Mentoring at Shaastra IIT Madras: Designing Inclusive Toys for Neurodivergent Children

Written By Play Therapy with Anya

I’m honored to be invited as a mentor for Cognify, a neuroscience-based toy design competition hosted by Shaastra ReWire at IIT Madras—Asia’s largest student-organised tech fest and the world’s first ISO 9001:2008 certified student-run event.

As a Certified Synergetic Play Therapist and PCI® Parent Coach, I’ll be guiding participants through workshops rooted in cognitive neuroscience, child development, and inclusive play design. The focus? Creating non-electronic, sensory-safe toys that support the unique needs of neurodivergent children, including those with ADHD, autism, sensory processing differences, and more.

In Round 2, I’ll mentor participating teams to refine their toy prototypes using evidence-based principles from developmental psychology, attachment theory, and neuroscience. These toys are not just fun—they’re therapeutic tools designed to foster regulation, connection, and creativity.

With a potential Hamleys collaboration on the horizon, this initiative could bring accessible, developmentally supportive toys to children across India and beyond.

This opportunity aligns deeply with my mission: to make play therapy-informed tools and parenting resources more widely available—especially for the neurodivergent community.

Play Therapy with Anya

Anya is a certified Synergetic Play Therapist and a PCI Certified Parent Coach in private practice. She works online and in Bengaluru, India.

https://www.playtherapywithanya.com
Next

'Role of Play Therapy in Paediatric Pain Management' at Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health