TOPIC SUMMERY

Mental Health Issues are serious and real. 1 in 5 adults in America experiences a mental illness, and more than 50% percent of America's population has been diagnosed with various mental disorders. Children also suffer, some arguably worse than adults. Most school truancy comes from students with mental health disorders. The Fidget Shoes are designed to help children in school dealing with mental illnesses

For my project, I wanted to create a shoe that can help kids with these kinds of mental health issues - A Fidget Shoe - and help raise awareness of these mental health issues

RELATIONSHIPS TO FOOTWEAR

Many people know that the wrong pair of shoes can result in misery. Multiple studies have found colors and textures actually can affect your mood, and that is certainly true for children with mental health issues. People with a mental disorder, like Sensory Processing Disorder, for example (which is at least 21% percent of the population), can have trouble trying their shoes, are clumsy, have a hard time paying attention, and more. Footwear is defiantly a big part of this. If shoes and clothing, in general, are very uncomfortable, a child will be so as well.

Also, my shoe doesn't just have to be limited for children with SPD. Lots of people are on the spectrum, have various mental health problems, and have trouble focusing. The Fidget Shoe can also help raise awareness of the issues that everyday people have to burden.

LIFESTYLE

AFFECTS

• Thinks clothing feels to scratchy or itchy
• Significant tiredness
• Low energy
• Problems sleeping
• Don't want to go to school
• Fidgets often
• Feels anxious often
• Feeling hopeless
• Every task feels incredibly hard
• Reacts poorly to sudden movements, touches, loud noises, or bright lights.
• Having sudden and random mood swingsLights seem too bright.

Please note, this is across the board; I tried to have this list cover many mental health issues, not just one. Also, this does not mean all people with mental health issues feel these or feel all of these symptoms. Even if you have only one of these issues, it's still valid!

• Sounds seem too loud.
• Doesn't understand personal space when peers understand it.
• Clumsy and uncoordinated movements.

Here is a list of some everyday issues people with various mental health disorders run into:

• Think soft touches feel too hard.
• Experience food textures make them gag.
• Have poor balance or seem clumsy.
• A constant need to touch people or textures,

even when it's inappropriate to do so.

• Extremely high or low pain tolerance
• React poorly to sudden movements, touches, loud noises, or bright lights.
• Have behavior problems.

CURRENT SOLUTIONS

Fidget shoes! Shoes that can change colors, and that are comfortable, easier to get on, personalized, and stylish. There are already shoes for people (specifically children) with mental health issues that come in muted colors and are simple slip-on shoes for children who can't focus well.

CURRENT SOLUTION ANALYSIS

There are three current problems with the Fidget Shoe, durability, noise, and price. The first issue is durability - not with the shoe itself, but with the fidget toys attached to it. Sooner or later, they might break. A solution I've come up with is this; make every fidget toy I can in the Fidget Shoe removable, so you can replace them and put new and different fidget toys in. That way, you can have a wide variety!

For noise, some fidget toys cause noise and matter no matter how small, every noise can feel loud when a teacher is talking. Because of this, I need to make sure the Fidget Shoe would be as silent as possible.

The final problem is price. A shoe costs a decent amount of money. A fidget toy is much cheaper, but either way, the prices are stacked together. In order to change this, I would need to use cheaper materials, but that would lessen it's lifespan. It's an endless loop

IMAGINED SCENARIO

GOALS:

Imagine you are an elementary schooler with a mental health issue, such as ADHD or Sensory Processing Disorder, forced to sit through hours of teachers talking. Everything around you feels too bright, too loud, and your shoes feel so itchy and uncomfortable. You want some sort of fidget tool and you want to feel comfortable, so you get cool, fidget shoes you can personalize and make sure are perfect for you.

Students are better behaved with less fidgeting and can listen better, which in turn will let them do better on tests. Doing better on tests and succeeding in school will make them feel accomplished. And seeing how they do much better in school, these children won't be dreading going to school anymore, which in turn would reduce the rates of school refusal.

SKETCHES

USE DIAGRAM