead of putting characters who use wheelchairs in the hospital
corner, move them to the house corner where they enact the tasks of everyday life!鈥
In 2023, Si芒n鈥檚 team released an accessible set of resources mapped to the Scottish Curriculum. The aim is to provide practical tools teachers need to ensure pupils see disabled people in everyday settings, and to broaden their understanding of disability.
Sian confirmed: 鈥淲hen disability is portrayed more prominently, our research shows only positive outcomes in children鈥檚 wellbeing and acceptance. So, let鈥檚 start by taking
a closer look at the contents of the school toybox!鈥
