July 24 2024, SYDNEY, Australia. HP has today announced the launch of Print Pals in Australia, in collaboration with world renowned puppeteer and former habilitation therapist for autistic children, Stacey Gordon.
Through this collaboration, HP Print Pals offer a family-fun activity that fosters communication and understanding for all kids, caregivers and can be adapted as a tool for neurodivergent kids. Print Pals merges the magic of printing with the vibrant world of art to foster social engagement and digital inclusion, so that every child can communicate in a colorful, impactful way that is meaningful to them.
In Australia, an estimated one in five kids are neurodivergent1. While emotional regulation is an ongoing skill everyone develops, puppets can be a great way for children to explore their experiences and bring what’s inside, out through connection, play and chat.
Stacey Gordon says, “I love how puppets are this invitation to play. They can communicate so much: from joy to sadness and make a real connection with people. And while a lot of families don't have access to puppets that are expressing specific feelings, now they have a perfect opportunity to create one. Every kid feels the same range of emotions that adults feel. And they don’t always have the tools to regulate and express those emotions, and this is one more tool to help them do that.”
Behind Print Pals
While most families may not have a puppet lying around, they are likely to have access to create one – a printer.
Kids and families can print and personalise their own Print Pals with eyes, mouths, arms, and other features that help express their individuality and creativity. The Print Pals puppets come in two styles, including Glove Puppets that only take a few steps to make and Moving Mouth Puppets that are slightly more complex.
“I wanted to make sure that kids could create puppets that reflect their actual lives, so I made sure to include accessories like AAC devices, headphones, ponytails and poofs, cochlear implants, wheels and more,” says Gordon.
“If a kid says they feel like a robot, or a dancing cow, or a creature with a unicorn horn, wings, and roller skates, I want them to be able to create that - to express every part of themselves. Because there’s so much to express.”
Inclusivity for kids with all kinds of abilities was top of mind for Stacey and HP when designing the Print Pals, pulling from her own lived experience as a parent with ADHD, of a neurodivergent child. The two different styles of puppets created: Glove Puppets and Moving Mouth Puppets, with each feature intentionally designed to express a different facet of a child’s imagination and reflect the actual lives of their creators.
Strengthening Communities
To amplify and empower our neurodiverse community, HP partnered with Stacey Gordon, best known for her role as a puppeteer on a global kid's television show. Stacey is also a mother of an autistic child and served as a habilitation therapist for autistic children. It doesn’t stop there; she also owns and works in a puppet studio; Puppet Pie located in Phoenix and operates a Puppet ice cream truck.
Puppetry helps Stacey bring out what's inside her and wants these puppets to help kids in the same way.
“I chose to not label the expressions to allow kids to explore and connect with what they see rather than what they’re told they’re seeing. So, eyes that might look angry can be turned upside down and then they look sad. A mouth can be a smile or a frown depending on how they look at it. A mustache could also be hair or an antennae or even eyebrows. All of them can be mixed and matched to express whatever is authentic to them.”
As part of the development, HP also collaborated with Jackie Sikic, owner and director of Kid Link Occupational Therapy and Shadia Hancock, Neurodivergent and ADHD advocate and Autism Actually owner and founder. Both Jackie and Shadia contributed to the program creation, by providing insight and feedback to ensure HP communicated with the correct language and messaging from a neurodiversity-affirming perspective, with the goal to ensure that the Print Pals serve as a thoughtful tool with the Australian neurodivergent community.
Print Pals are created to help all kids communicate through play and chat in a neurodiverse world.
To learn more about HP’s Print Pals, or to make a Print Pal of your own, visit hp.com/PrintPals. or the HP Smart app and download the printables today.
