VIDBE-Q 2025 Volume 70 Issue 3
engaged with during childhood and examined how these experiences may have
contributed to the development of spatial and STEM-related access skills.
Despite the geographic differences, participants mentioned a wide range of
toys and play activities, including board games, building blocks, and outdoor play.
Most of the toys and games mentioned were associated with solitary play and
involved simple tasks. However, some toys facilitated more complex functions and
supported parallel play. Board games were the only category that often appeared to
encourage cooperative play. Past research has confirmed that solitary play is more
common than parallel or cooperative play among children with visual impairments,
and the findings of this study align with those previous results (Verver et al.,
2020b).
Although the authors initially anticipated that toys and games preferred by
adults in STEM fields would have strong connections to spatial awareness and
STEM-related access skills—traits that align with Van Hiele's theory, ranging
from Level 0 to Level 4— very few of the toys mentioned by participants aligned
with this theory, and when they did, it was primarily with Level 0 and Level 1.
This can be explained by two key factors. First, previous research has shown that
preferences for toys and games evolve with children's cognitive development and
age (Verver et al., 2020). In other words, as children grow, their preferences shift.
Therefore, even adults who later pursue STEM careers may have favored more
