Skip to content

Accessibility · Case Study

One switch, infinite possibilities

A switch-accessible tablet app with a library of games for pre-K and kindergarten children with motor and cognitive disabilities. Built to run on the iPad and switch a classroom already owns.

UX ResearchAccessibilityUX/UIProduct Design
Role
UX research and design lead
Team
Student team
Timeline
40 weeks · Sept 2024 – June 2025
Tools
Figma · FigJam · React Native (Expo)
The Switcharoo game library: six games in a shelf, each with a star to favorite it.
The Favorites screen, showing three starred games.
Settings: high-contrast mode, sound, haptics, and switch pairing.
The Pop the Balloon game card: press the switch to pop balloons.
The Sorting Game card: sort objects into the correct categories.
The Crossy Roads game card: press the switch to cross the road and avoid obstacles.

The problem

Play, minus the on-ramp

Users: pre-K to kindergarten children with motor and cognitive disabilities.

They play with a single switch: one button standing in for every tap, drag, and swipe a tablet expects.

Research

Grounded in real classrooms

  1. Interviews

    Educators and therapists on classroom routines, learning goals, and where play falls apart.

    “It would be incredible to have a variety of games, because no two kids learn the same way.”— Pre-K educator

  2. Field observations

    Watched children use tablets during playtime.

    Children disengage immediately when a tool is cluttered or hard to press.

  3. Literature review

    Studies on play, disability, and development.

    Children with disabilities get 9% fewer play opportunities.

  4. Market analysis

    Compared Papunet, OneSwitch, and Sensory App House on age range, price, and organization.

    The existing apps are too expensive, too limited, or not iPad compatible.

The approach

What we built

The four methods pointed the same way: switch games exist, but they’re scattered, costly, and each one teaches a single narrow skill.

A library, not a game.

Library

The Switcharoo game library: six games in a shelf, each with a star to favorite it.

Favorites

The Favorites screen, showing three starred games.

Settings

Settings sit behind Guided Access: the adult configures, the child plays.

Settings: high-contrast mode, sound, haptics, and switch pairing.

Game models

The Pop the Balloon game card: press the switch to pop balloons.
The Sorting Game card: sort objects into the correct categories.
The Stacking Blocks game card: time your press to stack blocks as tall as possible.
The Crossy Roads game card: press the switch to cross the road and avoid obstacles.
The Treasure Hunt game card: uncover hidden treasures on the map.
The Music Play game card: trigger sounds and experiment with combinations.

The games

Six games, one press

GameTheme
Pop the Balloon!Cause & effect
Sorting GameClassification
Stacking BlocksTiming
Crossy RoadsTiming & motor planning
Treasure HuntExploration
Music PlayCreativity

Every game runs on one press. The complexity is in what the press does, never in what the child has to do.

Build

Runs on what the classroom already has

React Native (Expo). Wired, Bluetooth, and touchscreen switches. Runs on hardware the classroom already owns, which is the point: no purchase required.

Expert testing

Two reviews, two blind spots covered

Mobility tech researcher

Market context: high contrast, accessible text, an appealing and accessible UI, press duration as a real setting rather than a buried one.

Occupational therapist

The children: keep games simple, make sound and corrective feedback immediate, hide settings behind Guided Access so a child can't wander out mid-play.

Result

Where it landed

Next: high-contrast mode, more games, multiplayer, difficulty levels, sorting the library by switch type, richer sound and haptics.