Smart objects in smart spaces : smart toy set of language learning for children with developmental language disorders

Tangible User Interfaces as HCI showed high potential for children in several learning environments and they have been indicated as innovative context that could enhance language and communicative skills in children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDDs), especially in those displaying developmental speech or language disorders. Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is one of the most frequent condition in NDD, and it affects the structural language abilities of the children alongside their psychosocial development. Children with DLD are characterized by difficulties in acquisition of lexicon, phonology, morphological and syntactic rules of language. According to constructivist learning theories, children generates knowledge by interacting with the world around them and learning through manipulation of smart objects is an encouraging tool for their training. Glowy is a smart toy set designed for preschool children with DLD for testing their linguistic abilities and for stimulating their language development. Since, tangible smart toys are more accessible to young children and it is more engaging to learn abstract structures with digital manipulatives, Glowy smart toy set used inside the smart room called “Magic Room” is a promising tool for the intervention of the preschool children with DLD.