An Iranian fashion and fabric designer Mohaddeseh Mahboubi has created a smart outfit for children with learning disorders.
The outfit is designed as a puzzle to help children (with dyslexia) learn the Persian alphabet, numbers and colors, Honaronline quoted Mahboubi as saying.
The idea came from the subject of her BA thesis, “Instructive Lego in pre-elementary students’ clothes.” Lego are educational toys designed to inspire little children in endless hours of imaginative play.
After advice from a professional psychologist, the initial design underwent some changes to be made suitable for dyslexic children.
“I spent a long time studying children’s learning disabilities and behavior. Once the outfits were ready, they were tested on a kindergarten for children with learning disorders. After ensuring the garment’s usefulness, I registered my design,” said Mahboubi.
The outfit is more a play tool than a teaching thing. “Children, who appeared reluctant to go to school, were attracted by the clothes, and asked to give it a try.”
On how the garment works, the designer says the children are first provided with alphabets printed on fabric pieces, and some pictures. “The instructor shows them a picture and then they are asked to identify and place the letters of the word, associated with the picture, in the proper slot on the outfit. If the child does it correctly, music is played by the embedded electronic gadget as a reward.”
The clothes give the children the opportunity to both play and learn, Mahboubi added, acknowledging the help of university instructors and others who assisted her in completing the project.
