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PDAs for a Disabled Man?

Posted by Cliff on from the devices-to-make-life-easier dept.

Ed-Wars asks: "I work for a man who suffers from ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and is mostly paralyzed, including a very limited ability to speak. He is looking for a portable device with a keyboard which will allow him to communicate with others while he is away from home. Wish-list: cheap, good sized screen with highly visible lettering, large and widely spaced buttons, ability to store/retrieve commonly used statements. It doesn't need to be high-powered or have any fancy graphics, again cheap is important. Text-to-speech could be useful, but is not necessary. Any suggestions you could give would be very helpful. Thanks!"

14 of 36 comments (clear)

  1. Muscular Dystrophy Association by jetsfandb · · Score: 5, Informative

    My mother-in-law's friend is also going through ALS currently and has the same issue. Apparently MDA provides a PDA with the features you mentioned to people with ALS. IANAD but I was told that ALS is a form of Muscular Dystrophy. I sorry that I cannot provide specs on hardware, but I recently threw out the paper it was on. If I locate the information I will reply to this post.

    --
    It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion, It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, The hands acqui
    1. Re:Muscular Dystrophy Association by jetsfandb · · Score: 4, Informative

      Links for some devices

      --
      It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion, It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, The hands acqui
  2. Do you want a project? by panker · · Score: 2, Informative

    I have an old Agenda Vr3 PDA that runs a flavor of Linux. It has large buttons on the side, and comes with a Microphone/earbud. I don't know if the processor would handle voice to speech, but with a little work, most linux programs could be compiled for it. Sounds like a fun hack.

    You can get a new one here for $100.00 US but probably much cheaper elsewhere.
    http://www.softfield.com/vr3.html

    --
    move along, nothing to .sig here.
  3. Why Reinvent the Wheel? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    This company:

    http://www.dynavoxtech.com/

    Provides ruggedized hardware with exactly the software you need, and their partner company:

    http://www.enkidu.net/

    provides software on standard hardware.

    As far as price, there are organizations that can help out with funding, since these devices are medically necessary for their users.

    Look into it. These can't be the only products in this space.

  4. Requested software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Knowing you will get a lot of responses I'll try to keep this short.

    Since 1999 I've been part of a team that has been creating completely free software for people suffering from Aphasia, MS, ALS as well as Cerebral Palsy and other disabilities.

    You can find our completely FREE software on: http://globability.org

    The current version of what we like to refer to as our concept demo "T-Board the Virtual Keyboard", has been tried under DOS / WIN95 / WIN98 / WIN XP and under DOS emu in LINUX and has been found to run albeit with some tinkering needed at times.

    All functions are available via 0/1 switch technology. (a joystick button / a keyboard tap or similar)

    The software can run on machines as old as 80386 - new versions of this DOS based program will become available during this year as we are migrating towards full open source and dual Linux/Windows native support.

    We would welcome collaboration with others in making the software available on any interesting devices.

    You are most welcome to contact me for further information or for any other reason.

    Best Regards

    Einar Petersen, Project Manager

    The Global Ability Initiative - http://globability.org

    1. Re:Requested software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      I don't want to sound rude or trollish but the fact that, to a lot of people, your homepage shows up as a black screen with dark red text telling them to alter their browser settings basically destroys your credibility. WWW accessibility is important - especially for people with disabilities.

  5. Look for Grants by HowIsMyDriving? · · Score: 3, Informative

    Medicaid and many other government programs will PAY IN FULL for a top of the line communication system for someone who is diagnosed with that condition. I work in the medical field, and have helped people get a machine like this. I would contact your local disability actvist center and ask them about grants and or programs to recive a computer. It might take 4-6 months, but it is free, and designed especially for them. Often times they will send someone out to help fit it and train the person when they get it. I am not really sure if a home made device is the way to go. Seeing how expensive and complex the devices are now days, and how well they work, try to help this person by weeding through the paper work to get a brand new one for them.

    --
    Welcome to the Entropy Bar, may I take your order?
  6. Sorry, but my parent post is absolutely right. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    You are absolutely right. Someone who is color blind or even the slightest bit visually impared couldn't even read that message. I have 20-15 vision and had to highlight the text os I could read it.

    The page was textbook "What not to do" as far as usability is concerned. And for a site supposedly promoting accessibility to boot!

  7. Some links for you by dstone · · Score: 2, Informative

    The Dasher Project is an interesting approach to gesture-based input for written communication that works on PDAs or workstations. There's a demo you can download.

    The Tetra Society is a society of volunteer engineers & technical people who build and customize devices to assist people with disabilities. Take a look on their projects page for some ideas.

    WorkshopSolutions has similar ideas.

  8. Original Poster by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Hey guys. Thanks for the responses so far. I realized in my attempt to keep it short and sweet I left out some useful info. First is that by "cheap" I mean $100 or less, hopefully. Second, typing is basically the only function needed, plus minor storage and retrieval functions if possible. As soon as you start talking aout OSes, you're probably already too far ahead of what we're looking for :). Third is size and weight; think paperback novel or dvd case, as his ability to hold and lift things is very limited. Something along the lines of those electronic dictionary/translator things.

    I'll start looking into the grants/medicaid stuff mentioned to see if that will work for him. Thanks again for your help!

  9. Contact the MDA by sakusha · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'm going through the same thing, my mom is slowly wasting away from ALS. Unfortunately, my mom hates anything mechanical and won't use assistive devices. The most technologically advanced gadget she'll use is a Magnedoodle tablet to write on (she's lost her voice completely).

    I suggest you contact the local branch of the Muscular Dystropy Association, they also cover ALS patients. They will hook you up with experts in assistive devices, it's their profession so they know everything that's available. Devices that are suggested by doctors or professional health care aides are generally paid for by Medicare, the MDA even says they'll help pay for assistive devices is you can't afford them. Some of the dedicated text-to-speech devices are pretty amazing, they're designed for people with limited function, so they're very simple to operate, without superfluous bells and whistles.

  10. Re:I don't know his exact requirements, but... by sakusha · · Score: 3, Informative
    Has he considered a large binder full of tabbed pages with common phrases in it? At the front or back could be a notepad and a marker to write with.
    The local ALS clinic showed my Mom a similar device. The booklet is about 18in by 2in, with a few dozen pages, each page has 5 or 6 squares with different phrases in big type. It clips on the top of a board with the alphabet printed on it, so you can point to letters to spell out words. The little booklet has tabs for common subjects, like food, medicines, how you feel, etc. and has a blank pages in each tabbed section so you can add your own phrases. It's simple to use, you just flip open the tab you want and point, then spell out extra words on the letter board for stuff that isn't in the booklet. The booklet's pages are all laminated plastic so you can write on it with a marker you can rub off and rewrite. You could easily make such a booklet on your own, just design some pages on the computer, take em to Kinkos to laminate and bind them in a plastic spiral binder. But a lot of professionals who specialize in assistive devices put a lot of thought into what kind of phrases are needed, so you'd probably be better off using one of the booklets that already exist. I mean, how expensive could it be? And Medicare would probably pay for it anyway.

    Fortunately my Mom isn't so disabled that she needs this booklet gadget.. yet. But she's such a luddite, it's perfect for a technophobe like her. I'm sure she'll use this device eventually.
  11. Take a look at Mayer-Johnson by thomkt · · Score: 2, Informative

    Mayer-Johnson makes several great products for disabled folk. We have a ChatPC for our severally autistic daughter.
    http://www.mayer-johnson.com/

  12. Maybe a product from Prentke Romich ? by snowsam · · Score: 2, Informative
    While not necessarily on the cheap (~$7,995.00 for their top of the line model) one of the "Augmentative Communication Products" from Prentke Romich might be a good fit. My brother has cerebral palsy (but impact to his intellect) and used one of their light talker products (now out of production) when he was in elementary school. He interacted with that unit via a single toggle switch. His is in his 20s now and no longer has any communication device that he can control.

    Their web site is http://www.prentrom.com/ and they claim to be able to help with funding.