One-piece Unit

Easy to Grasp

High Contrasting Colors

Tactilely Stimulating

Visually Stimulating

Auditorily Stimulating

Furniture Friendly

Hands on Approach to Learning

Simple

Machine Washable

Visual Attention

Visual Tracking

Visual Processing

Auditory Attention

Auditory Processing

Memory and Recall

Tactile Discrimination

Cause and Effect

Fine Motor

Hand Grasp

Eye-Hand Coordination

Reaching/Arm Extension

Functional Finger Movement and Exploration

Position – over, under, on, off

Two-Handed Play – Midline Focus and Transferring

Motor Planning

Manual Dexterity

Sequential Thought

Bilateral Coordination

The crinkle material engages children, encourages purposeful finger movements and assists children in learning the concept of cause and effect.

Children learn about their environment through their senses.  Buddy Dog enables them to learn through visual, tactile and auditory means that can assist in learning and retaining information.

The high color contrast of Buddy Dog captures attention and the tactile and auditory response a child receives from play helps maintain that attention.

Simple cause and effect learning can be established as children pull on the tail to produce the vibration.

There is no time limit placed on play, allowing a child ample time to process and respond to the received sensory information.  Play can happen at a child’s own pace, increasing successful play and reducing frustration and overwhelming a child.

Buddy Dog keeps a child’s hands and mind busy and incorporates basic learning skills.

The vibration feature is a strong motivator.  It helps children learn that their action causes reaction; can help a child learn through repetitive play; and has a sustained action component that enables children to work hard to pull the tail and gives time to refocus on what was just accomplished.

Pulling on Buddy’s tail to feel the same vibration sense each time teaches children about predictability, consistency and comfort in their own environment. 

Buddy is a one-piece unit with lots of feedback.  Play can be successful without the risk of losing pieces. 

One of the first things children recognize is faces.  Buddy’s face, with its oversized eyes, will capture a child’s attention and many will want to visually and tactilely explore every feature.

This Dog with all of its manipulative features, can help a child work on coordinated movement – the physical movement of the body paired with cognitive thought.

Many children with Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and other developmental disabilities, do not relate well with human figures.  Buddy Dog will help these children focus so that therapists, teachers and parents can focus on the child.

Vibration is often used to stimulate oral muscles used in speech.  Buddy can be placed next to a child’s face or on his lips while the vibration is occurring.

The ring on the end of Buddy’s tail can be used as an oral stimulator.

Buddy’s size is conducive to playing catch with a partner, incorporating simple game etiquette – turn taking, patience, anticipation, and preparedness.

The vibration can help stimulate the vestibular system, which indirectly relates to auditory and language processing.

The manipulative sounds encourage voluntary control of arm/hand movements to interact with Buddy.

Children with physical disabilities often have heightened startle reflexes.  Buddy Dog is made out of soft fabrics, which will not make a loud, startling sound if dropped.  However, will allow a child to discover dropping an item, which is a developmental milestone that helps children learn purposeful and appropriate release of objects.

The appendages and especially the ears of Buddy Dog give children natural handles to grasp and hold.  The ears are especially beneficial for children who are tight-fisted.  A caregiver can help the children open their hands and the children can then grasp an ear tightly.

The eyes, nose, and mouth are stitched and embroidered on.  Children with physical disabilities often explore with their mouths.  These are safe alternatives to traditional attached features.

A slight (voluntary or involuntary) touch or movement of Buddy Dog produces significant auditory response and provides auditory stimulation for the child.  This can also be empowering for a child because his movements create an external response.

As children manipulate the various textures and activities (e.g. squeaking paw, crinkling jacket, vibrating sensor), they will be gaining awareness of their bodies and learning ways to use their hands and fingers to manipulate the objects in their environment.

Because Buddy Dog sits stationary, he will remain within reach and visual field of a child with limited physical abilities.

Buddy Dog attracts and provides stimulation to children who require simple action and visual/auditory feedback.

The vibration feature helps children learn that their action causes and reaction; can help a child learn through repetitive play; and has a sustained action component that enables children to work hard to pull the tail and gives time to refocus on what was just accomplished.

The ring on the Dog’s tail is large, providing for a whole hand grip to pull to activate the vibration.  Many activation controls are small and difficult for a child to access.

The soft body of Buddy Dog gives children comfort and will not distress most if they roll over or lay on him.

The size of Buddy Dog is large enough that a caregiver can assist a child in play and exploration without obstructing the play.

This Dog, with all of its manipulative features, can help a child work on coordinated movement – the physical movement of the body paired with cognitive thought.

Because the Dog is a large size and made of soft materials, large muscles can be incorporated in play as children play catch using Buddy Dog.  Play in this fashion can also help to enhance trunk and head control as well as muscle strength, all weaknesses children with physical disabilities face.

Fine motor skills are heightened as children explore the different dimensions of Buddy.

Bilateral coordination is naturally incorporated into play.  It is the ability to have hands working together either doing the same task (such as holding the dog in the middle of its tummy with two hands and having it move up and down in the air) or each hand doing a different task (one hand to hold Buddy Dog stable and the other to manipulate the features of the toy.)

The softness of Buddy’s body helps a child be successful in grasping.  The material contours to a child’s grasp.

The vibration of Buddy Dog can help stimulate the vestibular system, which has receptors that respond to gravity and movement.  This can help with balance and movement as well as tactile, proprioceptive, visual and auditory processing.

Children with physical limitations often drool more than children who are developing typically.  The machine washable feature is beneficial in order to keep the toy in good, usable, sanitary form.

The high color contrast of Buddy captures attention and the tactile and auditory response a child receives from play helps maintain that attention.

The dots on the paws and underside of the ears are raised to increase tactile stimulation.

The vibration can help stimulate the vestibular system, which has receptors that respond to gravity and movement.  This can help with balance and movement as well as tactile, proprioceptive, visual and auditory processing.  The vestibular system also indirectly relates to auditory and language processing.

The textures, which are significantly different from one another, give children experience with the sense of touch and allow them to conceptualize tactile differentiation.  Similarities and differences are an important part of learning life skills.  This can be generalized to daily routines and activities – a quarter is different from a penny; a green light is different from a red light.

The different sounds give children more experience in learning how to process what is in their environment.

The shape of Buddy Dog allows a child with visual impairments to pick up and feel the various components and understand by touch what the item is and what it looks like.