• Hot Wheels has developed a miniature car designed for autistic children.
Hot Wheels miniature cars need no introduction, having been part of the world of many children (and adults) since 1968. Over the decades, the company has always sought ways to produce toys for everyone, to be as inclusive as possible.
The toy designer's latest innovation is a fine example of this. Developed in collaboration with the ASAN (Autistic Self Advocacy Network), the brand's latest miniature car has been designed with autistic children in mind.
Named Flippin Fast, it can roll both right side up and upside down. The car benefits from inverted symmetry, so that when you turn it upside down, the rear spoiler serves as the front diffuser, and vice versa. It features large wheels that suspend the body at its middle.
But that's not all. A rotating centerpiece, which includes the cockpit, rotates independently of the bodywork, so the little car can be used as a stress-reducing “fidget spinner”.
Autistic children are often told that they don't use objects or toys in the right way, when in fact they perceive things quite differently. With Flippin Fast, there are no wrong ways to play with or use the car. According to Zoe Gross, ASAN's Director of Activities, allowing children to play as they wish can encourage self-regulation and self-expression. “The design emphasizes that there is no wrong way to play,” she explains.
Last year, Hot Wheels offered the first car to use Braille, both on the car itself and on the packaging. Mattel, the maker of Hot Wheels, is working with ASAN to develop other products through its many other toy brands.
The Flippin Fast comes at just the right time, as April is Autism Awareness Month.