Therapy Swing Uplifts Girl With Special Needs

BEFORE 13-YEAR-OLD AVALEIGH VACOVSKY boarded the school bus one spring morning, she said one word over and over to her mother: “swing.” 

That afternoon, Avaleigh knew, a special motorized one from UMD would be installed on her family’s back porch in Jarrettsville, Md., providing an opportunity for play to a girl who’d never been able to use standard swings. Avaleigh has autism and the genetic condition USP9X depletion syndrome, which causes developmental delays; she communicates through American Sign Language and walks independently, but can’t ride a bike or play sports.

UMD engineering students and mechanical engineering principal lecturer Vincent Nguyen, partnering with the IMAGE Center of Maryland, a nonprofit supporting people with disabilities, developed and built her a custom swing as part of Nguyen’s undergraduate class, “Entrepreneurial Design Realization for Projects of Positive Impact.” 

“Swing therapy is super common among the clients that [the IMAGE Center] sees,” says Nguyen, because it can help with core muscle development, engage the vestibular system (responsible for balance) and have a calming effect. 

Avaleigh’s swing calibrates itself based on the user’s weight. A sensor attached to the seat measures forward and backward movement, and a small motor atop the swing’s frame pulls the chains accordingly. 

Teddy Hersey ’26 says it was “amazing to finally be able to deliver this project after four semesters of teams working on it.” 

After Avaleigh tested out the device, she asked her aide if she could swing on it again later. 

“It’s staying here,” her aide told her. “It’s for you.” Avaleigh smiled.