9-Year-Old Boy Born Without Fingers Starts Hiding Hand After Being Teased at School; Friend Uses 3D Printer to Create Him a 'Robohand'

By John Callahan, Thursday, February 20, 2014

Matthew Shields, 9, was born without fingers on his right hand, and as a result is faced with challenges for many basic tasks most do not even consider each day.

Matthew's disability had been a minor issue for most of his childhood, but as he got older his mother noticed he was hiding his hand in his pocket each day coming home from school. His peers had been teasing him, and so his mother went to search for a solution.

With the help of a 17-year-old family friend, Mason Wilde, they were able to access a 3-D printer at Johnson County Research Library. They discovered the blueprints to a Robohand and were able to print it out. It took 8 hours to print the 3-D Robohand but the result was amazing.