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Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 16:00:20 EDT
Subject: Fwd: [berkeley-disabled] media release
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Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 16:02:17 -0000
Subject: [berkeley-disabled] media release
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Media Release For
Immediate Release
Contact: Carl Brahe
303-816-0495
[log in to unmask]
Las Vegas Therapist's belief opens new worlds to children with
severe
disabilities
The children with the most severe disabilities from all over Clark
County School District in Las Vegas, NV are bussed to J.F. Miller
School. Most can't talk. Many have no control over the movements
of
their bodies. Most are locked-in. Dorothy Yeager, a speech
pathologist at the School, sees something in these students that most
people don't: potential.
Many of these children have been locked-in all, or most of their
lives. People are said to be locked-in when they are aware but live
in a body that allows no communication with the outside world. The
thought of being locked-in causes most people terror. With that fear
often comes blanket denial. The thought that these children may be
aware and intelligent sometimes invokes disbelief and fear. In the
words of the mother of a child locked-in as the result of a rare
neurological disorder, "I know my daughter isn't aware. If I
were in
her condition and aware, I'd go insane in two days."
Able-bodied people often turn away from people with disabilities,
perhaps reminded of their own frailty. They say, "I wouldn't
want to
live like that." Studies indicate that people who face
degenerative
disabilities often report increased quality of life. They often find
life more precious and will fight to preserve their lives no matter
how disabled they become.
Ms. Yeager and the dedicated teachers and staff at J.F. Miller School
work with these children everyday. They know they are aware and
intelligent. They know these children have feelings and thoughts to
share. Now they have a way to begin to give them a voice.
Thanks to Ms.Yeager's belief in these children a new high-tech
switch
has been donated to J.F. Miller School that may allow even the most
disabled child to operate devices and perhaps eventually communicate.
Many children, who have no movement, or no control over movement, are
able to operate the switch.
The switch, called MCTOS (mocktoes), which stands for Mind Controlled
Tool Operating Switch, was donated by Technos America, LTD LLC, and
The John Andrews Memorial Communication Fund, of Bailey, Colorado.
The 300+ students will share the switch until funding can be found to
provide more of the devices.
Most people take switches for granted, but if you have no other way
to interact with the world a switch can work miracles. A single
switch can operate remote controls, household devices, communication
devices, word processors, and computers.
For the children of J.F. Miller School, MCTOS allows some to play
with toys for the first time in their lives. When the children learn
to use the switch they may be able to operate everything in their
environments using a computer system like the one Christopher Reeve
used in the movie, Rear Window.
According to Carl Brahe, President of Technos, "Ms. Yeager opened
our
eyes to a whole population of people who have not been provided with
educational opportunities in the past simply because there has been
no way to objectively communicate with them. As the technology is
developed to provide this communication, I believe these people will
force us to take a long look at what we think of as consciousness and
intelligence. The first time I saw what these children could do I was
unable to anything but sit on the floor and cry. They are incredible
yet mainly ignored and forgotten."
Ms. Yeager says, "You can see the spark of recognition in the
eyes of
the children when you talk to them or when something funny
happens."
Asked if these children are capable of higher expression such as
writing, art or music, Ms. Yeager replied, "I don't see why
not. Not
all will be able to write, but not all able-bodied people can write.
We may even have a couple geniuses locked-in those bodies."
The children show varying degrees of control of MCTOS. Some learn
within 2-3 minutes without further explanation. Some seem to learn
just by watching another child use it. Others require several trials
before they realize they control it. When they realize that they are
in control there is always the look of recognition that leaves
observers amazed and sometimes in tears.
One student took three learning sessions before he got it. When he
realized what he'd done, he began to vocalize loudly as if he
were
trying to tell the whole school about what he could do. Before this
time his teachers had never heard him make a sound.
These children are able to operate MCTOS more easily than most
adults. Perhaps they have learned to control their minds in ways able-
bodied people have never had to. Perhaps it's because they
don't care
how it works, or why. To them it's just fun and exciting.
Ms. Yeager says that it takes only a short time for the children to
understand what the switch does for them. "Their whole bodies
become
excited at the realization that they are controlling something in
life for the first time without someone else doing it for them."
The children using MCTOS are reported to be more alert and involved
in the world paying more attention to things in their environments.
They seem to feel pride and try to express themselves more. It gives
them more control over their lives.
Ms. Yeager believes, "Once the device (MCTOS) is learned, they
are
only limited by what we give them. It's our job to learn what
they
understand and how they understand and provide them with the
opportunity to use it."
MS. Yeager may be contacted at:
702-644-1756
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