1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background
Creating something new and unique is something I like to do; it is a part of who I am. Sometimes don’t you just wonder what you can do with your abilities and favorite things to do? So I’ve decided to do something that will benefit others by sewing, which is one of the things I love to do.
After observing my surroundings, autism is something that is most interesting to me. People say that autism is disability; some other people say that autism is weird and different. To me, kids with autism are gifted and unique. Their behaviors, which might seem a little odd, are actually what make them unique. Even though there are some disadvantages in autism; but when they’re interested in something, they can be so obsessed, which can make them an expert on that topic. Sometimes, they’re not able to identify the emotion they’re having, which could create chaos sometimes. Another problem that they also have—that I’m quite aware of is that they have sensory problems, which could prevent them getting the best education they deserved.
1.2 Goal & AOI
For my personal project, I would like to make dolls that will help kids with autism develop (see Appendix 7.1). I will be designing and creating the dolls; and later I will give it to the autistic kids with hope that it will help them grow, develop and make good use of it. Kids with autism needs tools to make them more aware of their emotions and for them to develop their censoring skills. That is the reason why I chose Community and Service for my Area of Interaction (AoI). At first, I was aware of my surroundings of how others react when they’re around. After that, I started to reflect on myself, how I have react when they’re around—which is: nothing. Then, I decided to create the emotion sensory dolls for my Personal Project. These are the reasons I chose Community and Service; which is because I want to learn more about this community and help them to develop in a way that would benefit them most. Even though creating is a part of Human Ingenuity, but I want to focus more on making a difference.
1.3 Standard of Success
I’ll know that I have succeeded if the kids with autism could take the doll that has an emotion like how they stated their emotion is beforehand. I will be asking how they’re feeling that day and let them see and observe the dolls I will be making. After that, I will ask them to take a doll that symbolizes how they’re feeling. If they take the right one, that means I succeeded, but if they took a different one from their feeling that means I failed. I’ll also know that I have succeeded if 60% of my dolls can be defined by the kids and also if it doesn’t harm them (toy safety).
1.4 Activity Schedule
My plan is to first of all find a society or institution that helps autism kids. After that, I will search about the institution and ask whether they need help or not. Next, I will be interviewing a professional for advice on how to help the autism kids with toys, and I will also do some other research through other resources. After that, I will start designing the dolls (with characters) and at the same time I will be finding the perfect material for the dolls. Next, I will start creating the dolls based on the design with the texture and material. When I’m done creating the dolls, I will give those dolls to the community or group of people that helps autism kids to achieve my goal.
1.5 Activity Plan (Diagram)
2.0 Analysis of Information
After researching through the Internet, books, magazines, videos, and interviews; I’ve decided that I’m going to focus on helping kids with autism but at the same time also focus on my AOI, which is Community and Service. Even though the process of creation (Human Ingenuity) is also a factor of it, I’ve chose to focus more on how to help kids with autism (Community and Service). I will focus on kids with autism (to be specific, Aspergers), training and the dolls (see Appendix 7.2).
2.1 About Kids with Autism
Kids with autism—in general, have problems communicating with other people. They have unique behaviors such as: avoiding eye contact and head banging (“Child-Autism-Parent-Café”). They have trouble controlling and showing emotions. According to Tony Attwood, giving them emotion chart will help a lot; so they can point to the emotion they’re feeling. Kids with autism also have sensory problem—their ability to feel isn’t as good as other people. These are the things that really stand out to me; these are the things I’m going to help them with. I didn’t choose to help them out of the blue; I realize that there are more kids diagnosed with autism. And now there are less people that are willing to help them—so, I decided to do a little favor, it may be small but I believe those small things does matter.
There are 4 different kinds of autism (see Appendix 7.3). Asperger’s disorder is one of them; they are different in their own ways. The practices they go through isn’t to make them normal, because being normal is bias; it’s to make them do things they weren’t able to do before.
Kids with autism have a lot of areas to be developed such as motor, sensory, emotions and cognitive skills. Sensitivity is one of the indications that a kid has autism. They usually have a sensitivity to a specific light or color. Like what’s written in both Mark Haddon’s and Jodi Picoult’ novel. This doesn’t mean that every kid with autism has a specific sensitivity, but most of them do. They also have motor skills problem and late growth (Lusli, Mimi Mariani). Even though they have these problems, as I see the recording of Janice, a kid with Asperger’s Disorder that was recorded by Mimi Institute for observation; I see that she still have a passion to live and do their best no matter what. This helps me to also motivate myself and appreciate them even more. It also helps me to know the best way to interact with them.
Referring back to the AoI’s question: How do we live in relation with others? We live in relation with others by trying to blend in. We always have that person, that we look up to, the role model. And sometimes, we even wish to be like our role model that we forgot who we are. We live in relation with others by trying to be others, trying to be the best of all. Like the autistic kids, they try to be like their role model, their parents for example. But because they don’t know how, they sometimes show it in a wrong way—which where our role has to play, to help them to know what to do.
2.2 About Training Kids with Autism
According to Mimi Mariani Lusli, autistic kids are kids with special abilities. Nowadays there are different kinds of organizations that help them to grow and get the attention they needed. They also have tools that can help them to grow.
Organizations that help kids with autism also exist in Indonesia, and Mimi Institute is one of the newest organizations. According to Astrid, one of the workers there, autistic kids can’t be cured from autism, because autism isn’t a sickness. But what they can do is develop and continue enjoying their lives. It takes more time for them to grow because they have a few disabilities.
Sensory toy, according to Athalia Soenaryo, is one of the best ways to help kids with autism grow. Even though it takes a long period of time, it affects the kid slowly. Sensory toys have different kinds of features in it such as sound, light, movement, vibration, texture and pressure. All of it can help them, but with a long process.
Referring back to the AoI’s questions, we contribute to the community by helping them with the talent we have. For example, if a person has a talent in cooking, they can help them by cooking foods that would decrease hyperactivity. We can also help others in many different ways, and by being a friend is one of them. I’ve decided to contribute to the community by helping them with what I have—which is the ability to sew.
2.3 About Creating Dolls
After seeing different toy examples (see Appendix 7.4) and ways to make dolls, I have decided to make it with different kind of colors to show emotion and different kind of fabrics to train their sensory. I will be focusing on shapes, emotions and safety of the dolls.
According to Athalia Soenaryo, a counselor, it is best to make dolls with a texture that would grab kids’ attention, but not harm them. So, after going to PD Hasan, where known as a place to buy fabrics, I finally chose 3 fabrics: flannel, soft material and rough material. These were the fabrics I chose because they’re all soft but different.
After seeing the dolls, I notice that they have unique shapes, but since it isn’t my main concern, I will keep it simple. I will focus more on the colors, which is going to be based on the emotion I’m going to try express through it (see Appendix 7.2 & 7.4).
The techniques I’ve seen are either sewing machine or hand sewing. After analyzing it, I think it would be best to use the sewing machine because it’ll be faster and neater. But for the small parts I’ll be hand sewing it, which I’ve learned in Design Technology class before; because if I use the sewing machine, I’m afraid I’ll run over the border.
According to the owner of Mimi Institute, the size of the doll doesn’t really matter. The only thing I need to make sure of is that it’s not too small because I want them to be able to hold it and see the emotion. For the amount of the dolls, I’ll be making one for each emotion because the institution just started. If I make 3 of each, it would be ineffective (Lusli, Mimi). I will be choosing 8 emotions (see Appendix 7.4) to test whether they can identify the emotion or not. The safety of the dolls will be made sure by not putting sharp things in it and parts that can be taken out easily.
‘How can I contribute to the community?’ and ‘How can I help others?’ are the questions from the AoI. There are many different ways to contribute to our community, the best thing we can do is to use our talent to help the community—why waste our talents? For me, I believe that sewing is one of the things I’m able to do and I would like to use that to help the kids. After trying to figure out how, I decided to make sensory emotion toys. We can help others by trying to respond to the society, because responding is a choice—its not a must, and I’ve chosen to respond positively.
3.0 Analysis of Process
3.1 Research (Collecting Data & Processing Data)
It was my intention from the very beginning to find as many resources as possible so that I can have all the information I needed. I got a little bit of help from my mom to get the books and also people to interview. After that, I tried to find valid information from the Internet and to verify it to other sources.
I find the information through the Internet, books, novels, interviews, magazines and videos because of many different reasons. I use the Internet because it’s the most accessible way to get a lot of information, but I know that I need to clarify it through other resources because sometimes what the Internet says isn’t always true. That is the reason why I use books, videos, magazines and interviews—to verify the information I already got from the Internet. The reason I use novels is because the novel I read was written based on the research the author has made, so I believe that it’s true and after verifying it with other sources, the information is true. I also chose to work with Mimi Institute because they are a foundation that has just started and still trying to make it all work. I personally, do know them, and that is a big advantage for me—it helps me to get more information and access to the kids as well. The problem I faced was basically that I had so many things to research on I don’t really know what to do first. But as time goes by, I was finally able to cover it all of the topics. (see Appendix 7.5)
3.2 Create (Making the Final Product)
The steps I took to accomplish my goal were finding fabrics, designing the final product, cutting the fabrics and sewing it. These are the steps I took because I believe without these steps, my final product will be incomplete and a mess. Throughout this process, I also keep on thinking about the AOI and keep reminding myself about it and try to connect my product with it in a way or two.
Designing the final product
I had a lot of trouble when I had to design the final product, mainly because I didn’t really know how to use the information I had and use it wisely. So, finally, I decided to use 8 emotions, which I got from the book, and try to design it and match it with the fabrics I had. During this process, I really had to focus on the AOI and try to find out what is the best way to help the kids and try to somehow understand them. The strength I had during this process was that I was finally able to find out what is the best way to design the doll (because I changed it again and again). Meanwhile, the weakness I had during this process was the appearance of the doll isn’t that unique. But after thinking about it, the design doesn’t really matter, what matters most is the components of it that will help them.
Finding the fabrics
When I went looking for the fabrics for my creation, I wanted it to have different kind of fabrics so that it’ll help their sensory problems. I also wanted to look for different colors of fabrics to symbolize the emotion of the doll. In the end, I found 3 different types of fabrics, with different colors. I am kind of disappointed, because I actually wanted to find a fabric that is rough but can be use for dolls, but since I wasn’t able to find one; I worked with what I had. The good thing was that I found different colors for my dolls and each color really symbolizes the emotion of the doll.
Cutting
Cutting the dolls was a tricky step for me, because I have to have the right measurements so that the dolls don’t look ugly or anything. So, I somehow managed to predict the proportional length of the dolls and cut it like how I drew it on the fabrics. But since one of the fabrics is hard to be cut and sometimes look bad after I cut it, I had to cut it outside the lines I drew. But that was basically the only problem I had.
Sewing
Sewing the dolls, for me, was the best part of all, because I finally got a chance to work on it and I like sewing. I sewed the eyes, mouth and eyebrows first because I had to hand-sew it (since they’re small). It took quite a while, but it turned out pretty good. After that, I sew the dolls using the sewing machine. But, the last one I did, which was blissful, didn’t turn out like how I wished it to be and it somehow looks like the interested doll. So, I decided not to use it, because I don’t think it’ll be much help and would be confusing. Which left me with 7 dolls. I am very happy with the product, even though it’s not that unique, but the emotion really shows from it and it has a lot of variety. The weakness I had during this process was that I didn’t really measure it correctly, which made my 8th doll a failed product.
These steps help me to achieve my goal because in this step I am given the chance to create the final product, which is a big part of my whole project. Without creating these dolls, I would be a hypocrite, because I search about the information and say that I would make a difference. That is why this step is so important—because with this step it is proven that I do what I say.
3.3 Testing Method
Since it won’t be appropriate if I survey my final product, I will test my final product by going to Mimi Institute, where I met a few of the kids. Since, I wasn’t able to meet all of them, I met a kid called Cia-cia. I was actually supposed to meet Janice, who I’ve observed through a recording the institution gave me. But, since they lost touch, they introduced me to a kid with a similar condition, called Cia-cia.
The first thing I did when I met her was asked her how she felt that day. She was a little bit confused why she was there. So, I explained to her what I’m doing and why I need her there. After that, she told me that she was feeling happy and okay. So she tried to find a doll that looks happy, and she took the Happy Doll. That proves that I have succeeded. But after that, I asked her what the other dolls look like. She stated that the ‘Angry Doll’ looks like it’s happy. And that the ‘Blissful Doll’ looks okay, but not that happy. That also kind of proved that my dolls aren’t that successful (see Appendix 7.6) This step helps me to achieve my goal, because I am given the chance to work with the autistic kids and observe whether my product is a successful one or not.
3.4 Areas of Interaction reflection
In the beginning of the research, I see the AoI, which is Community and Service as something we have to live with, something that has been going on since a long time ago. But, throughout the process, my perspective has changed. After the research, I see myself and compare to them, and I honestly feel grateful because I have so much more, and was given more chances. But, at the same time, I feel like the kids with autism are unique, they’re just something more. And as I work on the final product, I keep thinking about it and I realize that they deserve better. They’ve always been treated like a freak, as if they don’t belong in this world. Throughout the creation process, I realize that they’re not. They are unique for who they are, and we, as their surroundings should realize that it is who they are and we have to accept it. We’re not any different from them, we have to accept them for who they are. And after I test my product, I realize that the littlest thing does matter to them.
4.0 Analysis of Outcome
I believe that my goal, which is to make dolls that will help kids with autism develop, is successful. My expectation, which were safety, design and function have been met.
The dolls were well sewn and didn’t look messy. But, the doll itself doesn’t really matter—what matters most are the components of it. The expressions of the dolls, materials and colors are what really matter. I believe that the dolls already have a pretty clear expression, materials and colors. (see Appendix 7.4).
The safety (see Appendix 7.7) and function of the 7 dolls I created were pretty good because none of my dolls harm them and I didn’t use any materials that could non-benefit them. the function of the dolls worked pretty well because they were able to identify at least 60% of the dolls I created (see Appendix 7.6).
Teaching them to know more about their emotion and make them more aware of their own senses would need a lot of time. I personally considered my product a successful one because Cia-cia was able to tell me how she felt and took the right doll. But after that, as I asked her how the other dolls looked to her, she stated that it isn’t clear enough and the doll doesn’t match what she said. So, I think a part of my dolls were successful, but some of the dolls just weren’t clear enough. I am very satisfied with what I have done because I’ve given it my all and I’ve made a lot of justifications to it.
Coming back to the AoI questions, “How do we live in relation with others?” “How can I contribute to the community?” and “How can I help others?” I can finally say that I live in relation with others by helping them as best as I could, with the skills God has given to me—which is sewing. And now, I have contribute to the community by making 7 simple dolls that I believe could be a huge impact to them, one day. Because by introducing them to these dolls, they’re now more aware of their expression and emotions. I have helped others by making those dolls, it might not seem to give them a great affect, but I believe that it is a good start for them.
5.0 Conclusion
My goal, which was to help the kids with autism develop have succeeded. It is true that I can’t really see their growth because it’ll take a lot of time. But I believe that my product has been a successful one because I’ve tried my best. I have achieved my goal because after the trial, it has been proved that what they’re feeling matches the doll they took. I think, in a way, my product has been helpful for the kids’ development because as time goes by, they start to recognize the emotions more and more.
5.1 AOI
In the beginning of this project, I realized that kids with autism were treated in a wrong manner or way and that they needed help. I was aware that this problem has been happening for quite a while, and that this is going to keep developing from time to time. But after doing all this, I realize that they’re unique in their own ways. So, what I did to react to awareness I got in the beginning of the project was to help them with something I love—which was making a doll. And through that experience, I can answer the AOI question “How do we live in relation with others?” I live in relation with others by trying to help them the best I could. Helping them in the best way I know how, which is sewing. And at the same time I can answer to “How can I contribute to the community?” by making the dolls and at the same time helping them during my observation. I help others by doing what I know best and try to connect it with the recent issues in life.
5.2 Improvements
I was a bit disappointed that not all my products were successful because the emotions of the dolls weren’t clear enough. It seems like the mouth of the doll makes them a little confused. Cia-cia thought that the angry doll, which has it’s teeth shown like the happy one is the same. And the one with a simple smile was an okay doll. It really discouraged me, but it is certainly something I should improve on. Something else I could improve on is probably the fabric that I use. These are the things I could improve on so that my product can be a more satisfying and would be more effective. Something else I could improve is probably the planning itself, because during the process I was mostly late. If I had another chance, I would probably think to make a better planning and to give extra time for each step I had. The process itself for me was pretty good, and I really enjoyed creating the final product. The only thing that needs to be improved for the process is the planning.
5.3 New Perspective
This experience has thought me a lot of things. The main thing that it has thought me is that I’m lucky enough to be able to live my life the way I want it to be. Meanwhile, the kids with autism have their disabilities and still can achieve a lot of things. It thought me to do more, to be a risk-taker and not care about what other people thinks. This experience has also thought me that the little things we do, does matter. A new perspective I got from this experience was that after my observation, I learned that they don’t have as much chance as I do. And that after my observation, most kids with autism comes from a broken home family. So, they didn’t have a lot of people that support them. But, some lucky kids do have a family that supports them. And when the family supports them, they’re really committed and would try their hardest to find a way to help them. For me, it is very sweet of the family to do so. So, that has thought me one more thing, which is, when others forgets about you, family always got your back.
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