Judi Kloper <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hello,
> Occasionally I have posted here. I hope that some of you could
> give me some ideas based on your experiences.
>
> Our son, Dana, soon to be 18 next week, will be graduating from
> high school in June. He has athetoid and spastic CP and a
> bilateral hearing loss. His CP is severe and quadriplegic. He
> is quite smart, and a charming kid with a great sense of
> humor....and the light of my life.
>
> The problem (CHALLENGE!) we have been struggling with since he
> was tiny is communication access....All those naysayers in the
> beginning years who said he'd never talk challenged us to work
> with Dana even more, and of course he learned to talk and
> doesn't stop. He has a difficult time sometimes, depending on
> the spasticity and how rigid and tight he gets...but mostly
> people get used to his speech and can understand him.
>
>
[snip]
> . . . to find a way for Dana to access the computer, her
> supervisor became defensive and said that this woman has spent
> more time on my child than on other kids, and that she has been
> on the verge of tears because she feels so unappreciated by
> us....PLEEEEAAAAAASSSSEEEEEE!!!
Beth has already pointed you in the direction of several
commercial communication devices which are available designed for
various disabilities. I would like to mention an alternative
strategy which may be applicable in this situation.
A computer is simply a central processing unit attached to
various forms of memory, which interacts with various input and
output devices. The classic input/output devices are:- keyboard,
mouse, screen, printer, but any "device" can be "interfaced" to a
computer. Part of the "Operating System" which runs on the CPU is
the "device drivers" whose job is to talk to these devices.
A keyboard is in fact a "device" with 103 switches designed to be
operated by 10 digits (although not all of us can claim such
dexterity!!). The simplest "keyboard" is a single switch which
you hold down and all the letters of the alphabet cycle round
until you let go of this switch and that character is then
inserted into whatever application you are running. It does not
have to be just characters which cycle around, I have seen
"ideograms" which map to pre-programmed phrases, such as:-
"I am thirsty" or
"I think its your round".
It may even map to "actions" on other "output devices" such as an
infra-red emitter for controlling the TV, front door locks, etc.
Given that an input device can be a single switch it then is
necessary to discover a muscle over which Dana has sufficient
control to operate that switch. I have seen head movement, eyelid
movement, eye movement, knee movement, but virtually any muscle
can be utilised, even suck/blow. You need an OT's advice to
select an appropriate muscle group, since Dana will be using this
muscle an awful lot. The more "switches" which Dana can operate
the faster the input device will function, and the less chance
for repetitive strain injuries.
Having mentioned some things which "can" be done, how do you go
about getting something like this done. Unfortunately the days
when one person has all these skills (hardware & software) to put
this all together, is fast receding - today everyone's an
"expert" in one narrow specialism, however one source to try
would be the Head of Computing Science at your local University
who may think it a suitable "project" for a group of his
students.
I would recommend that you DON'T use any Microsoft operating
systems (Win95, Win98, nor Win2000) for this project since Dana
would want this system to run for many years and Microsoft have a
bad track record in making their operating systems not backwardly
compatible with regard to "device drivers". Far better to use one
of the Open Source operating systems such as "Linux, FreeBSD,
NetBSD, or Hurd".
Hope this helps.
[snip]
>
> Judi Kloper
> Oregon
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
--
Deri James
Slam a revolving door today!
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